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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

WAR OF 1812

THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS^81

81First Invasion, The War of 1812, The History Channel CD.

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,” Psalms 33:12.

On the other side of the ocean, British and American representatives agreed to begin peace talks; however, both sides wanted some bargaining power. The war seemed to be turning in favor of the Americans so the British began entertaining the idea of attacking New Orleans, the gateway to the North American interior. A victory at New Orleans would allow the British to link up with Canada and control the U.S. from the north and west.

In 1814, we took a little trip along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip.

We took a little bacon and we took a little beans, and we fought the mighty British in the town of New Orleans.

Old Hickory said we could take e’m by surprise if we didn’t fire our muskets ‘til we look e’m in the eyes.

We loaded up our squirrel guns and really gave them ---well…

We fired our guns ‘till the barrels melted down, then, we caught an alligator and fought another round.

We filled his head with cannon balls and powdered his behind, and when we touched the powder off, the gator lost his mind.

We fired our guns and the British kept a comin. There wasn’t nigh as many as there was a while ago.

We fired once more and they began a runin’ down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

They ran through the brambles and they ran through the briers, they ran through places a rabbit couldn’t go.

They ran so fast that our hounds couldn’t catch them, down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

Jimmy Driftwood

Andrew Jackson: (Old Hickory)

In December, 1814, anti-war federalists from the New England states met with British agents to discuss the possibility of New England breaking away from the United States and becoming again part of Great Britain. It now appeared that the bargaining advantage had turned to the British. Both sides felt that American independence might crumble. The British then decided to wage war on New Orleans where a decisive victory would encourage the breakup of the entire United States.

On December 1, 1814, Andrew Jackson arrived in the city of New Orleans. As he rallied the people of that city he promised that if the British came, he would drive them into the sea or perish in the effort. He then immediately began organizing the city’s defenses. He inspired people of every ethnic background and social class to unite in preparation for the city’s defense. Jackson recruited an army simply by his vibrant personality. His army consisted of regulars, frontiersmen, French speaking Ceros, Indians, and Pirates. He managed to gather nearly 4,000, mostly untrained men, to stand against 10,000 highly trained British troops who were lead by one of the most popular officers in the British army. On the other hand, when Andrew Jackson took command of his army, he had a bullet lodged between a lung and his heart; and he was plagued by painful dysentery.

On December 23, 1814, the British Army began its march toward New Orleans. When Jackson learned that the British were only a few miles away, he organized his forces five miles south of the city. The 4,000 men were stretched out for over a mile and took their positions in a muddy ditch.

Just before dawn on January 8, the British begin their move forward. From the start, the British began to have problems. The current in the river was so swift, the boats were forced way down stream so the soldiers could not reach the other shore. By the time these soldiers arrived at the battlefield, it was too late for them to help. The 44^th regiment forgot to bring their scaling ladders. The mist cleared at sunrise and exposed the oncoming British to the Americans. The Americans began firing. It was reported that one cannon blast killed 100 British soldiers. All of the high ranking officers in this British army were wiped out in the first 20 minutes of battle. With no one left to give orders, the British soldiers continued to run forward and to scramble into the ditch in front of the American line. Without ladders, they could not scale the earthwork fortification. Therefore, they became setting targets for the Americans who kept up a relentless slaughter of their lines. The British eventually realized they could not break through the American forces so they stopped the attack. Jackson’s rag tag army put down the world’s best fighting force in a little less than two hours.

More than 2,000 British soldiers were killed, wounded, reported missing, or taken as prisoners. The Americans reported 13 dead and several dozen wounded. There had never been, in the records of modern history, such a lopsided victory as when Jackson defeated the British on January 8, 1815.

On Christmas Eve, 1814, British and American representatives came together at a peace table and signed the peace treaty. It, however, took seven weeks for word of this event to cross the Atlantic.

On February 4, nearly 4 weeks after the battle had ended, news of the victorious battle reached the city of Washington.

Nine days later, the peace delegation arrived at Washington with the peace treaty which formally ended the war before the battle of New Orleans had begun.

Because of this great victory, Andrew Jackson was able to become the seventh president of the United States in 1829.⁸³ (⁸³First Invasion, The War of 1812, History Channel, C.D.)

Study Guide

Chapter Seventeen

1. According to Psalms 33:12, what makes a nation blessed?

2. At the peace treaty talks, what did both sides want?

3. At the peace treaty talks, what was England considering?

4. What was Andrew Jackson’s nickname?

5. What event in New England seemed to tip the scales on behalf of Great Britain?

6. What event in New England threatened the solvency of the United States?

7. What event in New England finally made England decide to wage war on New Orleans?

8. Name five types of people that made up Andrew Jackson’s army?

9. How many soldiers did the British have to fight the Americans?

10. Where did Jackson station his army?