Peggy Eaton, the woman at the center of President Andrew Jackson's Cabinet crisis, met what her critics considered a fitting end. When her husband, former Secretary of War John Eaton, died in 1856, he left her with a fortune adequate to live out her life in comfort. But at age 61, she married her granddaughter's 21-year-old Italian dance instructor. Shortly after, he ran off with Eaton's money...and her granddaughter. Peggy Eaton died in poverty at age 80.³⁰

Andrew Jackson earned his first battle scar as a 13-year-old member of the South Carolina militia during the American Revolution. Captured by the British, he was ordered to clean an officer's boots. When he refused, the officer struck Jackson's head and hand with his sword.³¹

Andrew Jackson's most famous duel began with an argument over a racing bet. Knowing that his foe, Charles Dickinson, was a skilled gunman and would almost certainly get off the first shot, Jackson decided to take the first bullet and fire after he composed himself. That's exactly what happened. Dickinson fired first, hitting Jackson in the chest. Jackson steeled himself and then shot Dickinson through the ribs. Dickinson quickly bled to death. Jackson carried Dickinson's bullet in his chest for the rest of his life.³²