This date in 1815 saw the start of the Battle of New Orleans, beginning at 5.15am. 10 things you might not know about the battle.
The battle raged for 10 days, until 18 January, on the Chalmette Plantation, just outside the city of New Orleans.
The battle was between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham, and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, who would later be elected president.
Why did it happen? The British wanted to capture New Orleans to gain control of the Mississippi River and the surrounding territory. This would give them a strong foothold in the region and cut off American access to the river, which was vital for trade and transportation. Had they succeeded, it would have severely impacted American commerce and limited westward expansion. Although historians dispute what the British might have done with the land, most believe they would have created an independent country for American Indians as a buffer state between the U.S. and British North America. Or they might have given the entire Louisiana purchase back to Spain.
The British side consisted of something like 8,000 trained soldiers, while the Americans defending the city were a mere 5,700 or so people, a mixture of militiamen, Pirates, Choctaw recruits and the military, with no experience of fighting as a team. Despite being outnumbered, the Americans wounded approximately 2,000 British soldiers while suffering less than 70 casualties themselves.
One famous participant in the battle was a pirate called Jean Laffite. Despite having made a deal with the British which would have landed him a high ranking job in the British Navy, money and land, and despite the fact the odds must have appeared to be in favour of the Brits at that point, Laffite double crossed them and threw his lot in with the Americans.
The key to Jackson’s victory was what he had done with the Rodriguez Canal, a shallow drainage ditch on the eastern bank of the Mississippi. Jackson surmised this was where the British would attack and had a rampart built of wood, earth, and possibly cotton bales in front of the canal. This became known as Line Jackson and was 1,500 yards long.
A bit of incompetence by the British officer in charge of supplies helped as well. Pakenham had perhaps guessed what Jackson was gong to do and ordered ladders and sugar cane bales to fill the moat with. Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Mullins was made responsible for these supplies, but he lost them. One Major General Gibbs supposedly said, “If I live until tomorrow, I will hang Colonel Mullins from one of these trees.” However, he didn’t, and neither did Pakenham.
Andrew Jackson was suffering from dysentery at the time of the battle. He could barely stand and issued most of his orders from a couch while eating nothing but boiled Rice.
None of the participants were aware that a peace treaty had already been signed between Britain and the US in Ghent, Belgium. The Treaty of Ghent formally ended the War of 1812, although it would not be ratified by the United States until February 16, 1815, so technically the war was still on.
The Battle of New Orleans is a song written by Jimmy Driftwood in 1936. It describes the Battle of New Orleans from the perspective of an American soldier, a somewhat comic version of what actually happened. The song has been covered by many artists including Lonnie Donegan and his Skiffle Group, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton and Deep Purple.
Beta
(Combat Team Series #2)
Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?
Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.
Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream.
Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.
Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.
Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.
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