Sobel Wiki
Advertisement
Jacob Mellon

General Jacob Mellon of Jefferson.

Jacob Mellon was a military leader in the State of Jefferson during the Trans-Oceanic War.

When word reached Jefferson in the summer of 1795 that Spain was at war with Great Britain, Governor Alexander Hamilton took advantage of the situation to free Jefferson of Spanish control and expand the state's borders. Hamilton formed the Jeffersonians into two armies, taking command of one himself and entrusting the other to Mellon. Mellon's army marched east along the Gulf Coast, and by 14 May 1796 had come within twenty miles of New Orleans.

Mellon chose not to attempt to take New Orleans. Instead, he divided his army, leaving the smaller force in Louisiana under the command of Major Andrew Jackson, and returning to Jefferson with the larger force. There, Mellon joined forces with Hamilton's army, which was marching south towards the Rio Grande. The combined force reached the river in April of 1797.


Sobel's source for Jacob Mellon's actions in the Trans-Oceanic War is Henry Miles' Jefferson in the Trans-Oceanic War (Mexico City, 1956).

Advertisement