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With a strategic focus on coastal regions and American trade and transportation, the British army attacked and burned Washington in August 1814. Although unable to take Baltimore the following month, the British nonetheless moved ahead with a plan to attack New Orleans.
- New Orleans - January 8, 1815
The British attack got underway before sunrise on the...
- Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson served as the 7 th President of the United...
- Outcomes of The War of 1812
It also helped put the United States on a course of internal...
- New Orleans - January 8, 1815
The Battle of New Orleans, by E. Percy Moran, c. 1910. On the morning of January 8, Pakenham commanded approximately 8,000 British troops to move forward and break through the American defensive lines. As they moved into range, the British took heavy fire and quickly lost Pakenham to a fatal wound.
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When did Britain start the New Orleans campaign?
Britain started the New Orleans campaign on December 14, 1814, at the Battle of Lake Borgne and numerous skirmishes and artillery duels happened in the weeks leading up to the final battle.
- January 8, 1815
- American victory
907 men as at 25 November 1814. [9] [10] Effective strength of 850 out of a headcount of 862 as at 25 December. [1] Casualties 23 to 31 December: 2 killed, 6 wounded. Casualties 1 to 5 January: 9 killed; 11 wounded. 775 ORs on 8 January according to Major Pringle's letter. [11]
- War of 1812
- Andrew Jackson
- Edward Pakenham and ‘Line Jackson’
- Battle of New Orleans Begins
- Line Jackson Holds
- British Lose Ground
- ‘Truly distressing’
- British Casualties
- Impact of The Battle of New Orleans
- Sources
In December 1814, even as diplomats met in Europe to hammer out a truce in the War of 1812, British forces mobilized for what they hoped would be the campaign’s finishing blow. Following military victories against Napoloeonin Europe earlier that year, Great Britain had redoubled its efforts against its former colonies and launched a three-pronged i...
Standing in the way of the British advance was Major General Andrew Jackson, who had rushed to New Orleans’ defense when he learned an attack was in the works. Nicknamed “Old Hickory” for his legendary toughness, Jackson had spent the last year subduing hostile Creek Indians in Alabamaand harassing the redcoats’ operations along the Gulf Coast. The...
Jackson’s ramshackle army was to face off against some 8,000 British regulars, many of whom had served in the Napoleonic Wars. At the helm was Lieutenant General Sir Edward Pakenham, a respected veteran of the Peninsular War and the brother-in-law of the Duke of Wellington. The two sides first came to blows on December 23, when Jackson launched a d...
Despite their imposing fortifications, Lieutenant General Pakenham believed the “dirty shirts,” as the British called the Americans, would wilt before the might of a British army in formation. Following a skirmish on December 28 and a massive artillery duel on New Year’s Day, he devised a strategy for a two-part frontal assault. A small force was c...
The situation on the other side of the line proved even more calamitous. Pakenham had counted on moving under the cover of morning mist, but the fog had risen with the sun, giving American rifle and artillerymen clear sightlines. Cannon fire soon began slashing gaping holes in the British line, sending men and equipment flying. As the British troop...
Pakenham’s plan was quickly unraveling. His men had bravely stood their ground amid the chaos of the American deluge, but a unit carrying ladders needed to scale Line Jackson was lagging behind. Pakenham took it upon himself to lead the outfit to the front, but in the meantime, his main formation was cut to ribbons by rifle and cannon fire. When so...
With the majority of their officers out of commission, the British attack descended into bedlam. A few valiant troops tried to climb the parapets by hand, only to withdraw when they found they had no support. Pakenham’s secondary assault on Jackson’s battery across the river had met with more success, but it was too little, too late. By the time th...
The assault on Jackson’s fortifications was a fiasco, costing the British some 2,000 casualties, including three generals and seven colonels—all of it in the span of only 30 minutes. Amazingly, Jackson’s ragtag outfit had lost fewer than 100 men. Future President James Monroewould later praise the General by saying, “History records no example of s...
Shortly before the British withdrawal, Andrew Jackson reentered New Orleans to the sounds of “Yankee Doodle” and a public celebration worthy of Mardi Gras. Newspapers in the beleaguered city of Washington, D.C.labeled him the national savior. The festivities only continued in the following month, as news of the Treaty of Ghentfinally reached Americ...
The Battle of New Orleans. Louisiana State Museum. Battle of New Orleans Timeline. The Historic New Orleans Collection.
January 1, 1815 Artillery Duel: British batteries open fire on Americans, who return fire; the British gunners run out of ammunition after 3 hours, but the Americans keep firing, forcing Pakenham to order the guns from his forward batteries to be withdrawn out of range.
Jackson ordered General Coffee with his Tennessee mounted riflemen, Hind's Mississippi Dragoons and Beal's Orleans Riflemen to swing to the left toward the river and attack the British right flank. The American right attacked down the levee road with two field guns under Lt. Samuel Spotts and Jackson commanded the troops on the right flank.
