Tennessee earned the nickname Volunteer State after the state’s overwhelming participation in the War of 1812.
Sixteen years after gaining statehood, patriotic Tennesseans were eager to engage in the war effort with Gen. Andrew Jackson — a fellow Tennessean — leading the charge. This was especially true in the Battle of New Orleans, the final major battle of the war, when Jackson and his army, largely consisting of Tennesseans and Kentuckians, defeated the British Army under Mj. Gen. Sir Edward Parkenham.
Young Tennesseans also remembered stories their fathers told them about the Revolutionary War, including the defeat of the American Tories under British Major Patrick Ferguson at King’s Mountain, South Carolina. Some knew that Nashville was originally named Nashhboro, but changed its name to Nashville in the 1780s because of Nashvillians’ hatred of the British and their appreciation for the substantial help France gave the Americans in the Revolutionary War.
Another reason Tennesseans were so supportive of Andrew Jackson during the War of 1812 was that it was an exciting way to get away from their confined lives in a very rural state. Most Tennesseans lived on small farms in 1814 where there were no public schools, no ferries crossing the major rivers, no steamboats, dirt roads, and few jobs as Tennessee had virtually no industry. The best jobs poorly educated young men could hope for were farming, blacksmithing or operating a stable. Tennessean men were, however, for the most part, excellent riflemen, having grown up hunting bear, turkey, rabbits and deer and killing wild cats and mountain lions. Most were also physically strong having grown up working long hours on farms.
A majority of young Tennesseans of military age had never been more than 20 miles from their log cabin homes and, because of their isolation, often married their cousins. Fighting the British would, they thought, bring in some money and would be exciting, even fun.