Andrew Jackson spent his life collecting enemies. Few people in American History garnered as much hate as Old Hickory did (and still does, in some quarters). This was a man who grew up with a white-hot hatred for all things British (he and his family suffered at the hands of British soldiers during the American Revolution), all things associated with First Nations/Native Americans, and pretty much anything not White, Anglo-Saxon, and protestant.

And then there were the personal and political enemies he accrued in his lifetime. Jackson was the object of an assassination attempt while in the White House, in fact. He had fought several duels and carried a pistol ball in his shoulder for much of his adult life from one of these interactions.

On the other hand, many of the “common folk” of America loved him.

In fact the common folk flocked to the place where Jackson’s funeral was held at his house, the Hermitage, near Nashville, Tennessee. However, it was his close political friends and foes and friends who, by and large, were allowed inside the building at the funeral when the former general and president died in 1845. The event was hosted by the Rev. William Norment, a strict man of the cloth. In Rev. Norment’s recounting of that day, he spends a good deal of time describing an event that upset not only the minister but also much of the crowd inside the funeral at Jackson’s home.

If Norment’s notes are to be believed, the situation began when one of the mourners who was close to Jackson in life was brought into the room. It was before the sermon, and the group of prestigious guests were still gathering. This particular guest began to speak loudly about his hatred for Jackson.

Now, I’ve been to many funerals and have presided at several as well, and I’ve heard my share of whispers about the different deceased people. Some of the dead were described as being jerks in life, cheats, scoundrels, and worse, but none of those things were said out loud, in public, for all to hear.

But this was different. In this case, the funeral guest began to swear–loudly–about the dead man. He called Jackson every name in the book and some that weren’t even in the book, apparently. The crowd grew silent as the tirade continued. The screed lasted for several minutes. The good Reverend was shaken by the outburst. He motioned for a couple of Jackson’s pall bearers to remove the offender, but the source of the rude outburst was loathe to go. Finally, this particular funeral guest was forcibly removed from the room, and the funeral continued. But the damage was done. Many felt that the loud cursing at Jackson had cast a pall (no pun intended) on the proceedings. Newspaper accounts of the event highlighted this scene as well.

History has not recorded what happened to the offender afterward. We don’t know if anyone spoke to him or not, nor do we have proof of who took custody of him afterward.

All we know is that the solemnity of funeral of President Andrew Jackson was disrupted by the outrageous cursing of his pet parrot, Poll.