On January 8, 1815 a British force of 8000 soldiers under the command of Major General Sir Edward Packenham, assaulted fortified positions held by American forces under the command of Major General Andrew Jackson. The resulting clash was the climactic engagement of the Battle of New Orleans, which had begun the previous month when the British Navy disembarked Packenhams Army, with the intention of capturing the city. To defend New Orleans, Jackson had a motley collection of US Army regulars, a variety of militias, sailors, Marines, Choctaw Indians, free blacks, and even Jean Lafittes pirates! The total number of men under his command was approximately half the number the British had available. Packenham foolishly decided on a frontal assault that was poorly coordinated, and was met with murderous fire from the entrenched defenders. Presumably, the British officers and men were seasoned veterans of the Napoleonic Wars, but they displayed a stunning lack of imagination that day and paid heavily for it. It was Bunker Hill all over again, but without even the eventual meaningless victory to soften the sting. The British were counting on the heavy early-morning fog to conceal their movements, but it burned off and the neat rows of redcoats were raked by artillery fire, grapeshot, and infantry muskets. In short order, Packenham, his second-in-command, and many other senior officers were either dead or mortally wounded. The leaderless soldiers continued moving forward, and the Americans kept mowing them down. After what must have seemed an eternity for the attackers, British General Lambert assumed command and ordered a withdrawal. The American victory was overwhelmingly one-sided. Against total British casualties numbering nearly 2,500 men, Jacksons forces had suffered 55 killed, 185 wounded, and 93 missing. After holding a council of war, Lambert decided that any further action in Louisiana would be too costly. The British Navy would reembark what was left of his army, and set sail for Mobile, Alabama which they hoped to capture. However, while they were on their way, word arrived that the war had been ended by treaty. For the Americans, Jacksons decisive victory restored a little glory to an otherwise uninspiring war. With the notable exception of the US Navy, which performed magnificently against the much larger and vastly more experienced Royal Navy, there was not a whole lot to cheer. The British had chased the American government out of Washington in August of 1813, and burned down the White House. It was a humiliating experience for the young country. Still, they had once again held their own against the mighty British Empire, and even gave John Bull a bloody nose just before the final round ended. And it would be the last time the two countries would go to war with one another.
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 02:29:43 +0000
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