Battle of New Orleans

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Battle of New Orleans
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Battle of New Orleans
The War of 1812, is often called the second war
for American Independence. It began in 1812 and
ended in 1815. On June 18, 1812, the United
States stunned the world by declaring war on
Great Britain. One cause of the War of 1812 was
the British disregard of American shipping
rights. Between 1808 and 1811 over 6,000
Americans were impressed by the British.
British ships frequently stopped American
ships, confiscated their cargo, and impressed
(captured) crew members, claiming they were
deserters from Britains Royal Navy.
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Battle of New Orleans
By the time the Battle of New Orleans was fought,
many other battles had taken place. The Battle
of New Orleans was the last in a series of
battles. The first part of the New Orleans
battle occurred when the British fleet approached
the city through Lake Borgne. The British won the
first battle, but their progression toward New
Orleans did slow down.
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Battle of New Orleans
Andrew Jackson was a strict officer but was
popular with his troops. It was said he was
"tough as old hickory" wood on the battlefield,
which gave him his nickname, Old Hickory.
When British forces threatened New Orleans,
Jackson took command of the defenses, including
militia from several western states and
territories. Across the lake, the British army
then started for New Orleans. Andrew Jackson
planned a night attack that surprised the
British. That also slowed the British.
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Battle of New Orleans
By this time, the British General had decided to
attack again. They attacked twice, but American
troops under the leadership of Andrew Jackson,
American soldiers held their ground. On January
8, 1815, both armies met south of New Orleans on
the plains of Chalmette. The battle took place
on a foggy morning and lasted less than one hour.

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Battle of New Orleans
British Major-General Edward Pakenham ordered
assaults against Jackson's position. The first
assault was to place a small force on the west
bank of the Mississippi. The second was the main
attack in three columns directly against the
earthworks manned by the vast majority of
American troops. In the Battle of New Orleans on
January 8, 1815, Jackson's 5,000 soldiers won a
victory over 7,500 British. The British had more
than 2,000 casualties to Jackson's 8 killed and
58 wounded or missing.
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Battle of New Orleans

Ironically, what Jackson nor British
Major-General Edward Pakenham did not know was
that the war was already over. On December 24,
1814, a treaty ending the war was already over.
However news of Treaty of Ghent did not arrive
in the United States until two weeks later.
Sadly, this battle could have been
avoided. British Major-General Edward Pakenham
died in the Battle of New Orleans. His body was
shipped home to England in a hogshead barrel of
rum. He was buried on his estate in
England. However, the victory was not considered
meaningless. The British had been shown that
Americans would not back down, even when it dealt
with fighting the worlds most powerful nation at
that time.
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Battle of New Orleans
The War of 1812 finally settled the conflict
between America and England once and for all.
Following the Battle of New Orleans, the 4th of
July celebrations had new meaning. The Battle
had brought together Louisiana citizens for an
American cause.
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Battle of New Orleans
The Battle of New Orleans made General Andrew
Jackson a hero. A statue of Jackson was built in
New Orleans to honor him. The statue stands in
Jackson Square. The statue, was cast from a
cannon used in the battle. The statue was
completed in 1856. Hero Andrew Jackson was
elected President of the United States. He was
the nations 7th President and served from March
4, 1829  March 4, 1837.
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Photos from download.freepics.comand Wikipedia

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