Gilbert (Tennessee)

Gilbert was an American man who was enslaved by Andrew Jackson, who served as the president of United States from 1829 to 1837. Gilbert escaped from Jackson's plantations at least four times.[1] In 1804, a runaway slave ad seeking his return was placed in the newspaper by John Coffee: "50 DOLLARS REWARD RAN AWAY from the plantation of Gen. Andrew Jackson...in Franklin County (Ala.)...Gilbert, a negro man, about 35 or 40 years of age, very black and fleshy, with a full round face, has a scar on one of his cheeks, but not recollected which...JOHN COFFEE".[2] In 1827, after Gilbert escaped once again, he was recaptured, and he was to be whipped publicly as a result, but "in the course of being brought before the other slaves, Gilbert slipped the ropes that bound his hands. He tried to smash the overseer's head with a piece of wood, but, during the struggle, [overseer Ira] Walton succeeded in stabbing Gilbert with a knife several times, eventually cutting his throat. The wound to the throat was not immediately lethal, but he died shortly after the fight."[3] Gilbert's death was a political issue in the 1828 U.S. presidential election; Jackson's political opponents cited it as evidence of his cruelty.[4]