"Cottonbalers" by Dale Gallon
The Battle of New Orleans is perhaps the most recognized event arising from the understudied history of the War of 1812 – yet the engagement itself largely took place a full week after hostilities officially ceased. Despite this peculiarity, the battle gave resonance to the young American republic and revealed the fortitude of her people targeted by a numerically superior and far more experienced enemy. With the outcome of the war already unknowingly decided, the green troops of the thirty-nine year old United States squared off with battle-hardened Britons, many of whom helped thrash Napoleon into submission only six months prior at Waterloo. Little did either force realize it at the time, but their duel in the January coldness of the Louisiana bayou not only determined the fate of New Orleans, but the national identity of America itself.
Precarious Times
By December of 1815, the war had reached a stage of uncertainty. The previous August, British forces under the command of Robert Ross drove American forces from their defenses on the outskirts of Washington City and subsequently torched the capitol. Within the month, however, the United States attained resounding victories at the Battle of Plattsburgh in New York and at the gates of Baltimore. Amidst this tactical seesaw of defeat and victory, displeased anti-war Federalists congregated in Hartford, Connecticut in December to contemplate the possibility of secession from the Union. This home front despair was occurring against the backdrop of the ongoing peace negotiations between British and American diplomats at Veldstraat, Ghent, Belgium. The British officials desired to approach the talks from a position of strength. At this time, they hoped Sir Alexander Cochrane and his massive force exceeding 10,000 men could capture the port city of New Orleans to hand them leverage at the treaty table.
But one man in particular was determined not to allow this scenario to happen: General Andrew Jackson. Although not looked favorably upon by President James Madison, Jackson was appointed commander of the 7th Military District and oversaw military actions of the greater New Orleans region. His colorful and gruff experiences as a soldier, frontiersman, lawyer, and duelist gave him a confident aura and determination that would assist him in the face off with the enemy he so despised. Jackson’s intense abhorrence of anything British was bitterly linked to his experiences during the Revolutionary War, in which he was abused by British officers in addition to his two brothers and mother dying at their hands. Facing his old foe at New Orleans was to be Andrew Jackson’s opportunity to inflict retribution – and he was not about to let that chance slide away.
Preparing for Battle
Arriving in New Orleans on December 1, 1814, “Old Hickory” defiantly exclaimed to crowds in the city’s Place d’Armes (now Jackson Square), “[Y]ou must all rally around me in this emergency, cease all differences and divisions, and unite with me in patriotic resolve to save this city from dishonor and disaster which a presumptuous enemy threatens to inflict upon it.” He continued his oration by revealing what was at stake by explaining they, as Americans, belonged to no czar or emperor: “No – we are the free born sons of America; the citizens of the only republick now existing in the world; and the only people on earth who possess rights, liberties, and property which they dare call their own.” Despite the fact Jackson was a slave owner, he viewed military service by the men of New Orleans as a civic obligation to the preservation of their nation regardless of race. Therefore, Jackson commanded what was likely the most racially and culturally diverse fighting force not seen again until the military’s desegregation in 1948. Standing in the general’s ranks were Creoles, Spanish settlers, Native American scouts, African Americans (both free and enslaved), Kentucky militia, U. S. Regulars, and even Baratarian pirates under the command of infamous buccaneer Jean LaFitte. All in all, Jackson’s domineering persona may be have one of many elements which inspired local commoners to step forth and help defend their homes. By this time, Jackson’s eclectic force numbered 4,000 men.
But that number remained a far cry from Cochrane’s body of 10,000 crack troops and sailors. By early December, the Brits entered Louisiana from the Gulf of Mexico and sailed their way to the northern rim of Lake Borgne located about a dozen miles southeast of the city. There, on December 14, American officer Thomas Ap Catesby Jones reformed his gunboats to engage the much larger British flotilla sailing his way. The Yanks lost two vessels and incurred a causality rate slightly greater than they inflicted (Jones was among the wounded). Despite the sinking of several British barges and buying Jackson some time, the encounter at Lake Borgne was an unsuccessful endeavor for the Americans since it allowed the British to have free access of the surrounding lakes. Furthermore, many of the bayous and canals had not been blocked, giving even further flexibility to the British boatmen.
The British began landing in force the following day. Before day’s end, scores of infantry advanced to the Villeré and La Coste Plantations a sheer eight miles south of the city – and stopped. Within this halt lay the great lost opportunity of the British column to push on and capture the city while American forces remained largely disorganized. The invading army believed Jackson to have far more men than he actually did. Nevertheless, panic ensued in the streets of New Orleans. Out of fears that many citizens would corroborate with rather than defy the enemy, Jackson established martial law to restore order. Again, he warned the citizenry of what remained threatened: “[L]ook to your liberties, your property, the chastity of your wives and daughters” by serving rather than shirking. From that moment onward, both sides began to further prepare themselves for the inevitable battle that was about to commence.
The Battle Ignites
The Americans quietly rushed to the nearby Laronde Plantation bordering the Mississippi River. Only a few hundred yards separated the two lines as dusk fell. Into the early evening of December 23, the U.S.S. Carolina quietly sailed its way downriver into the darkness of the vast Mississippi, hoping to catch the British encampment off their guard. At 7:30, its guns ruptured in the still Louisiana night, raining iron upon unsuspecting Redcoats unaccustomed to combat in the darkness. “By the Eternal they shall not sleep on our soil,” Jackson smirked. The Battle of New Orleans had begun. Immediately following this loud commencement of hostilities, some 1,500 U. S. troops ambushed the British camp, engaging in brutal hand-to-hand combat with bayonets, knives, and tomahawks. Despite having the element of surprise on their side, the boisterous Americans were forced to withdraw to their defenses thanks to a thick fog that had enveloped the field, creating much confusion and friendly fire. The two armies remained in a tense standoff for several days as they licked their wounds. This situation, however, did not prevent Jackson’s furtive Tennessee rifleman from sneaking into British camps to wreak havoc under the cover of darkness.
On December 25, Sir Edward Pakenham arrived on the field - the day following the Ghent Treaty’s signing. As the replacement for General Robert Ross (killed in the Baltimore Campaign), Pakenham was a flamboyant and battle-tested leader who was also the brother-in-law of the Duke of Wellington. Aspiring to Wellington’s feats in Europe, Pakenham was eager to achieve his own decisive Waterloo-style victory against these American bumpkins. At thirty-seven years of age, Pakenham was undeniably one of Britain’s most trusted officers. Upon arrival, the general immediately surveyed the lines. In the time since the December 23 skirmish, Jackson had transformed the Rodriguez Canal into a formidable line of fortifications. Pakenham concluded the only way to drive the enemy from the field was to attack them head-on, for the Mississippi on their left and the Cypress Swamps on their right largely prohibited them from exercising any grand flanking maneuvers. (The main British advance had been delayed thanks to the marshy conditions. The commanders did not wish to repeat such an exercise.) Three days later, Pakenham sent forth scouts and pickets to test the American lines and determine the weakest points in their defenses. Shortly thereafter a massive British cannonade was initiated to further weaken “Line Jackson.”
The Final Assault
Shortly after ten o’clock, over two dozen heavy British guns and scores of rocket launchers unleashed a sudden and frightful furry of shot and shell upon the American defenses. Jackson’s headquarters, located as the Macarty Plantation, suffered damage resulting from over 100 artillery projectiles. Initially frightened by the rockets streaming through the air, the American defenders soon realized they posed little threat and were nothing more than ineffective psychological weapons. The men were further assured when Jackson himself rode up and noted, “Don’t mind those rockets . . .they are mere toys to amuse children.” Another amusing tale of the artillery contest involved British batteries which used barrels filled with sugar in the construction of their fortifications. As ideal targets for American gunners, these barrels burst upon impact and rained sugar on the guns. When matched with the heat of the artillery, the sugar quickly melted into sludge and disabled multiple guns. But the bombardment as a whole was no laughing matter. Jackson lost several of his precious guns while the duel raged back and forth. Major Howell Tatum later noted, “I had never before witnessed so severe a cannonade for the time it lasted, as on this occasion (even in the 6 weeks of siege of the City of Charleston in 1780) the firing was, almost, without interruption on both sides for nearly three hours.” The main attack was to quickly follow.
That moment came on January 8, 1815. Pakenham’s battle plan was extremely complex. His success rested in timing – a factor that would not stand in his favor as the day progressed. The British strategy involved a three-pronged attack on Line Jackson. General John Keane was to lead his 3rd Brigade in an attack upon the American right flank along the river. At the same moment, Major General Samuel Gibbs, with nearly four full regiments, would strike Major General William Carroll’s defenses on the grounds of the Chalmette Plantation. For the grand finale, Major General John Lambert would rush his highlanders into the breach as Gibbs overran Carroll’s stronghold. But battles rest in seemingly small details as much as overall strategy. Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Mullins of the British 44th Regiment failed to order his men to collect the ladders necessary for scaling the earthen walls of Line Jackson. This logistical oversight proved to be a fatal error for the attacking force.
As the fog lifted from No Man’s Land on the morning of the 8th, two British rockets were fired from either flanks of the attacking force’s line. These explosives were the signals for the attack to commence. Almost 9,000 strong, ten regiments of seasoned troops emerged from their own defenses in the hope of capturing the enemy’s. Due to the sheer size of the force, however, the three phases of the attack were launched at different times – weakening the overall effectiveness of the column. The British troops were cut down at a significant rate before the American defenses. Canister shot decimated entire companies. Despite being rallied and thrust into the enemy a second time, the firepower and strong positions of Jackson’s men proved too much for the Redcoats to endure. General Gibbs fell mortally wounded. Pakenham suffered the same fate when he was struck down by shrapnel less than half the distance to the American lines. Lambert too was wounded after trying to assist Gibb’s efforts. With the British chain of command literally shot to pieces, the attack quickly deteriorated into a mass retreat. What resulted was one of the most one-sided victories in American military history. While the Brits suffered in excess of 2,000 men killed, wounded, captured, or missing, Jackson’s force sustained only seventy casualties. A resounding cheer arose from the American lines as their enemy “skedaddled” across the open field. The final battle of the War of 1812 had come to a conclusion.
Aftermath and Legacy
Upon their return to the city, Jackson and his men were greeted with a triumphant celebration few of them had likely seen before. When word of the Treaty of Ghent arrived some weeks later, these celebrations were echoed throughout the entire nation. Although the Battle of New Orleans took place following the war’s official end, the engagement helped create the identity of a stalwart nation that enabled itself to defeat overwhelming forces and rebuild its national character. This new sense of pride and patriotic euphoria reignited the notion of Manifest Destiny – that it was America’s providence to explore, expand, and endure. Perhaps no person in the nation’s young history helped usher in this tenet more than Andrew Jackson himself. As a noted frontiersman and leader, he eventually rode his fame to the White House. Jackson embodied all the motivations and all the contradictions of this evolving nation. Although he was a firm defender of the Union and stated that all were “born free,” these sentiments were not conveyed to slaves or Native Americans during his administration. Nevertheless, the Battle of New Orleans helped forge the man and the republic he would later lead amidst a new age of expansion and reinvention.
Borneman, Walter R. 1812: The War That Forged a Nation. New York: HarperCollins, 2004.
Brands, H. W. Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times. New York: Anchor, 2006.
Groom, Winston. Patriotic Fire: Andrew Jackson and Jean Laffite at the Battle of New Orleans. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006.
Howe, Daniel Walker. What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848. New York: Oxford UP, 2007.
Pickles, Tim. New Orleans 1815: Andrew Jackson Crushes the British. London: Osprey, 1997.
Remini, Robert Vincent. The Battle of New Orleans. New York: Viking.
Smith, Zachary F. The Battle of New Orleans. New York: Forgotten Books, 1904.
Stuart, Reginald C. Civil-military Relations During the War of 1812. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger Security International, 2009.
Tallant, Robert. The Pirate Lafitte and the Battle of New Orleans. New York: Random House, 1951.
Vogel, Robert C. “Jean Laffite, the Baratarians, and the Battle of New Orleans: A Reappraisal.” Louisiana History: The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association 41.3 (2000): 261-76. JSTOR. Web. 8 Dec. 2010.
Related Historic Sites, Museums, and Places of Interest
The Acadian Cultural CenterJean Lafitte National Historical Park & Preserve
501 Fisher Road, Lafayette
337-232-0789
Website
The Acadian Cultural Center in Lafayette interprets the compelling saga of the Acadians (Cajuns) who were forced from their homes in Canada amidst the French and Indian War and eventually relocated to the bayous of the New Orleans area. A number of these Cajuns participated in the Battle of New Orleans amongst a very diverse fighting force also composed of slaves, Kentuckians, pirates, and U.S. Regulars. Here, ranger programs and exhibits reveal Acadian culture, music, and contributions to the region. Meanwhile, children can earn a badge and certificate via the Junior Ranger Program offered on site.
Chalmette National CemeteryJean Lafitte National Historical Park & Preserve
8606 West St. Bernard Highway, Chalmette
504-281-0510
Website
Founded amidst the Civil War in 1864, the Chalmette National Cemetery is the final resting place of over 15,000 veterans of American Wars. Four Americans who fought in the War of 1812 are buried here, one of which participated in the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. The national cemetery is located on the site of the Battle of New Orleans, next to Chalmette Battlefield. Additional information may be found at the battlefield visitor center. As with most national cemeteries, flags are placed on the tombstones every Memorial Day.
Chalmette BattlefieldJean Lafitte National Historical Park & Preserve
8606 West St. Bernard Highway, Chalmette
504-281-0510
Website
This portion of the Jean Lafitte National Park witnessed the January 1815 Battle of New Orleans against British and American forces. What ensued was one of the most decisive battle of the war (even though the Treaty of Ghent officially and unknowingly ended the war only two weeks earlier). Visitors are welcome to hike portions of the American lines which were attacked by a large force of British Infantry. A visitor center offers interactive displays, films, historical artifacts, and a bookstore. Regularly scheduled ranger programs and living history events offer in-depth analysis of the site's history. Anniversary programs include military demonstrations and lantern-led tours. Educational programs for students and youth groups are available as well.
Destrehan Plantation13034 River Road
Destrehan, LA 70047-0005
(877) 453-2095
www.destrehanplantation.org
Destrehan Plantation was established in 1787 and remains the oldest documented plantation home in the lower Mississippi River Valley. The site offers an ideal view of planter society in the early 19th century. Historical demonstrations including indigo dyeing, African American herbal remedies, and period cooking reveals the everyday life of the past to visitors. Destrehan is owned by the River Road Historical Society, a not-for-profit organization. Proceeds are reinvested to site maintenance and education.
Fort Pike State Historic Site27100 Chef Menteur Highway
New Orleans, LA 70129
888-662-5703
Website
With the destruction of Washington, D.C. and the number of other communities during the War of 1812, a weakness in national defenses became clearly evident to political and military commanders. The construction of Fort Pike was a direct result of this situation. Built in 1819, only four years following the battle of New Orleans, the fortification is an impressive brick structure that was meant to help defend the lower Louisiana region against the threat of invasion. The fort was garrisoned during the Seminole War, Mexican War, Civil War, and up through 1890. Today, it is a Louisiana State Park which includes trails, picnic areas, museum, and daily tours.
French Quarter Visitor CenterJean Lafitte National Historical Park & Preserve
419 Decatur Street, New Orleans
504-589-2636 ext. 1
Website
Designed in 1718 by the French, New Orleans has a rich history throughout the ages. The French Quarter Visitor Center located in the heart of the Historic District and operated by the National Park Service, offers a detailed overview of the city's history ranging from colonial times, through the War of 1812 and the Civil War, and leading to the present. Here, visitors can discover a multitude of resources for planning their trip in the area, including walking tour brochures, books, ranger programs, and information on special events.
The Historic New Orleans Collection
533 Royal Street
New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 523-4662
www.hnoc.org
The Historic New Orleans Collection is a museum, research center, and publisher dedicated to the study and preservation of the history and culture of New Orleans and the Gulf South region. The museum has hosted several excellent exhibitions on early New Orleans including extensive coverage of the 1815 Battle of New Orleans. The site’s online collections possess an impressive digital archives of documents from the battle, including maps, correspondence, and artwork. A 2006 exhibition guidebook offers in-depth explanations of many of these historical treasures.
Jackson SquareJackson Square located on the Mississippi River, on Decatur Street, between the Jax Brewery Shopping Mall and the French Market, in front of the St. Louis Cathedral.
www.jackson-square.com
The cultural center of Jackson Square, originally known as the "Place d'Armes" in the 1700s, was later renamed in honor of honor of Andrew Jackson, victor of the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. As a staunch defender of the federal government during his presidency, Jackson was infuriated by the threats of states seceding during his administration's terms. Thus, during the Civil War, Union General Benjamin F. Butler had the Jackson quote, "The Union must and shall be preserved" inscribed on the side of the monument to defy pro-Confederates in the captured southern city. An identical statue stands across from the White House in Washington.
The Louisiana State Museum 751 Chartres Street
New Orleans, LA 70116
(800) 568-6968
www.lsm.crt.state.la.us
Showcasing the unique history and traditions of New Orleans, the Louisiana State Museum (operating from five sites) includes landmark properties the Cabildo, Presbytere, Old U.S. Mint, Madame John's Legacy and 1850 house. The museum's collections hold a vast array of the state's history including items regarding the Louisiana Purchase. Another online exhibit features additional items regarding the Battle of New Orleans. A special educator's corner offers educational curriculum for students.
The New Orleans Pharmacy Museum514 Chartres Street
New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 565-8027
www.pharmacymuseum.org
The New Orleans Pharmacy Museum is housed in the 1823 apothecary shop of Louis Dufilho, Jr., the first United States-licensed pharmacist (who attained his license in the city the year following the Battle of New Orleans). Guided tours offer visitors a better understanding of pharmacy and medicine in the 19th century. The historic structure has been a museum since 1950.
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