In a letter dated June 23, 1829, Andrew Jackson warned Sam Houston to watch his step in Texas and to avoid doing anything that would embarrass his homeland or tarnish his reputation.

Houston’s bizarre behavior had the rumor mill working overtime. In April 1829, he suddenly sent his teenaged bride home to mother, resigned as governor of Tennessee and disappeared into the wilderness with his boyhood friends, the Cherokees.  

Two months later, President Jackson’s adopted son and private ...