#AmericanaImperium

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Cassius Marcellus Clay During a political debate in 1843, he survived an assassination attempt by Sam Brown, a hired gun. The scabbard of Clay's Bowie knife was tipped with silver, and in jerking the Bowie knife out in retaliation pulled this scabbard up so that it was just over his heart. Sam Brown's bullet struck the scabbard, and embedded itself in the silver. Despite being shot in the chest, Clay drew his Bowie knife, tackled Brown, cut out his eyes, and finally threw him over an embankment

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General Joseph “Vinegar Joe” Stilwell  Graduating West Point in 1904, Stilwell later taught at West Point, and attended the Infantry Advanced Course and the Command and General Staff College. During World War I, he was the U.S. Fourth Corps intelligence officer and helped plan the St. Mihiel offensive. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for his service in France. He is often remembered by his sobriquet, "Vinegar Joe", which he acquired while a commander at Fort Benning, Georgia. Stilwell often gave harsh critiques of performance in field exercises, and a subordinate – stung by Joe's caustic remarks – drew a caricature of Stilwell rising out of a vinegar bottle.  After discovering the caricature, Stilwell pinned it to a board and had the drawing photographed and distributed to friends.

 Yet another indication of his view of life was the motto he kept on his desk: Illegitimi non carborundum, a form of fractured Latin that translates as "Don't let the bastards grind you down." Between the wars, Stilwell served three tours in China, where he mastered spoken and written Chinese, and was the military attaché at the U.S. Legation in Beijing from 1935 to 1939. 

In 1939 and 1940 he was assistant commander of the 2nd Infantry Division and from 1940 to 1941 organized and trained the 7th Infantry Division at Fort Ord, California. 

It was there that his leadership style – which emphasized concern for the average soldier and minimized ceremonies and officious discipline – earned him the nickname of "Uncle Joe."

Just prior to World War II, Stilwell was recognized as the top corps commander in the Army and was initially selected to plan and command the Allied invasion of North Africa. When it became necessary to send a senior officer to China to keep that country in the War, Stilwell was selected, over his personal objections, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his old friend, Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall.

He became the Chief of Staff to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, served as US commander in the China Burma India Theater, was responsible for all Lend-Lease supplies going to China, and was later Deputy Commander of South East Asia Command. Despite his status and position in China, he became involved in conflicts with other senior Allied officers, over the distribution of Lend-Lease materiel, Chinese political sectarianism and proposals to incorporate Chinese and US forces in the 11th Army Group. Following a three month furlough, on 24 January 1945 Stilwell assumed command of the Army Ground Forces, with it headquarters at the Pentagon, overseeing all mobilization and training of Army ground units in the United States. On 23 June 1945, following the death of Lieutenant General Simon B. Buckner, Jr. on 18 June, Stilwell was appointed as Commander of the Tenth United States Army, shortly after the end of Japanese resistance in the Battle of Okinawa. The Tenth Army was disbanded on 15 October 1945 following the surrender of Japan.In November, Stilwell was appointed to lead a "War Department Equipment Board" in an investigation of the Army's modernization in light of its recent experience. Among his recommendations was the establishment of a combined arms force to conduct extended service tests of new weapons and equipment and then formulate doctrine for its use, and the abolition of specialized anti-tank units. 

His most notable recommendation was for a vast improvement of the Army's defenses against all airborne threats, including ballistic missiles. In particular, he called for "guided interceptor missiles, dispatched in accordance with electronically computed data obtained from radar detection stations. On 1 March 1946, Stilwell assumed command of the 6th Army with its headquarters at the Presidio of San Francisco. The 6th Army had been reorganized as an administrative command in charge of Army units in the western United States. In May 1946, Stilwell and his former subordinate Frank Merrill led two Marine platoons in suppressing the prison uprising known as the Battle of Alcatraz. Joseph Stilwell died after surgery for stomach cancer on October 12, 1946, at the Presidio of San Francisco, while still on active duty and five months short of reaching the Army's mandatory retirement age of 64. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered on the Pacific Ocean, and a cenotaph was placed at the West Point Cemetery. Among his military decorations are the Distinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Service Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Legion of Merit degree of Commander, the Bronze Star, and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

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Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. Having served during the First World War, where he was recognized as the best battalion commander in his division, according to the division commander. 

Roosevelt braved hostile fire and gas and led his battalion in combat; his concern for his men's welfare was so great that he purchased combat boots for the entire battalion with his own money. He eventually commanded the 26th Regiment in the 1st Division as a lieutenant colonel. He fought in several major battles, including America's first victory at Cantigny, in 1918 eventually wounded and gassed at Soissons he returned home.  Post-war Roosevelt, Jr went on to help build the foundation of the American Legion (turning down a unanimous vote to place him as the American Legion’s first National Commander out of respect for his fellow veterans to not be seen as using the Legion for political gain).  Roosevelt returned to reserve status between the wars, attending the annual summer camps at Pine Camp and completing both Infantry Officer's Basic and Advanced Courses, as well as Command and General Staff College. By the beginning of World War II in September 1939, he was eligible for senior commissioned officer slot.  During his interwar political career he served as a New York State Assemblymen, Assistant Secretary of the US Navy, Governor of Puerto Rico, and Governor-General of the Philippines. In April 1941 and was given command of the 26th Infantry Regiment, part of the 1st Infantry Division, the same unit he fought with in World War I. Late in 1941, he was promoted to the one-star general officer rank of brigadier general. In February 1944, Roosevelt was assigned to England to help lead the Normandy invasion and appointed Deputy Division Commander of the 4th Infantry Division. After several verbal requests to the division's Commanding General (CG), Major General Raymond "Tubby" Barton, to go ashore on D-Day with the Division were denied, Roosevelt sent a written petition which was eventually granted. Roosevelt was the only general on D-Day to land by sea with the first wave of troops. At 56, he was the oldest man in the invasion, and the only one whose son also landed that day; Captain Quentin Roosevelt II was among the first wave of soldiers at Omaha Beach.

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Andrew Jackson

When Jackson was leaving through the East Portico after the funeral of South Carolina Representative Warren R. Davis, Richard Lawrence, an unemployed house painter from England, aimed a pistol at Jackson, which misfired.

Lawrence then pulled out a second pistol, which also misfired.

Jackson, infuriated, attacked Lawrence with his cane, repeatedly striking him.