Book Description
Reprinted. Originally published: Baton Rouge: Louisiana Genealogical and Historical society, 1963.
Author :
Publisher : Genealogical Publishing Com
Page : 130 pages
File Size : 15,86 MB
Release : 2010-08
Category : Louisiana
ISBN : 0806349123
Reprinted. Originally published: Baton Rouge: Louisiana Genealogical and Historical society, 1963.
Author : Mabel Van Dyke Baer
Publisher :
Page : pages
File Size : 36,74 MB
Release : 1955
Category : Soldiers
ISBN :
Author : Randy Paul Decuir
Publisher : Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Page : 110 pages
File Size : 50,89 MB
Release : 2014-09-24
Category : Avoyelles Parish (La.)
ISBN : 9781502319807
"200th anniversary, 1812-1815, 2012-1815"--Cover.
Author : United States. National Archives and Records Service
Publisher :
Page : 6 pages
File Size : 49,60 MB
Release : 1955
Category : Louisiana
ISBN :
Author : Charles River Charles River Editors
Publisher : CreateSpace
Page : 46 pages
File Size : 41,83 MB
Release : 2015-02-17
Category :
ISBN : 9781508517306
*Includes pictures *Includes accounts of the fighting written by participants on both sides *Includes a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents There are countless examples of battles that take place in wars after a peace treaty is signed. The last battle of the Civil War was a skirmish in Texas that Confederate forces won, nearly a month after Lee's surrender at Appomattox. But it's certainly rare for the most famous battle of a war to take place after the peace treaty is signed. Luckily for Andrew Jackson, the War of 1812 was that unique exception. Less than a year after his victory in the Battle of Horseshoe Creek, Jackson led his forces into a more important battle at the Battle of New Orleans. The British hoped to grab as much of the land on the western frontier as they could, especially New Orleans, which had a prominent position on the Mississippi River for trading. With more than 8,000 soldiers aboard a British fleet sailing in from Jamaica in early January 1815, the attack on New Orleans promised to be a significant one, while Jackson's men defended New Orleans with about half that number. This went on despite the fact that the two sides had signed the Treaty of Ghent on Christmas Eve 1814, which was supposed to end the war. However, the slow nature of bringing news from England to America ensured that the battle would take place anyway. At the beginning of the battle, Jackson and his forces were aided by the weather, with the first fighting taking place in heavy fog. When the fog lifted as morning began, the British found themselves exposed to American artillery. On top of that, Jackson's men held out under an intense artillery bombardment and two frontal assaults on different wings of the battle, before Jackson led a counterattack. By the end of the battle, the Americans had scored a stunning victory. Jackson's men killed nearly 300 British, including their Major General Pakenham and his two lead subordinates. More importantly, nearly 1500 additional British were captured or injured, and the Americans suffered fewer than 500 casualties. The British army had not been fatally wounded, but what the soldiers on both sides thought was the first battle in the Louisiana campaign was costly. The British thus decided that the continued campaign (which intended to conquer all of the Louisiana Purchase that Thomas Jefferson had bought just a few years earlier) would be too costly and end in defeat. Thus, on February 5th, 1815, the British retreated by sea, right around the time news was reaching the west that the war had ended. Though it was an enormous victory for Jackson and the Americans - the most important of the entire war - it proved to be a completely unnecessary one. The Treaty of Ghent had officially ended the war by keeping the status quo ante bellum. This essentially meant that both sides agreed to offer nothing, keeping things as they were before the war, and had the results been different, the British would have been compelled to hand the important port back over. Moreover, by the end of February, Napoleon had successfully escaped exile in Elba, ensuring the British would have to focus their war machine on the French leader who had bedeviled them for over a decade. Regardless, the nation much appreciated Jackson's skills and the Battle of New Orleans was forever christened as one of the greatest in American history. Jackson was honored with a "Thanks from Congress," which was then the nation's highest military honor. Despite the huge failures of the War of 1812 - the Americans lost almost every battle except New Orleans, and Washington D.C. was destroyed - the nation now had something to celebrate. Jackson was celebrated as a hero from the West, marking the first time a "Westerner" held a position of national prominence in the United States, and he would subsequently become one of the 19th century's most influential presidents.
Author : C. Edward Skeen
Publisher : University Press of Kentucky
Page : 315 pages
File Size : 22,81 MB
Release : 2021-12-14
Category : History
ISBN : 0813188784
Winner of the Army Historical Foundation Book Award During the War of 1812, state militias were intended to be the primary fighting force. Unfortunately, while militiamen showed willingness to fight, they were untrained, undisciplined, and ill-equipped. These raw volunteers had no muskets, and many did not know how to use the weapons once they had been issued. Though established by the Constitution, state militias found themselves wholly unprepared for war. The federal government was empowered to use these militias to "execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions;" but in a system of divided responsibility, it was the states' job to appoint officers and to train the soldiers. Edward Skeen reveals states' responses to federal requests for troops and provides in-depth descriptions of the conditions, morale, and experiences of the militia in camp and in battle. Skeen documents the failures and successes of the militias, concluding that the key lay in strong leadership. He also explores public perception of the force, both before and after the war, and examines how the militias changed in response to their performance in the War of 1812. After that time, the federal government increasingly neglected the militias in favor of a regular professional army.
Author : Joseph Frederick Stoltz (III)
Publisher : Government Printing Office
Page : 52 pages
File Size : 27,32 MB
Release : 2014
Category : Government publications
ISBN : 9780160926563
Author : Arsène Lacarrière Latour
Publisher :
Page : 490 pages
File Size : 29,63 MB
Release : 1816
Category : New Orleans, Battle of, New Orleans, La., 1815
ISBN :
Author : Mae Donahoo Haase
Publisher :
Page : 34 pages
File Size : 50,80 MB
Release : 1968
Category : Louisiana
ISBN :
Author : Robert V. Remini
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 260 pages
File Size : 48,63 MB
Release : 2001-05-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9780141001791
The Battle of New Orleans was the climactic battle of America's "forgotten war" of 1812. Andrew Jackson led his ragtag corps of soldiers against 8,000 disciplined invading British regulars in a battle that delivered the British a humiliating military defeat. The victory solidified America's independence and marked the beginning of Jackson's rise to national prominence. Hailed as "terrifically readable" by the Chicago Sun Times, The Battle of New Orleans is popular American history at its best, bringing to life a landmark battle that helped define the character of the United States.