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N0KFQ > TODAY 08.01.14 18:06l 43 Lines 1736 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Today in History - Jan 8
Path: IZ3LSV<IQ2LB<F1OYP<CT1ENI<N0KFQ<KB0WSA
Sent: 140108/1555Z 10095@KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA BPQK1.4.57
Jan 8, 1815:
The Battle of New Orleans
Two weeks after the War of 1812 officially ended with the signing
of the Treaty of Ghent, U.S. General Andrew Jackson achieves the
greatest American victory of the war at the Battle of New
Orleans.
In September 1814, an impressive American naval victory on Lake
Champlain forced invading British forces back into Canada and led
to the conclusion of peace negotiations in Ghent, Belgium.
Although the peace agreement was signed on December 24, word did
not reach the British forces assailing the Gulf coast in time to
halt a major attack.
On January 8, 1815, the British marched against New Orleans,
hoping that by capturing the city they could separate Louisiana
from the rest of the United States. Pirate Jean Lafitte, however,
had warned the Americans of the attack, and the arriving British
found militiamen under General Andrew Jackson strongly entrenched
at the Rodriquez Canal. In two separate assaults, the 7,500
British soldiers under Sir Edward Pakenham were unable to
penetrate the U.S. defenses, and Jackson's 4,500 troops, many of
them expert marksmen from Kentucky and Tennessee, decimated the
British lines. In half an hour, the British had retreated,
General Pakenham was dead, and nearly 2,000 of his men were
killed, wounded, or missing. U.S. forces suffered only eight
killed and 13 wounded.
Although the battle had no bearing on the outcome of the war,
Jackson's overwhelming victory elevated national pride, which had
suffered a number of setbacks during the War of 1812. The Battle
of New Orleans was also the last armed engagement between the
United States and Britain.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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