Andrew Jackson and the American Lepanto, by Kevin Rush

By Kevin Rush, Church Militant, October 11, 2021

Victory lies in the Rosary

How did the 450th anniversary of the Battle of Lepanto sneak up on me like that? The stunning victory of the Catholic League over the Ottoman Empire merits annual commemoration, but the thrice-over sesquicentennial calls for a parade. Marching bands. Confetti. Silly string. It is a day that saved Western civilization, which could certainly use some saving again — and by the same means. No, not by launching 400 oar-driven wooden vessels at ramming speed towards an invading force. But by taking Rosaries in hand and bending a knee in humility to ask Our Lady’s intercession for the grace to prevail in the never-ending battle against evil.

Lepanto had come to my mind this summer as I toured Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage outside Nashville. “Well, that’s a stretch,” I can hear you thinking. Patience. Back in my teaching days, I had done a great deal of reading on Jackson, who was undoubtedly our most colorful president. (This was back then we were allowed to be curious about a slaveholder without being accused of wanting to reinstitute slavery.)

I was intrigued by his boldness, bordering on mania, and the charisma that enabled him to rally supporters around him to press for victories where defeat seemed certain. The Creek Wars, the Florida Campaign (some might call it an invasion, but why quibble?), his dueling, the Bank War — all spoke of enormous courage, rare for his age and in ours practically extinct. …

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