Battle of New Orleans and Talk:Leah Cairns: Difference between pages

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{{WPBiography

:''For other uses of the name, see [[Battle of New Orleans (disambiguation)]]''

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{{Infobox Military Conflict

|class=Stub

|conflict=Battle of New Orleans

|priority=

|partof=the [[War of 1812]]

|auto=yes

|image=[[Image:BattleofNewOrleans.jpg|300px]]

|a&e-work-group=yes

|caption=''Battle of New Orleans'' by Herbert Morton Stoops

|date=[[January 8]] [[1815]]

|place=[[Chalmette, Louisiana]]

|result=Decisive American victory (after the [[Treaty of Ghent|peace treaty]] had already been signed)

|combatant1=<center>[[Image:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg|80px]]<br>[[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]]

|combatant2=<center>[[Image:US flag 15 stars.svg|80px]]<br>[[United States]]

|commander1=[[Edward Pakenham|Sir Edward Pakenham]]†<br>[[John Lambert]]<br>[[Alexander Cochrane]]

|commander2=[[Andrew Jackson]]

|strength1=8,000 men

|strength2=3,500-4,000 men

|casualties1=385 killed<br>1,186 wounded<br>484 captured

|casualties2=13 killed<br>58 wounded<br>30 captured

}}

If I'm not mistaken, Leah broke her back being thrown from a horse, not a car accident.

{{Campaignbox War of 1812: American South}}

Can anyone comfirm?

The '''Battle of New Orleans''', also known as the '''Battle of Chalmette Plantation''', took place on [[January 8]], [[1815]], at the end of the [[War of 1812]], when the [[United States]] forces defeated the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]]. The [[Treaty of Ghent]], which ended the war, had been signed&mdash;though not ratified&mdash;over two weeks earlier, but the news had not yet reached the Southern front.

She definatley broke it in car accident.

==Move to engagement==

Goes to show how memory plays tricks on you.

On [[December 13]], [[1814]], a [[Royal Navy|British fleet]] commanded by [[Alexander Cochrane|Vice Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane]] arrived off the [[Louisiana]] coast. In a brief but violent [[naval battle]] on [[Lake Borgne]], 53 British rowing boats armed with [[chase gun|bow-chasers]] overwhelmed five Americanos dinghies protecting the waters near [[New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans]].

Actor Noah Hathaway who played Boxey in the original Battlestar Galactica series broke his back when he was thrown from a horse and stepped on (during the filming of NeverEnding Story in which he played Atreyu). Maybe you mixed these two up?

A few days later, the British forces under [[Edward Pakenham|Major General Sir Edward Michael Pakenham]] landed along the lower [[Mississippi River]]. At first, they met with only minor resistance. The Americans, led by [[Andrew Jackson]] (a [[colonel]] in the [[United States Army]] and a [[Major General|Major-General]] of the [[Tennessee]] [[militia]]), set up defensive positions at [[Chalmette, Louisiana]], some five miles (8 km) downriver from New Orleans. Jackson, because he needed time to get his artillery into position, decided to immediately attack the British.

On the night of [[December 23]], Jackson led a three-pronged attack on the [[British Army]] camp which lasted until early morning. After capturing some equipment and supplies, the Americans withdrew to New Orleans suffering 24 killed, 115 wounded and 74 missing or captured while the British claimed their losses as 46 killed, 167 wounded, and 64 missing or captured.

This stalled the British advance long enough for the Americans to bring in their heavy artillery and establish [[Earthworks (engineering)|earthworks]] along a portion of the east bank of the [[Mississippi River]]. On [[Christmas]] Day, Pakenham arrived on the battlefield and ordered a [[reconnaissance|reconnaissance-in-force]] against the American earthworks protecting the roads to New Orleans. On [[December 28]], groups of British troops made probing attacks against the American earthworks.

When the British withdrew, the Americans began construction of artillery batteries to protect the earthworks which were then christened “Line Jackson”. The Americans installed seven batteries which included one 32-pound gun, three 24-pounders, one 18-pounder, three 12-pounders, three 6-pounders and a 6-inch howitzer. Jackson also sent a detachment of men to the west bank of the Mississippi to man two 24-pounders and two 12-pounders from the grounded warship [[USS Louisiana|''Louisiana'']].

The main British army arrived on [[January 1]], [[1815]], and attacked the earthworks using their artillery. An exchange of artillery fire began that lasted for three hours. Several of the American guns were destroyed or knocked out, including the 32-pounder, a 24-pounder and a 12-pounder, and some damage was done to the earthworks. While the Americans held their ground, the British guns ran out of ammunition, which led Pakenham to cancel the attack. Pakenham decided to wait for his entire force of over 8,000 men (a force that included [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] members of the [[Hitchiti]] tribe, led by [[Kinache]], and several hundred [[black people|black]] soldiers from the [[British West Indies]] colonies) to assemble before launching his attack.

==Battle==

[[Image:Battle of New Orleans 1815.jpg|thumb|280px|left|Map of the battle.]]

In the early morning of [[January 8]], Pakenham ordered a two pronged assault on the American position: one attacking the west flank across the Mississippi, and one directly against the main American line.

The attack began under a heavy fog, but as the British neared the main enemy line, the fog suddenly lifted, exposing them to withering artillery fire. The British, armed only with muskets effective at close range, tried to close the gap, but discovered that the [[ladder]]s needed to cross a canal and scale the earthworks had been forgotten. As a result, most of their senior officers were killed or wounded, and the British infantry could do nothing but stand out in the open and be mown down by a combination of muskets and grapeshot from the Americans.

There were three large, direct assaults on the American positions, but all were repulsed. Pakenham was fatally wounded in the third attack when he was hit by [[grapeshot]] on horseback while 500 yards from the earthworks. General [[John Lambert]] assumed command upon Pakenham's death and ordered a withdrawal, despite the fact that Pakenham had ordered Lambert to continue the battle.

The British had suffered a loss of nearly 2,000 dead, wounded or taken prisoner; while the Americans only had 13 dead, with 58 wounded. The only British success was across the Mississippi, where a 700-man detachment attacked and overwhelmed the American line on the west bank of the river. But when they saw the defeat and withdrawal of their main army on the east bank, they decided to withdraw also, taking some American prisoners and a few cannon <!-- Please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannon#Etymology before adding an "s" to make "cannon" plural. --> with them.

United States forces at the time of the battle were between 3,500 and 4,500. This detachment was composed of [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] [[soldier|troops]] (Tennessee, [[Kentucky]], [[Mississippi]], and Louisiana [[Militia]]), [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marines]], [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] [[sailor]]s, [[Barataria]] [[pirate]]s, [[Choctaw|Choctaw Indian]] warriors, and free [[African-American|black]] [[soldier]]s. Major Gabriel Villeré commanded the Louisiana Militia, and Major Jean-Baptiste Plauché headed the New Orleans uniformed militia companies.

Throughout the battle, the Americans were greatly aided by the famed [[Jean Lafitte]] and his group of pirates. Lafitte's men joined the Americans because the pirating in the seas south of Louisiana had largely been ignored by the U.S. government since the pirates mostly attacked the [[Spain|Spanish]] and other pirates. Lafitte's men wore red shirts as their uniform, which caused much confusion in the British ranks, [[Red coat (British army)|who were also clothed in red]]. Some pirates came down from General Jackson's ramparts and merged with the British ranks, thus allowing them to kill small pockets of isolated British troops before the British would realize that there was an intruder.<!--Where's the reference for this? [[Carl Degler]] has attributed the ease with which the Americans defeated the British to the American [[artillery]], which was loaded with lead shot. The weight and penetration capabilities of the lead shot decimated the compact British lines.{{fact}}-->

==Aftermath==

[[Image:BattleofNewOrleans2.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Andrew Jackson]] commanding American troops. Engraving by H. B. Hall after W. Momberger.]]

Unknown to both armies, the end of the war had been negotiated with the signing of the [[Treaty of Ghent]] on [[December 24]], [[1814]]. However, by the terms of the treaty, the war was not officially over until the treaty was ratified on [[February 17]], [[1815]], and proclaimed the following day. In some circles it is postulated that the battle may not have been completely pointless. This is because it has been speculated that had the British been in control of the key port of New Orleans, they would have attempted to use this to seek additional concessions from the United States. However this is a somewhat fallacious argument since the British government had already ratified the treaty. A comparison is with the [[Battle of the Saintes]] in the [[American Revolutionary War]], which did have an effect, since it actually affected peace negotiations.

With the defeat of the British Army and the death of Pakenham, Lambert decided that despite reinforcements and the arrival of a siege train to besiege New Orleans, continuing the battle would be too costly. Within a week, all of the British troops had redeployed onto the ships and sailed away to [[Biloxi, Mississippi]], where the fleet [[Battle of Fort Bowyer|captured Fort Bowyer]] on [[February 12]]. But the next day, the frigate [[HMS Brazen|''Brazen'']] arrived with the news of the [[peace treaty]] that had been signed which ended the war nearly two months earlier. The British fleet then abandoned Biloxi and sailed back to its base in the [[West Indies]].

The victory was celebrated with great enthusiasm in the United States and gave Andrew Jackson the reputation of a [[hero]], which later propelled him to the [[President of the United States|Presidency]]. A federal park was established in 1907 to preserve the battlefield; today it features a monument and is part of [[Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve]].

== See also ==

* [[Jackson's Military Road]]

* [[Chalmette National Cemetery]]

* [[Our Lady of Prompt Succor]]

==References==

*Remini, Robert V. ''The Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson and America's First Military Victory''. Viking Penguin, 1999. ISBN 0-670-88551-7

*Pickles, Tim ''New Orleans 1815''; Osprey Campaign Series, #28. Osprey Publishing, 1993.

==External links==

*[http://perso.wanadoo.fr/histoire-militaire/cartes/nouvelleorleans.htm Map]

*[http://lsm.crt.state.la.us/cabildo/cab6.htm The Battle of New Orleans] — summary account by the Louisiana State Museum, with photographs

*[http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/America/United_States/Louisiana/_Texts/GAYHLA/5/10*.html History of Louisiana, Vol.&nbsp;5, Chapter&nbsp;10] — detailed account by [[Charles Gayarré]]

*[http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/America/United_States/Louisiana/New_Orleans/_Texts/KENHNO/6*.html The Battle of New Orleans] — detailed account by John Smith Kendall

*[http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/America/United_States/Louisiana/New_Orleans/_Texts/KINPAP/11*.html The Glorious Eighth of January] — colorful account by [[Grace King]]

*[http://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/lyrics/battleof.htm Battle of New Orleans] - song lyrics by Jimmy Driftwood, which won two 1959 [[Grammy|Grammy Awards]]

* [http://nymas.org/warof1812paper/paperrevised2006.html American Privateers in The War Of 1812 - ''Investigates the myths and facts behind a sea battle which some sources contend changed the course of the Battle of New Orleans and the future of America'']

[[Category:1815]]

[[Category:Battles of the War of 1812|New Orleans]]

[[Category:History of Louisiana|New Orleans]]

[[Category:St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana|New Orleans]]

[[Category:Andrew Jackson]]

[[de:Schlacht von New Orleans]]

[[fr:Bataille de La Nouvelle-Orléans]]

[[ja:ニューオーリンズの戦い]]

[[pl:Bitwa pod Nowym Orleanem]]