[SES1066]

Even though, as is now well known, this battle occurred after the "Treaty of Ghent" that had formally ended the Anglo-American "War of 1812", there can be little doubt of the importance of this outcome. If the British had succeeded, they would have been in possession and control over the richest city on the Gulf of Mexico and on the Mississippi terminus. What would have happened then? That is alternative history and an interesting speculation but I think that it is certain that it would not have been to the 40 year old American Republic's advantage.

Another side effect is that this battle against the best that Britain had to offer showed that the United States was becoming a military force to be wary of. Just as Crecy and Agincourt had convinced France that England was no push-over, so did this battle show all of Colonialist Europe that there were wolves in the New World. The 1823 Monroe Doctrine would have some proven teeth and would it have even happened without this victory and the earned British respect?

[DuncanWaring]

In 1814 we took a little trip
Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip.
We took a little bacon and we took a little beans
And we caught the bloody British in the town of New Orleans.

[Chorus:]
We fired our guns and the British kept a’comin.
There wasn’t nigh as many as there was a while ago.
We fired once more and they began to runnin’ on
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

We looked down the river and we see’d the British come.
And there must have been a hundred of’em beatin’ on the drum.
They stepped so high and they made the bugles ring.
We stood by our cotton bales and didn’t say a thing.

[Chorus]

Old Hickory said we could take ‘em by surprise
If we didn’t fire our muskets ‘til we looked ‘em in the eye
We held our fire ‘til we see’d their faces well.
Then we opened up with squirrel guns and really gave ‘em ... well

[Chorus]

Yeah, they ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles
And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn’t go.
They ran so fast that the hounds couldn’t catch ‘em
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.**

We fired our cannon ‘til the barrel melted down.
So we grabbed an alligator and we fought another round.
We filled his head with cannon balls, and powdered his behind
And when we touched the powder off, the gator lost his mind.

[Chorus]

Yeah, they ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles
And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn’t go.
They ran so fast that the hounds couldn’t catch ‘em
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.**

[Last Dakotan]

Thanks for the posting.

I never understood why the British simply re-cycled the same tactics that had failed for them 30-40 years previously in the American Revolutionary War.

[hinckley buzzard]

Control of New Orleans and the Mississippi had been a bone of contention from the beginning. At the time of the revolution it was held by the Spanish, then the French. The Brits held the northern reaches of the continent down into the Ohio Valley.

America's westward growth was not simply pacifying and subduing the Indians in otherwise virgin territory. We had Europeans all over the place and none of them were reliable friends.

This was why Washington fretted about "entangling alliances." As President he had had his own fill of them, playing the Spanish, French and British against each other, just trying to get some space for the Republic to breathe.

[dominic flandry]

“Thermopylae had her messenger of defeat-the Alamo had none.”
-Thomas Jefferson Green

(inscription on the first Alamo monument in Austin, Texas)

[steelyourfaith]

Thanx ! Very interesting. Fascinating actually. This is an area of US military history that I've yet to study about. My main interest is the WWII era.

I essentially audited from afar my daughter's freshman college course devoted to the military history of the US a few years back in that she audio taped the lectures and sent them to me for transcription. I also purchased my own set of the recommended literature. The course provided rather superficial coverage of the War of 1812.

[Celtic Cross]

I believe the British deployed about 4,000 men in the attacks? Out of about 11,000?

[Licensed-To-Carry]

See this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEhG7q0Ncpo

[Celtic Cross]

I've always thought what a waste of life this battle was, as the treaty had already been signed.

Its a shame so many men died needlessly.

[SunkenCiv]

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[NailInACoffin]

Thanks for the interesting history lesson. The War of 1812 is definitely one of those forgotten wars in our history.

[VOA]

“
The vast experience of the British Regulars in movement and volley fire was
made useless by the setup of the battlefield and their numerical superiority
became just more cannon fodder.
“

As said in the first Gulf War, Jackson and company experienced
a “target-rich environment”.
And made the best of it.

I do like the two-hour documentary on The History Channel that included
The Battle of New Orleans.

[waterhill]

Bang ping!

Bookmarked.

Thanks SES1066, good stuff!