On July 4, 2015, Natchez Trace Parkway Association concluded four years of re-enactments portraying the stories of the Natchez Trace in the War of 1812 at the Hermitage in Nashville.  Approximately two hundred years earlier, General Jackson and Mrs. Rachel Jackson returned home to a hero’s welcome and a victory dinner given by citizens of Nashville. General Jackson, commander of the victory at the Battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815, was honored as a new national hero as he traveled up the Natchez Trace.  Thanks to the Hermitage for permitting the association to work with it to commemorate the general’s return, and inaugurate a new “Presidential Fourth, ” Fourth of July event at the Hermitage on the bicentennial of General Jackson’s return.  Thanks also to the General Society of the War of 1812 for its support for the event.

The event included a living history portrayal of Jackson’s soldiers encamped at the Hermitage in anticipation of the Victory Ball, visits from Creek and Chickasaw chiefs, a dramatic reading of the Jacksons’ “War Letters,”  period dance lessons, music by the Sinclair Trio and the Booneslick Strings, and the Victory Ball.