/ '/ 
 
 m
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 GIFT OF 
 COMMODORE BYRON MCCANDLESS
 
 THE 
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON, 
 
 TO WHICH IS ADDED 
 
 MEMORABLE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE AMERICAN ARMY AT 
 NEW ORLEANS, IN THE WINTER OF 1814, '15. 
 
 BY ALEXANDER WALKER. 
 
 NEW YORK : 
 
 DERBY & JACKSON, 119 NASSAU STREET. 
 1858.
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, by 
 
 DERBY & JACKSON, 
 In the Clark's Offle of the United States District Court, for the Southern District of New York. 
 
 W. II. TiNiOM, Stereolyper, GIORGK RUSSELL & Co., Printers. 
 
 JJ Centre Street. 61 Beekmsn Street.
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THERE is no campaign in modern military history, which, for its 
 *xtent, was more complete in all its parts, and more brilliant in its 
 results, than that conducted by Andrew Jackson in 1814-15, in the 
 defence of New Orleans. In the brief period of twenty-six days, a town 
 of less than eighteen thousand inhabitants, including all sexes and ages, 
 without forts natural or artificial defences exposed to approach and 
 attack on all sides, by land and water with an army of less than five 
 thousand militia, hastily raised en masse, and illy armed and accoutred 
 was not only successfully defended against a veteran army of ten 
 thousand of the best soldiers in the world, but was made forever 
 glorious by the most brilliant victory, which has been achieved since the 
 invention of gunpowder. The pecnliarities of this victory are the 
 astonishing and unprecedented disparity of loss between the combatants, 
 and the marvellous proofs of steadiness, of skill and rapidity in the use 
 of fire-arms, displayed by the American militia. The splendor of the 
 closing victory has obscured many features of this campaign, which con- 
 tributed largely to the final result, and, as valuable lessons and glorious 
 illustrations of the valor of our citizen soldiers, and of the genius of 
 the great Chief and Hero whose lofty soul was the fountain of inspira- 
 tion, from which all engaged in that defence, drew courage, confidence, 
 and patriotic resolution ought not to be forgotten or hastily glanced 
 over. These sketches have been written with the hope of preventing 
 such unpatriotic lapses of memory in the present generation.
 
 IV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 It is believed that the campaign of 1814-15 has not received full 
 justice, in the narratives, which have been published, the numerous merits 
 of which have been marred by serious errors. By comparing these 
 various versions and by constant consultations with those, who played 
 prominent parts on both sides in this drama, it is believed that the 
 following account, which does not aspire to the dignity of history, and is 
 divested of cumbrous details and of military technicalities, is as faithful 
 and exact as it is practicable to render a narrative of this description. 
 
 There are in most of the histories of this campaign, errors of a serious 
 character, which ought to be corrected before the evidence thereof has 
 perished or disappeared. Personal and political feeling and prejudice, 
 which, in so many histories, have warped and tinged the facts of this 
 epoch, have been studiously excluded from the mind of the writer of 
 these sketches. His sole desire has been to do full justice to American 
 valor and patriotism, and to present truthful and vivid pictures of that 
 memorable defence, and of the cpnduct of the great Chief, who, springing 
 from the people, a frontier warrior, without science, art or experience 
 in military affairs, was enabled through the smiles of Providence, by his 
 stout heart, his sagacious intellect, and ardent patriotism, to repel, punish, 
 and nearly destroy one of the best appointed armies ever sent forth by 
 the greatest Power of the earth. Ought such deeds to be permitted to 
 fade from the memories of a patriotic people ? Is it not a reproach to 
 the present generation, that modern events of far less splendor and 
 
 importance should occupy their minds, to the exclusion of memories like 
 
 
 these we have invoked ? It is demonstratable that in every aspect iu 
 
 which it may be viewed, the defence of Sevastopol iu 1854-55 by the 
 Russians, against the allied armies of Great Britain and France, is far 
 less remarkable as a military exploit, than the defence of New Orleans 
 in 1814-15 ; whilst the operations of the Allies have displayed less reso- 
 lution and energy than were evinced by the veteran army of Packenharn. 
 The occurrence of the former operations presents a favorable occasion 
 for the reproduction of the facts of the last-named campaign, in which 
 will be found some remarkable coincidences, with the events of the 
 Crimean Expedition. Thus, it will be perceived that the failure of the 
 one, and the disastrous delays of the other expedition, may be traced to
 
 INTRODUCTION. V 
 
 oe same cause, namely the lack of promptitude and decision in the 
 ommander of the attacking party. It is conceded on a-11 sides that 
 if the Allied Army had advanced upon, and stormed Sevastopol 
 immediately after the victory at Alma, it could have entered and 
 captured the town. So, it is equally clear that General Keane could 
 have marched into New Orleans after the battle of the 23rd December 
 1814. The strength of earth-works against the most powerful batteries, 
 which was so strongly shown in Jackson's defence, was again illus- 
 trated on the southern side of Sevastopol, against the same British 
 Engineering-officer who constructed the redoubts which Jackson's Artil- 
 lery destroyed in three hoars on the plains of Chalmette, on the first of 
 January 1814 ; this unfortunate officer is Sir John Burgoyne, Inspector 
 of Fortifications in the British army. The lesson at New Orleans should 
 have taught another wholesome truth to the projectors of the Crimean 
 Expedition that of the great peril and difficulty of all attempts 
 to capture a town, the communication of which, with the interior, is 
 left open and unobstructed. In this respect the positions of New 
 Orleans and Sevastopol were identical. Finally these two campaigns 
 have demonstrated this other valuable and encouraging truth ; that in 
 the most remote and exposed points of a united Nation, we often fiud 
 the most brilliant proofs of patriotism, courage, and devotion. 
 
 A. W.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 MM 
 
 PKKUMIXARY CHAPTKB 1 
 
 i. JACKSON'S FIRST ENTKT INTO NEW ORLEANS ... 9 
 
 II. LAFITTE, " THE PIBATB " 31 
 
 HI. LAFITTE, THE PATRIOT -49 
 
 IV. JACKSON CLEARS HIS FLANKS . . . . . .62 
 
 V. THE BRITISH REVIEW AND EMBARKATION .... 77 
 
 VI. BATTLE OF LAKE BORONS 95 
 
 VH. THE BRITISH LANDING AND BIVOUAC 116 
 
 VIII. THE ALARM THE RALLY THE MARCH 138 
 
 IX. BATTLE OF THE TWENTY-THIRD OF DECEMBER, 1814. . . 164 
 
 X. SIR EDWARD PACKENHAM . . . . . . 197 
 
 XI. A DEMONSTRATION AND A DEFEAT 222 
 
 XII. THE BRITISH BRING UP THEIR BIO GUNS . . ... 239 
 
 Xm. BATTLE OF THE BATTERIES 254^ 
 
 XIV. TWO NOTABLE WARRIORS AND REVOLUTIONISTS . . . 273 
 
 XV. PREPARATION FOR THE FINAL CONFLICT . . . .297 
 
 XVI THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS THE VICTORY . . .321 
 
 XVH. BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS THE DISASTER .... 249- 
 
 XVin. CLOSING INCIDENTS 367 
 
 XIX. THE FINALE . - 385 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER , 408
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON, 
 
 PRELIMINARY CHAPTER. 
 
 HUGH JACKSON, tho grandfather of General Jackson, 
 was a linen-draper, and resided near Carrickfergus, on 
 the Lough of Belfast. He had four sons, who were 
 plain respectable farmers, liberal and hospitable, of 
 strict integrity, and, like their forefathers, firm in their 
 adherence to the Church of Scotland. Andrew, the 
 youngest, married Elizabeth Hutchinson, by whom he 
 had two sons, Hugh and Robert, born in Ireland. Tired 
 of the ceaseless turmoil and confusron that distracted 
 the country, and despairing of the success of any at- 
 tempt to relieve the Irish people from the grievances 
 of which they complained, he sold his farm, and, in 
 1765, determined to seek a more tranquil and peaceful 
 home in the western wilderness. Accompanied by 
 three of his neighbors, James, Robert, and Joseph 
 Crawford, the first of whom had married a sister of his 
 wife, he embarked for America with his family, and 
 landed in safety, at Charleston, South Carolina. 
 
 u-
 
 X LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 Dissatisfied with the low country bordering on the 
 coast, the immigrants pushed into the interior of the 
 colony. Lands were purchased, and they all settled 
 near each other, on Waxhaw Creek, one of the branches 
 of the Catawba, in Lancaster district, about forty-five 
 miles from Camden, and near the boundary line of 
 North Carolina. Here, in this fine and healthy region, 
 agreeably diversified with hills and dales, and drained 
 by the romantic Catawba, Andrew Jackson, the younger, 
 was born, on the fifteenth day of March, 1767. 
 
 Not long after the birth of his third son, the elder 
 Jackson died, leaving to his wife and children a limited 
 property, yet with an honest and unsullied name. A 
 double duty now devolved on the surviving parent. 
 Faithfully and nobly was it discharged. To the resolute 
 firmness and unflinching fortitude of the Spartan mother, 
 she united the piety and resignation, the trustful faith 
 and confidence, of the devoted Christian. Naturally 
 gifted with a strong mind, early disciplined in the school 
 of adversity, and strengthened by Him who is ever the 
 stay and helper of the widow and orphan, no difficulties 
 deterred her from the accomplishment of her high and 
 holy task. 
 
 The property of which Mrs. Jackson was left in pos- 
 session, consisted of a new farm, without slaves ; and it 
 required the constant practice of the most rigid economy 
 and prudence, to enable her to provide for the main- 
 tenance and education of her three young sons. After 
 ber husband's death, she, took charge of Mr. Crawford's
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. XI 
 
 family her sister, Mrs. Crawford, being in feeble 
 health. Her two younger sons, Robert and Andrew, 
 remained with her, and the oldest went to reside with a 
 neighbor. Hugh and Robert received only a common- 
 school education ; but Andrew was designed by the, 
 perhaps, partial mother, for a more enlarged sphere of 
 usefulness. She intended him for the church, and there- 
 fore sent him to the Waxhaw Academy, then under the 
 charge of Mr. Humphries, where he acquired a know- 
 ledge of the various English branches taught at that 
 time, and had made considerable progress in the Latin 
 and Greek languages, when the ravages of the revolu- 
 tionary war, approaching nearer to this remote settle- 
 ment, put an end to his studies. 
 
 Boys though they were, the young Jacksons became 
 deeply imbued with the prevailing spirit. This was 
 especially the case with Andrew, who longed for the 
 hour to arrive, when he would be able to shoulder a 
 musket, and perform some doughty enterprise, in de- 
 fence of the liberties of his country. 
 
 The officers charged with what proved to be the 
 Sisyphiau task of subjugating the colonial rebels, made 
 their first principal efforts m the northern provinces. 
 Foiled, or beaten here, they turned their attention to the 
 South. Savannah was reduced in December, 1778, 
 and South Carolina invaded in the spring of 1779. 
 Among those who marched out to meet the enemy, was 
 Hugh Jackson, the oldest of the three brothers ; he be- 
 longed to the company commanded by Captain, after-
 
 ill LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 wards Colonel Davie, and was present at the battle of 
 Stono, on the twentieth of June, where he lost his life 
 from the excessive heat of the day. Early in 1780, a 
 more formidable effort was made by the enemy, in 
 South Carolina. Charleston was invested by a strong 
 force, under Sir Henry Clinton, on the thirtieth of 
 March ; General Lincoln, then at the head of the South- 
 ern army, stoutly defended the post, but was compelled 
 to capitulate on the twelfth of May. 
 
 Not long after, Lord Rawdon was dispatched by Corn- 
 wallis into the Waxhaw settlement, with a large body 
 of troops, to practice the same sanguinary measures 
 which had been adopted in other parts of the province. 
 Upon the fall of Charleston, marauding parties of British 
 dragoons were sent out to scour the country ; the timid 
 were conciliated, and the refractory punished ; rapine, 
 murder, and violence, were committed with impunity ; 
 members of the same family were arrayed against each 
 other, and all were made to suifer the misery and 
 wretchedness ever attendant on civil war. The loyalists, 
 or Tories gladly hailed the appearance of the British 
 troops ; others consented to take protection, as it was 
 called, in the hope, often a mistaken one of enjoying an 
 immunity from attack ; but there were many who refused 
 to waver in their allegiance to the Confederation. 
 
 Mrs. Jackson and her two sons, with a number of the 
 Waxhaw settlers, retired before Lord Rawdon, into 
 North Carolina, where they remained for several days, 
 and until he was recalled to Camden. Resistance had
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. Xlll 
 
 now nearly ceased; and the British officers began to 
 flatter themselves with the belief that the province was 
 completely subdued. But a few weeks elapsed, how- 
 ever, ere General Sumter, who resided near the Wax- 
 haws, returned from North Carolina, where he had also 
 been a voluntary exile, and raised the patriot standard, 
 at the head of his small but gallant band. Other par- 
 tisan corps, under Marion, Pickens, and Davie, were 
 soon formed. "Without pay ; scantily supplied with 
 clothing and subsistence ; provided with guns of every 
 form and calibre, and swords and lances fashioned out 
 of the rude implements of husbandry ; and mainly rely- 
 ing for ammunition on their captures from the enemy, 
 these brave yeomen rendezvoused in the swamps and 
 forests of South Carolina, where the bivouacked, night 
 after night, in the open air, and from which they darted 
 forth on detached parties of British and Tories, like the 
 eagle on its prey. 
 
 On the thirtieth of July, General Sumter, with about 
 six hundred men, made an unsuccessful attack on the 
 advanced post of the British, at Rocky Mount. Three 
 desperate efforts demonstrated the impracticability of 
 carrying the enemy's fortifications, and being entirely 
 without cannon, he was obliged to draw off his com- 
 mand. He was now reinforced by a party of the Wax- 
 haw settlers, under Colonal Davie, and, on the sixth 
 of August, proceeded against the post at Hanging 
 Rock, midway between Camden and the Waxhaws. 
 The first onset was attended with complete success.
 
 XIV LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 The enemy were driven from their camp, and took shel- 
 ter in the main work. Unfortunately, many of Sum- 
 *er's men had fasted so long, that they preferred search- 
 "ng for something to eat and drink, rather than to 
 advance and secure the victory, by carrying the post, 
 which might then have been easily accomplished. A 
 quantity of liquor was found in the camp, and they com- 
 menced drinking, in opposition to the urgent remon- 
 strances of their commander. Apprehending the worst 
 consequences if they remained, he resolved to retire to 
 his encampment before they became wholly ungovern- 
 able. 
 
 The corps of Colonel Davie particularly distinguished 
 itself on this occasion. Prominent among its members, 
 were Lieutenant James Crawford, and Robert and 
 Andrew Jackson the latter a mere stripling, but 
 thirteen years of age ; yet, in heart and soul, he was a 
 man. This was his first battle, and the accounts we 
 have of it show that both he and his brother rendered 
 good service. 
 
 Besides other affairs, of minor importance, but equally 
 honorable to the American cause, the battle of the 
 Cowpens, and the masterly retreat of General Greene, 
 took place during the ensuing winter, while Mrs. Jack- 
 son and her sons, with other "Waxhaw settlers, remained 
 in North Carolina. Early in February, 1 781, Cornwallis 
 crossed the Yadkin, in pursuit of Greene ; and she and 
 her friends thereupon returned to their homes, although 
 they were in the immediate vicinity of the British posts,
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. XV 
 
 and the country around was full of armed parties of 
 Tories, whose cruelties and enormities were every day 
 becoming more barbarous and revolting. 
 
 The struggle now began to assume, especially in the 
 Carolinas, a yet more direful aspect. A fierce war of 
 extermination was waged between Whigs and Tories. 
 The two parties, or factions call them what we may 
 could not exist on the same soil. The former had im- 
 perilled everything in the effort to secure their indepen- 
 dence, and they fought for the safety, not merely of 
 themselves, but of their wives and children, their pro- 
 perty, their all ! Boys, as well as men, engaged in this 
 bloody warfare, and it was amid its trying scenes, that 
 the stern and inflexible daring and resolution were 
 formed and manifested, which distinguished Andrew 
 Jackson in after life. 
 
 After the departure of Cornwallis from South Caro- 
 lina, Lord Rawdon, whose head-quarters were at Cam- 
 den, was left in command. By this time, the stubborn 
 patriotism of the Waxhaw settlers was well understood ; 
 and on being advised of their return, he dispatched 
 Major Coffin, with a corps of light dragoons, a company 
 of infantry, and a number of Tories, to capture them. 
 On being informed of their danger, the settlers resolved 
 that they would no longer fly, but maintain their ground 
 at all hazards. A day was appointed for the male in- 
 habitants in the settlement, capable of bearing arms, to 
 assemble at the Waxhaw meeting-house, which was fixed 
 upon as the place of rendezvous. Punctual, at the time
 
 XVI LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 and place, about forty of the settlers Robert and An- 
 drew Jackson being among the number had collected, 
 and were waiting for a friendly company, under Captain 
 Nesbit, when they saw what they supposed to be the 
 expected reinforcement but which, in reality, was the 
 detachment of Major Coffin, with the Tories, who wore 
 the usual dress of the country, in front approaching 
 at a rapid rate. The deception was not discovered, till 
 the British dashed in among them, cleaving down all 
 who stood in their way. Eleven, of the party were 
 taken prisoners ; the remainder sprang upon their 
 horses, and most of them made their escape. 
 
 Andrew Jackson was accompanied in his flight by his 
 cousin, Lieutenant Thomas Crawford ; but, in passing 
 over a piece of marshy ground, the horse of the latter 
 mired and fell, and he was wounded and taken prisoner. 
 Young Jackson, shortly after encountered his brother, 
 who had also eluded pursuit. They remained together 
 during the night, and, at dawn on the following morn- 
 ing, concealed themselves in a dense thicket, on the 
 bank of Cain Creek, near the house of Lieutenant 
 Crawford. During the day they became very hungry, 
 and, deeming themselves secure, ventured out to the 
 house. A boy was directed to watch the road; but 
 while they were satisfying their hunger, a band of 
 Tories and dragoons, who had discovered their retreat, 
 and captured their horses and guns, which were left 
 behind them, suddenly made their appearance, and sur- 
 rounded the house. Resistance could be of no avail,
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. XV11 
 
 and escape was impossible. They therefore surrendered 
 themselves prisoners of war. 
 
 Not content with the capture of the two young men, 
 the dragoons and Tories commenced abusing and mal 
 treating Mrs. Crawford and her children. The crockery 
 and furniture in the house were broken in pieces ; and 
 the beds and bedding, and all the clothing of the family 
 including that of an infant at the breast, was torn into 
 shreds. While the work of destruction was going on, 
 the British officer, in command of the party, directed 
 Andrew Jackson to clean the mud from his boots. As 
 might be supposed, he indignantly refused to do the 
 menial office. Enraged at this reply, the officer drew 
 his sword, and aimed a dastard blow at the head of his 
 unarmed prisoner. The latter parried it with his left 
 hand, but, in so doing received a cut, the scar of which 
 was carried to his grave. Disappointed in the spirit of 
 the intrepid youth, the officer turned to his brother, and 
 required him to perform the task. Robert likewise re- 
 fused ; a furious blow from the infuriated Briton was the 
 consequence, and a wound was inflicted, from the effect 
 of which his victim never recovered. 
 
 After this, the two Jacksons, with about twenty other 
 prisoners, were mounted on captured horses, and the 
 party set out on their return to Camden. Not a mouth- 
 ful of food, or a drop of water, was given them on the 
 road ; and when they reached Camden, they were thrust 
 into a redoubt surrounding the jail, in which some two 
 hundred and fifty prisoners, besides those taken at the
 
 XV111 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 Waxhaws, were confined. Here they were stripped of 
 part of their clothing Andrew losing his jacket and 
 shoes ; their wounds were undressed ; no attention was 
 paid to their wants ; and when the relationship between 
 the two Jacksons and Lieutenant Crawford was dis- 
 covered, they were instantly separated, and kept in 
 ignorance of each other's fate. The Provost was a Tory 
 from New York, who, it was afterwards said, took tho 
 provisions intended for the prisoners, to feed a number 
 of negroes whom he had collected from different "Whig 
 plantations, with the intention of disposing of them for 
 his own benefit. Be that as it may, the prisoners were 
 but sparingly supplied with bad bread ; and to add to 
 their wretchedness, the smallpox appeared among them, 
 and made frightful ravages. 
 
 Amid the accumulated horrors of his prison-house 
 with sickness and starvation staring him in the face, the 
 groans of the dying constantly ringing in his ears, and 
 hourly exposed to the ill-treatment of his captors, 
 Andrew Jackson never lost the fearlessness of spirit 
 which ever distinguished him. Availing himself of a 
 favorably opportunity, he boldly remonstrated with the 
 officer of the guard, in behalf of Limself and his suffer- 
 ing companions. His remonstrances had the desired 
 effect; meat was added to the rations, and, in other 
 respects, the condition of the prisoners was decidedly 
 improved. 
 
 Matters were in this situation, when General Greeno 
 returned from North Carolina, in April, 1781, and en-
 
 LIFE OF ANDEEW JACKSON. XIX 
 
 camped, with his army, on Hobkirk's Hill, a little over 
 a mile north of Camden, waiting only the arrival of his 
 cannon, before making his dispositions to assault the 
 pbst 
 
 On the morning of the twenty-fourth of April, An- 
 drew Jackson discovered indications of a design to 
 attack General Greene. The jail and redoubt stood on 
 the eminence upon which Caindcu is situated, and a 
 fine view would have been afforded of the encampment 
 on Hobkirk's Hill, had not the British taken the pre- 
 caution to construct a high and tight plank fence on 
 the redoubt, immediately after the arrival of the Ameri- 
 can army in the neighborhood. He was determined, 
 nevertheless, to obtain a view of the anticipated con- 
 flict ; and by working nearly all night with an old razor- 
 blade, furnished the prisoners to cut their rations, he 
 succeeded in digging out a knot in one of the planks. 
 When Lord Haw don led out his men, on the morning of 
 the twenty-fifth, for a bold stroke at the American 
 leader, Andrew mounted the breastwork, and placed 
 himself at the look-out, while his fellow-prisoners gath- 
 ered in groups below him, listening attentively, as he 
 detailed the varied incidents of the day. 
 
 His voice was tremulous with apprehension, as he 
 informed his companions, that the Americans had been 
 taken unawares, and their pickets were driven in; it 
 was pitched to a louder key, when the cannon of Greene 
 opened their brazen throats, and vomited forth torrents 
 of flame and iron, tearing and rending through the
 
 XX LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 British columns ; again it sank, as the enemy rallied, 
 and pushed boldly forward ; it rose once more, when 
 the regiments of Ford and Campbell pressed gallantly 
 upon their flank when Washington and his brave dra- 
 goons came thundering down in their rear and he 
 caught sight of the glistening bayonets of the 1st Mary- 
 land, and the Yirginians, as they prepared to charge 
 home upon their assailants ; it fell again as the veteran 
 regiment of Gunby recoiled before the British fire, and 
 died away into a whisper, when all hope of deliverance 
 vanished, as the beaten, but not routed Greene, retired 
 slowly over the hill, and the pursuit was only checked 
 by the timely charge of Washington's cavalry. 
 
 The Jacksons were not deserted by one friend, in their 
 confinement the mother who had reared them to serve 
 their country, and who knew no prouder joy than to 
 see them do their duty well. She followed them to 
 Camden, to aid and succor them, and, soon after the 
 battle of Hobkirk's Hill, procured their exchange, with 
 five of their neighbors, for thirteen British soldiers, 
 captured by a Whig partisan captain, by the name of 
 Walker. Pale, emaciated, barefooted, almost naked, 
 and infected with the smallpox, they presented them- 
 selves before their surviving parent. The wound in 
 Robert's head had never been dressed; and this, in 
 connection with hunger, and the disease that had fast- 
 ened itself upon him, had reduced him so low, that he 
 was unable even to ride, except as he was held on a 
 horse.
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. XXI 
 
 There were but two horses for the whole party, con- 
 sisting of Mrs. Jackson and her sons, and the other 
 released prisoners, who accompanied them home. Mrs. 
 Juckson rode one, and Robert was supported on the 
 other by his companions. Thus wearily and sadly, did 
 they perform their melancholy journey of more than 
 forty miles, through a country blighted by the ravages 
 of war, as if the lightnings of Heaven had scathed it, 
 AVithin two hours' ride of the Waxhaws, they were 
 overtaken by a shower of rain, by which the company 
 were completely drenched. The smallpox was driven 
 in on botU the boys ; Robert died in two days ; and 
 Andrew at once became delirious. TUe fever raged 
 violently for several days, and his case was regarded 
 nearly hopeless. The kind nursing of his patient and 
 devoted mother, and the attentions of his physician, at 
 length triumphed over the disease, and restored him to 
 consciousness and health. 
 
 He had scarcely repovered his strength, when his 
 mother, with characteristic energy and fortitude, in 
 company with four or five- other ladies, providing them- 
 selves with such necessaries as could be conveniently 
 carried on horseback, set out to visit a number of the 
 Waxhaw settlers, including some of the CJrawfords, 
 who had been taken by the enemy, and were confined 
 on board the Charleston prison-ship whose history, 
 like that of the Old Jersey, at New York, is but a tale 
 of unmitigated horror and suffering. These good 
 Samaritan women reached Charleston, obtained per
 
 
 XX11 LIFE OF ANDKEW JACKSON. 
 
 mission to visit the vessel a privilege that had always 
 been refused to relatives and friends of the other sex 
 and delivered the supplies which they had brought. 
 Mrs. Jackson, however, never returned from this errand 
 of love and mercy. Enfeebled by constant care and 
 privation, worn down by the numerous hardships and 
 fatigues which she had endured, she was seized with 
 the fever prevailing among the prisoners, which soon 
 terminated her existence. She was buried near the 
 enemy's lines, in the vicinity of Charleston, in an 
 unknown grave ; but her memory, in after times, was 
 doubly honored, as that of the noble, self-sacrificing 
 mother, of Andrew Jackson ! 
 
 Solitary and alone, her orphan son, at the time when 
 he most needed the care and advice of a parent, was 
 cast upon the world, to buffet, as he might, the billows 
 of adverse fortune. His home was, indeed, desolate. 
 Like Logan, there ran not a drop of his blood in the 
 veins of any living creature. Mother and brothers 
 all had perished the victims of English cruelty ! Is it 
 to be wondered, then, that he cherished such a feeling 
 of animosity towards the British name ; or that he 
 hated everything akin to oppression, with a hatred so 
 deep and fervent ? 
 
 Andrew Jackson remained, for some time subsequent 
 to the death of his mother, at the house of Major 
 Thomas Crawford ; but, in consequence of a difficulty 
 with Captain Galbraith, an American commissary, 
 whose quarters were at the same place, and who
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. XXH1 
 
 became offended with him for some trifling cause, ho 
 afterwards entered the family of Mr. Joseph White, an 
 uncle of Mrs. Crawford. Mr. White's son was a 
 saddler, and Andrew, though suffering all the while 
 with the fever and ague, entered his shop, and assisted 
 him as far as he was able. 
 
 Subsequently, young Jackson collected together the 
 remains of his small property, and, bidding adieu to his 
 friends, repaired to Salisbury, in North Carolina ; where 
 he commenced the study of the law, in the office of 
 Spruce McCay, an eminent counsellor, and afterwards 
 a distinguished judge of that State. His untiring 
 industry and zeal, his talents, and his correct and manly 
 deportment, soon won the favorable esteem of Judge 
 McCay, and other prominent citizens of North Carolina, 
 whose acquaintance he formed. His professional studies 
 were completed under Colonel John Stokes, and, in 
 1786, he was admitted to the bar. He remained in the 
 State about two years subsequent to this, constantly 
 gaining ground in the regard of his new friends and 
 acquaintances; and in 1788, at the age of twenty-one, 
 without solicitation on his part, he was appointed by 
 the governor, solicitor for the western district, which 
 afterwards became the State of Tennessee. 
 
 Near the close of the year 1788, in company with 
 John McNairy, the newly appointed judge of the west- 
 ern district, he crossed the mountains, for the purpose 
 of entering upon his official duties, and establishing 
 himself in practice. Jonesborough was then the prin-
 
 XXIV LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 cipal seat of justice, and they remained there for several 
 months. 
 
 In 1789, Judge McNairy, and his friend, first visited 
 the infant settlements on the Cumberland, including 
 that at French Creek, near the present site of Nash- 
 ville. Jackson was still undecided in regard to locating 
 permanently in the district, when he arrived at the set- 
 tlements on the Cumberland. He found, however, that 
 the debtor class constituted a large proportion of the 
 population, and that, having retained the only lawyer 
 in West Tennessee in their interest, they were enabled 
 to set their creditors at defiance. The latter nocked 
 around him in crowds, and in a few days after his 
 arrival he issued a great number of writs. Threats of 
 personal violence were employed, in vain, to intimidate 
 him ; they had only the opposite effect, and induced him 
 to remain, and establish himself in the neighborhood 
 of Nashville. At that time there were no hotels, or 
 regular boarding-houses, in the country, and none were 
 needed, as travellers, men of business, and professional 
 men, were cheerfully entertained by private families- 
 Jackson, and the late Judge Overton, boarded together, 
 with Mrs. Donelson, the widow of Colonel John Donel 
 Bon, who had, some years previous, emigrated from 
 Virginia to Kentucky, and thence to Tennessee. 
 
 When Andrew Jackson entered the family of Mrs. 
 Donelson as a boarder, her daughter, Kachael, who had 
 marriecj. a man by the name of Robards, in Kentucky, 
 but had separated from him on account of his violent
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. XXV 
 
 temper and vicious habits, resided with her. Judge 
 Overtoil and himself occupied another cabin, a few 
 steps distant from, that in which Mrs. Donelson lived, 
 but met with her family, at the same table. Mrs. 
 Robards was as distinguished for her beauty, her sweet- 
 ness of temper, and her winning deportment, as was her 
 husband for the possession of the opposite qualities. 
 Through the mediation of Judge Overtoil, Kobards was 
 at one time reconciled to his wife, rejoined her at Mrs. 
 Donelson's, and commenced preparations for erecting a 
 cabin, on a tract of land that he had purchased, in 
 which he intended to reside. 
 
 Jackson was then a young man, frank and engaging 
 in his manners, and fond of female society. He 
 undoubtedly paid Mrs. Robards many flattering atten- 
 tions, which neither thinking anght of evil, or cherish- 
 ing an impure thought were reciprocated as they 
 deserved, with kindness and friendly esteem, but noth- 
 ing more. So far from rendering her husband more 
 morose and ill-tempered, this should only have led him 
 to appreciate better her charms and social virtues, and 
 encouraged him to become more pleasing and agree- 
 able. But lagos were not wanting to instill the doubts 
 and suspicions of jealousy, had not his gloomy and dis- 
 trustful temperament predisposed him to such impres- 
 sions. She was, in consequence, rendered very un- 
 happy. On being made acquainted with this fact, 
 Jackson sought an interview with her husband, and 
 remonstrated with him, in a manly and honorable way.
 
 XXVI LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 This was of no avail, and he then left Mrs. Donelson's, 
 and took board at Mansker's Station. 
 
 The excited jealousy of the husband could not be 
 allayed, however ; and, in a few months, he abandoned 
 his wife a second time, and started for Kentucky de- 
 claring to a companion on the road, that he designed 
 never to return. Mrs. Robards now determined that 
 the separation should be final; and on being afterwards 
 informed that he intended to visit Tennessee and take 
 her back with him to Kentucky, under the advice of 
 her friends, she accompanied the family of Colonel 
 Stark to Natchez, in the spring of 1791. Stark was an 
 elderly man, and fearing that the Indians might attack 
 him, he invited Jackson to make one of the party. 
 The latter, perhaps unwisely though he certainly 
 never regretted it accepted the invitation, and de- 
 scended the rivers with them, to Natchez. 
 
 Robards had previously applied to the Legislature of 
 Virginia for a divorce, and, soon after the return of 
 Jackson to Nashville, the intelligence was received that 
 his application had been granted. Desirous of testify- 
 ing to the world, in the highest and most solemn man 
 ner, his confidence in her purity and innocence pleased 
 alike with the charms of her person and the graces of 
 her mind, and deeming her at perfect liberty to form a 
 new connection, Jackson forthwith repaired to Natchez, 
 and tendered his hand to Mrs. Robards. She at first 
 hesitated, but finally accepted him. They were married 
 In the fall, and she returned with him to the Cumber-
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. XXV11 
 
 .and, where she was greeted with the warm and affec- 
 tionate congratulations of her relatives and friends. 
 
 Two years after this marriage in December, 1793, 
 Jackson was on his way to Jonesborough, with Judge 
 Overton, when he learned, for the first time, equally to 
 his chagrin and surprise, that the intelligence received 
 in 1791, and upon which he had acted, was incorrect. 
 Robards had, in 1791, procured the passage of an act in 
 the Virginia Legislature, authorizing a suit to be brought 
 for a divorce in a court in Kentucky, which suit had 
 just been determined in his favor no opposition, of 
 course, being made to the proceedings. Communica- 
 tions between the Atlantic country and the interior were 
 then very irregular, and the exact particulars of the 
 affair were not known, or inquired into, as it was uni- 
 versally supposed in Tennessee, that the divorce had 
 been actually granted. On his return home, in January, 
 1794, Jackson took out a license, and was now regu- 
 larly married. 
 
 The circumstances of his acquaintance and marriage 
 with Mrs. Hobards were long after seized upon by his 
 opponents, when he became connected with the political 
 controversies of the day, as a candidate for the presi- 
 dency, and were made the foundation of unmerited and 
 groundless calumnies. There were features in the case, 
 which, unexplained, might appear suspicions ; but the 
 evidence of all who were personally acquainted with 
 them, whese assertions are worthy of a moment's con- 
 sideration, acquit both parties of blame, and bear wit-
 
 XXV111 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 ness to the correct demeanor of Mrs. Robards, and the 
 chivalric conduct of Andrew Jackson. " While he 
 would have sacrificed his life," says his biographer, " to 
 prevent Mrs. Robards' falling unwillingly into the hands 
 of her cruel tormenter, her husband though he was, he 
 never cast a look upon her, or indulged a thought, un- 
 worthy of .the purest knight in the days of honorable 
 chivalry. But, when no longer restrained by law, honor 
 or religion, pity, admiration, and a species of regret, 
 though free from guilt, yet akin to remorse, kindled 
 into love as pure and as holy as ever glowed in the heart 
 of man. Nor was the object unworthy of this exalted 
 passion. The united testimony of all who had the plea- 
 sure of her acquaintance, the happiness which during 
 life she shed over the domestic circle, radiating into 
 the cabins of her servants and the houses of her neigh- 
 bors, and, above all, the sacred fervor with which the 
 bosom on which she rested in youth, cherishes her 
 memory, bear unequivocal testimony, that she was one 
 of the best of those beings whom God has given as the 
 companion and solace of man." 
 
 After his marriage, Jackson devoted himself with 
 more assiduity than ever to the practice of his profes- 
 sion. His firm and independent course in espousing 
 the cause of the creditors, though it elevated him in the 
 esteem of the better part of the community, rendered 
 the debtors peculiarly inimical towards him. 
 
 In the course of his practice as a lawyer, Jackson dis- 
 covered that extensive frauds had been committed in
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. XX13 
 
 the .North Carolina Land-office, which he deemed it 
 his duty, as the former attorney of that State, to expose. 
 Through his instrumentality, the perpetrators were in- 
 dicted and punished. Some of the most prominent citi- 
 zens of the western district were directly, or indirectly, 
 concerned in these transactions, and had profited largely 
 by them. Consequently, he incurred their hostility ; 
 and they sought by every means to injure him. In 
 the state of society then existing, a man, like him, ex- 
 posed to the hatred of powerful enemies, may be said 
 to have constantly carried his life in his hand. Unawed 
 by threats, he pursued his way steadily and unerringly 
 daily adding to the number of his friends, and gain- 
 ing ground in the confidence and regard of the wise and 
 good. 
 
 The necessary preliminary measures for the formation 
 of a state government, were taken by the citizens of 
 Tennessee, in 1795 ; and Andrew Jackson was chosen 
 one of the delegates to the convention, without even 
 offering himself as a candidate. The forest Solons and 
 Numas composing that body, met at Knoxville, in the 
 wilderness, on the eleventh of January, 1796, and ad- 
 journed on the sixth day of February following; hav- 
 ing in the short space of less than four weeks, framed 
 and adopted a state constitution, which, for its republi- 
 can simplicity, compared most favorably with those of 
 other states. 
 
 On the first day of June, 1796, Tennessee was admit 
 ed into the Union as a State, and became entitled to
 
 XXX LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 one representative in Congress. Andrew Jackson was 
 elected to the office, with great unanimity, and took 
 his seat in the House of Representatives on the fifth 
 of December, 1796. His reputation and popularity 
 continuing to increase, he was chosen a senator in Con- 
 gress the following year, when he had just reached the 
 age prescribed by the Constitution. He appeared in 
 the Senate of the United States on the twenty-second 
 of November, 179T. At this session, the alien and 
 sedition laws were passed. Jackson coincided and voted 
 with the republican members, and was therefore in 
 the minority. During the session, he became so much 
 dissatisfied with the course of the administration, to 
 which he was opposed in sentiment, that he returned 
 home in April, 1798, and shortly after resigned his seat. 
 He was succeeded by his friend and neighbor, Daniel 
 Smith. 
 
 Upon his resignation of the office of senator, Jackson 
 was appointed, by the Legislature of Tennessee, Judge 
 of the Supreme Court of Law and Equity. The office 
 was conferred on him unsolicited, and was accepted 
 with reluctance. 
 
 His first court was held at Jonesborough, at which a 
 man by the name of Russell Bean was indicted for 
 cutting off the ears of his infant child, in a drunken 
 frolic. The sheriff dared not arrest the offender, who 
 was notorious for his strength and ferocity, though pre- 
 sent in the courtyard, and returned to the court, that 
 he would not be taken. Judge Jackson told the officer
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. XXXI 
 
 that such a return was an absurdity, arid that the man 
 must be taken, even though it became necessary to 
 summon the posse comitatus. When the court adjourned 
 for dinner, the sheriff summoned the judge and his col- 
 leagues, as part of the posse. Jackson saw that the 
 officer desired to avoid performing his duty, and there- 
 fore accompanied him. Learning that Bean was armed, 
 he provided himself with a loaded pistol. At sight of 
 him, the former attempted to make his escape ; but the 
 judge directing him to stop and submit to the law, in 
 a tone that showed he was not to be trifled with, his 
 weapons were thrown down, and he quietly surrendered. 
 This incident was not lost upon other turbulent spirits 
 who had previously treated courts and officers with 
 contempt, and nothing of the kind was afterwards at- 
 tempted. 
 
 In 1801, an election was held by the brigadiers and 
 field-officers of Major General Conway's division, to fill 
 the vacancy occasioned by his death. Andrew Jackson, 
 and John Sevier, formerly governor of the State, were 
 competitors for the office; and the vote was equally 
 divided between them. The appointment then devolved 
 upon Governor Roane, who wisely conferred it on 
 Andrew Jackson. 
 
 Governor Sevier was connected, to some extent, witli 
 a combination of land jobbers at Nashville, associated 
 together for the purpose of manufacturing fraudulent 
 grants of land, which Jackson had aided in breaking 
 up. This circumstance, and the preference of Governor
 
 XXX11 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 Uoane, rendered him a most implacable enemy and 
 opponent. In 1803, he was a candidate for re-election 
 as governor, and in the course of the canvass, his anti- 
 pathy towards Judge Jackson was imbibed by his party 
 friends. This was particularly the case in East Ten- 
 nessee. In the fall, the judge proceeded to Jones 
 borough, to hold his court; and, having been taken 
 seriously ill on the road, he retired to his room, imme- 
 diately after his arrival, and lay down 011 the bed. In 
 a few moments he was waited on by a friend, who 
 begged him to lock his door informing him that a 
 large mob had collected, under a Colonel Harrison, and 
 loudly threatened to tar and feather him. Jackson 
 declined securing his door, but throwing it wide open, 
 sent his friend to Colonel Harrison, with the message, 
 that he was ready to receive him and his party, when- 
 ever they chose to wait on him, and that he hoped 
 the colonel's chivalry would induce him to lead his 
 men, and not follow them. This bold message operated 
 like a charm ; the mob dispersed ; Colonel Harrison 
 apologized for his conduct, and thereafter remained on 
 good terms with Jackson. 
 
 The next court held by the latter, was at Knox- 
 ville, where the Legislature were then in session. They 
 had just investigated the land frauds, of which mention 
 has been made, and had found some evidence tending 
 to implicate Governor Sevier. His excellency evinced 
 a great deal of exasperation, and on leaving the court- 
 house, on the first day of the term, Judge Jackson
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. XXX111 
 
 found a large crowd gathered in front of the building, 
 in the midst of which was Governor Sevier, with a 
 sword in his hand, haranguing them in a violent man- 
 ner. An altercation ensued between them, in which 
 the governor was the aggressor, and the judge sent 
 him a challenge. This was accepted, but the governor 
 failed to give the promised meeting, and Jackson at 
 once published him in the usual form. A second meet- 
 ing was then appointed to take place, though without 
 any formal arrangement. 
 
 Jackson repaired to the designated spot, but the 
 governor failed to meet him. After waiting two days, 
 he set out to return to Knoxville, but had proceeded 
 only a short distance, when he encountered Governor 
 Sevier, escorted by about twenty men, and armed with 
 a brace of pistols and a sword. His friend instantly 
 bore a challenge to the governor, who refused to receive 
 it. Jackson was provided with a brace of pistols and 
 a cane. On the return of his friend, with the insulting 
 message of the governor, he levelled his cane, as the 
 knight in olden times couched his spear in the rest, 
 and dashed furiously upon his opponent. The latter 
 hastily dismounted, in order to avoid the shock, but, 
 in so doing, trod on the scabbard of his sword, and was 
 thus rendered incapable of resistance. In the gover- 
 nor's escort there were mutual friends of both parties, 
 who interfered to prevent any further collision, and 
 Jackson accompanied them back to Knoxville. 
 
 Although Jackson was always prompt to defend him-
 
 XUE1V LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 self from insult or injury, these altercations and disputes 
 weie by no means congenial to his spirit, and, antici- 
 pating their more frequent recurrence, for the reason 
 that a number of cases, growing out of the fraudulent 
 land sales, were about to be brought before him for 
 decision, he concluded to retire from the bench ; and 
 his resignation was accepted by the Legislature, on the 
 twenty-fourth of July, 1804, about six years after his 
 original appointment. 
 
 Previous to his resignation of the judgeship, the 
 services of General Jackson, in a military capacity, 
 were invoked by the General Government, in conse- 
 quence of the threatening aspect of its relations with 
 Spain, which had taken umbrage at the purchase of 
 Louisiana from France. Preparations were made to 
 reinforce General Wilkinson, then at Natchez, at the 
 head of a small force, with fifteen hundred men from 
 the upper couLtry, including five hundred cavalry from 
 Tennessee. In October, 1803, General Jackson was 
 requested to procure, without delay, a sufficient number 
 of boats to transport the troops to New Orleans, and 
 to keep them in readiness. The request was complied 
 with ; the boats were procured ; and the general ten- 
 dered his services to the government if they should be 
 needed. 
 
 The firmness, caution, and prudence of Jefferson, 
 rendered a resort to arms unnecessary; and in Feb- 
 ruary, 1804, General Jackson sold the boats prepared 
 for the expedition down the Mississippi. After resign
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. XXXV 
 
 ing the office of judge, General Jackson retired to a 
 plantation on the Cumberland, which he had purchased, 
 to enjoy what he had long coveted, the quiet scenes of 
 domestic life, its gentleness and tranquillity, and the 
 society of his devoted wife. His fortune was not large, 
 hut amply sufficient to satisfy his wants. He devoted 
 most of his time to superintending the labor on his 
 plantation, setting an example of methodical industry 
 and careful economy, worthy of general imitation, and 
 often wielding the axe or guiding the plough, with his 
 own hands. Fond of society, and frank and generous 
 by nature, he was distinguished far and wide for his 
 hospitality ; and it was remarked of him, that " though 
 he was a private citizen, he was the most public man 
 in Tennessee." 
 
 A match race was agreed upon by him, and a Mr. 
 Erwin and his son-in-law, Charles Dickinson, between 
 their two horses, for a wager of two thousand dollars, 
 with a forfeiture of eight hundred dollars, to be paid 
 in cash notes. Erwin and Dickinson subsequently chose 
 to pay the forfeit, and withdraw their horse. Some 
 difficulty arose in regard to the character of the notes 
 offered, but it was finally adjusted to the apparent 
 satisfaction of all parties. But the enemies of Jackson 
 were anxious that he should fight a duel with Dickin- 
 son, who was reputed to be the best shot in the country. 
 Through them, the dispute was revived. Several pub- 
 lications appeared in the newspapers, Dickinson grew 
 more and more insulting, and at length made a direct
 
 XXXVI LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 imputation of cowardice. Jackson could endure hia 
 provocations no longer, and on the twenty-third of May, 
 1806, sent him a challenge. It was accepted by Dick- 
 inson,, and the meeting was arranged to take place at 
 Harrison's Mills, Kentucky, on the thirtieth instant. 
 . Dickinson spent the intervening time in practising, 
 frequently boasting how often he had hit his opponent 
 chalked out on a tree, and offering to bet that he would 
 kill him. This was reported to General Jackson, and 
 the effect on his excitable temperament may be imag- 
 ined. The parties met, as had been agreed on. At 
 the word, Dickinson fired, and the dust was seen to fly 
 from the clothes of his antagonist. Jackson fired the 
 next instant, and the other fell mortally wounded. 
 
 Several years later in the summer of 1813 Gen- 
 eral Jackson was concerned in an affray with Colonel 
 Thomas H. Benton, so well and widely known, for 
 many successive years, as a Senator in Congress, from 
 the State of Missouri. The former had acted as the 
 second of Governor Carroll, in a duel with a brother of 
 Colonel Benton, which, the latter thought, was incon- 
 sistent with the friendly relations existing between him- 
 self and the general. An angry correspondence passed ; 
 bitter recriminations were made on both sides ; and 
 they afterwards encountered each other, and inter- 
 changed shots, at a public house in Nashville. In the 
 aii'ray, General Jackson's left arm was shattered by a 
 pistol shot, and he was confined to hiu room for several 
 weeks. The embittered feelings engendered during the
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. XXXVH 
 
 progress of this controversy, were cherished for many 
 years after the encounter, but they were subsequently 
 entirely allayed, and when General Jackson became 
 President of the United States, he had no firmer sup- 
 porter or warmer friend than Colonel Benton. 
 
 Not long after General Jackson retired to private 
 Jife, he entered into partnership with a merchant in 
 Nashville. For a time their business appeared to be 
 prosperous ; Jackson took no active part in its manage- 
 ment, but trusted everything to his associate. Some 
 slight circumstances at length aroused his fears, and 
 upon examination he found that the firm was not only 
 insolvent, but that their liabilities exceeded their as- 
 sets, by many thousand dollars. But one course that 
 dictated by honor and right could be pursued. He 
 instantly closed the business, sold his fine plantation 
 where he lived, and paid off the debts of the firm, and 
 removed to a log cabin on another plantation, to begin 
 the world anew. By the exercise of strict economy 
 and prudence, in a few years he once more gathered 
 around him the fruits of prosperous industry. 
 
 The period now arrived which Jackson had long an- 
 ticipated. War was declared against the enemy of his 
 country and his race, on the eighteenth of June, 1812. It 
 is easy to conceive the emotions which the intelligence 
 must have awakened in his bosom. Ilecollections of the 
 past came rushing and thronging into his mind. The 
 cycles of Time rolled backward. Again he stood upon 
 the threshold of his desolate home on " the forest-clad
 
 XXXV111 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 banks of the Catawba" orphaned by the cruelty of 
 British officers and agents. Let him not be reproached, 
 f motives of revenge quickened and sharpened his patri- 
 otism. His desire for vengeance was almost holy in its 
 Character it was based on fraternal affection, on filial 
 love! 
 
 When the tocsin of war was Bounded, the glad, pro- 
 longed echoes, came up from every valley and hamlet ; 
 but in no quarter of the country was the response more 
 enthusiastic, than in the valley of the Mississippi. Gen- 
 eral Jackson immediately issued a stirring address to 
 his division, twenty-five hundred men of which volun- 
 teered to follow wheresoever he saw fit to lead them. 
 A tender of their services was made to the President, 
 through Governor Blount, on the twenty-fifth of June, 
 which was accepted on the eleventh of July. 
 
 On the first of November, Governor Blount issued an 
 order, in conformity with a requisition from the "War 
 Department, directing him to organize and equip fifteen 
 hundred infantry and riflemen, with whom he was 
 instructed to descend the river to New Orleans, and 
 reinforce General Wilkinson, then commanding that 
 department. The necessary proclamation was issued, 
 and, on the tenth of December, upwards of two thou- 
 sand men rendezvoused at Nashville, many of whom 
 had come miles upon miles, through cold, and sleet, and 
 snow, undaunted by the rigors of the climate, and intent 
 only on obeying the call of their country. On the thir- 
 teenth instant, the organization of the command, which
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 consisted of one regiment of cavalry, not embraced in 
 the requisition, but enrolled with the consent of Gover- 
 nor Blount, under Colonel Coffee, and two regiments of 
 infantry, under Colonels Hall and T. H. Benton, was 
 fully completed. 
 
 On the thirty-first of December, Colonel Coffee com- 
 menced his march with the mounted men, six hundred 
 and seventy strong, by the overland route, to Natchez. 
 On the seventh and eighth of January, 1813, General 
 Jackson embarked on the Cumberland, in flat boats, 
 with the two infantry regiments, numbering about four- 
 teen hundred. Descending the river slowly his pro- 
 gress being constantly impeded by large masses of float- 
 ing ice he reached Natchez on the fifteenth of Febru- 
 ary, near which he found the cavalry under Colonel 
 Coffee. 
 
 At this point, General Jackson was met by a request 
 from General Wilkinson, whose headquarters were at 
 New Orleans, to halt his command, and report to him 
 his force and instructions. Wilkinson held the rank of 
 brigadier general in the regular army, with the brevet 
 of major general ; and it is not unlikely, that he sus- 
 pected it was the intention of the government, that 
 Jackson should supersede him. His request, doubtless, 
 was prompted by this apprehension. As there was no 
 indication of an attack on New Orleans, Jackson cheer- 
 fully complied with it. Natchez was a much more salu- 
 brious position for his troops, and having disembarked 
 them, he marched to Washington, a few miles distant,
 
 x LIFE OF ANDEEW JACKSON. 
 
 where a cantonment had been previously established 
 by a corps of regulars. The troops were placed in com- 
 fortable quarters, and a strong guard was detailed to 
 protect the boats at Natchez. 
 
 Camp regulations were now adopted, and strict orders 
 issued by the commanding general, to proceed with the 
 discipline and instruction of the troops. Becoming im- 
 patient for active duty, he wrote to the Secretary of 
 War on the first of March, suggesting the employment 
 of his force on the northern frontier, if there was no 
 prospect of invasion in the south, or if Congress did not 
 authorize the taking possession of Florida. This sug- 
 gestion was repeated in a second letter, written on the 
 seventh of March. Before these letters reached Wash- 
 ington, an order had been issued from the War Depart- 
 ment, directing him, on the receipt thereof, to consider 
 his force dismissed from the service, and to take mea- 
 sures for the delivery of all articles of public property in 
 his possession, to General Wilkinson. This unfeeling 
 mandate concluded with a cold tender of thanks to him- 
 self and the corps under his command. 
 
 Deeply chagrined though he was, at the result of the 
 expedition to Natchez, General Jackson was still anx- 
 ious to take part in the active scenes of the war. The 
 disasters on the northern frontier, in 1812, and the fail- 
 ure of the projected winter campaign under Harrison, 
 in consequence of the incautious advance of General 
 Winchester to Frenchtown, had produced a deep im 
 pression on his mind. His proud spirit smarted under
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. ill 
 
 the discredit of defeat ; and, on the eighth of April, 
 when on his way home, he wrote to the Secretary of 
 War, informing him that he should be glad to execute 
 any orders of the government in Canada, with his de- 
 tachment, which could be augmented, if necessary. " I 
 have a few standards," said he, " wearing the American 
 eagle, that I should be happy to place upon the ramparts 
 of Maiden." 
 
 Within a few months after his return from Natchez, 
 General Jackson was again called from his retirement, 
 to lead a large body of troops into the Indian country on 
 the southern borders of Tennessee. 
 
 On the thirtieth day of August, 1813, Fort Mims, 
 about forty miles from Mobile, on the left bank of the 
 Alabama river, and a short distance above its junction 
 with the Tombigbee, was surprised by a party of Creeks, 
 seven hundred strong, under their chief, Weatherford ; 
 the garrison consisting of one hundred and fifty of the 
 1st Mississippi volunteers, under Major Beasely, and 
 twenty white families who had taken refuge in the fort, 
 with their negroes, in all about three hundred and fifty 
 persons, were cruelly massacred. But seventeen of the 
 whites made their escape. The perpetration of this 
 horrid tragedy excited the nfynost consternation at tho 
 forts and stations on the Tombigbee, of which there were 
 nearly twenty within a distance of seventy miles above 
 Fort Stoddart. Most of the forts were abandoned, and 
 the affrighted fugitives fled down the river to Mobile, 
 which was itself extremely insecure.
 
 Xlll LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 General Olaiborne, and Governor Holmes of the Mis- 
 sissippi Territory, immediately called out a small militia 
 force all that it was in their power to bring into the field 
 for the protection of the Mobile country. In Tennessee 
 the alarm was universal, and the whole population were 
 aroused. But little aid could be expected from the 
 General Government, all whose means and energies 
 were employed in the prosecution of the northern cam- 
 paign, and the defence of the Atlantic coast from the 
 ravages of the more civilized, but not less brutal enemy. 
 A public meeting of the citizens of Nashville was held 
 on the eighteenth of September, at which resolutions 
 were passed, urgently recommending the adoption, by 
 the State Legislature, of prompt measures for the inva- 
 sion of the Creek country. In accordance therewith, 
 an act was passed on the twenty-fifth instant, authoriz- 
 ing the governor to call out thirty-five hundred men, in 
 addition to the fifteen hundred already required by the 
 General Government, who were to be immediately put 
 in service, and pledging the faith of the State to pay 
 them, if Congress should refuse. A resolution was also 
 adopted on the twenty-seventh instant, directing the 
 governor to tender the services of the Tennessee troops 
 to the United States. 
 
 The public sentiment, with one accord, fixed upon 
 Andrew Jackson as the leader of this force. He was 
 Btill confined to his room, on account of the arm frac- 
 ured in the affray with Colonel Benton, which has been 
 mentioned ; but when his country called him to the
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. xlili 
 
 field, he was ready to obey her behest. On the twenty- 
 fourth of September, Governor Blount directed him to 
 call out, without delay, two.thousand men of his divi- 
 sion, to rendezvous at Fayetteville and to order Colo- 
 nel Coffee into immediate service, with five hundred 
 cavalry previously raised. The necessary instnictions 
 were issued, on the same day, to Colonel Coffee, who 
 was further instructed, to incorporate with his regiment 
 any companies of volunteer riflemen that might present 
 themselves. He also ordered into service the volunteers 
 who had accompanied him to Natchez, together with 
 one thousand militia from his division. 
 
 On the twenty-fifth of September, General Jackson 
 directed a part of the cavalry to repair to Iluntsville, by 
 forced marches. On the twenty-sixth, Colonel Coffee 
 was ordered to move upon the same point and wait fur- 
 ther orders, and on the twenty-eighth, he was instructed 
 to proceed to Fort St. Stephen's, which was said to be 
 threatened by the enemy. The state of his health 
 did not permit the general to appear at Fayette- 
 ville on the fourth of October, the day appointed 
 for the rendezvous ; but he was represented on that 
 occasion, by his aid, Major Reid, through whom he de- 
 livered to the assembled troops a most eloquent and 
 spirited address. On the seventh instant he reached 
 the place of rendezvous, with his arm in a sling, where 
 he found a dispatch from Colonel Coffee, who had 
 inarched a short distance beyond Huntsville, with near 
 thirteen hundred men, informing him that the Creeks
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 had divided their forces one portion moving towards 
 the Georgia line, and the other advancing upon the 
 frontiers of Tennessee and that, in consequence of this, 
 he had not proceeded to Fort St. Stephen's. 
 
 Had they not been grossly deceived and deluded by 
 their prophets, the Creeks could never have hoped to 
 accomplish anything against this formidable array. 
 Indeed they seem to have been strangely infatuated 
 throughout ; for, instead of concentrating their whole 
 force in an attack on Mobile, or the Mississippi or 
 Georgia troops, neither of whom were yet fully pre- 
 pared for the field, they advanced with their main 
 body, weakened by a detachment sent towards the 
 frontiers of Georgia, against the column under General 
 Jackson, who was ready to meet them at any odds, and 
 determined to defeat, when he did meet them. It is 
 not probable that the British agents who instigated 
 the Creeks to hostilities, anticipated that the latter 
 would achieve any certain success. They only sup- 
 posed that the savages would hold the Americans at 
 bay, until a British army could be brought to succor 
 them. The resistless energy and perseverance of Gen- 
 eral Jackson, defeated any such project. Long before 
 England was able to dispatch a considerable force to 
 the Gulf, he had fallen upon the Creeks like a thun- 
 derbolt, scattered their warriors, who escaped tho 
 deadly aim of his rifles like chaff before the wind, 
 spread terror and devastation through their settlements, 
 and forced them, as suppliants, humbly to beg for peace.
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 In two days, General Jackson reached Wills' Creek, 
 a tributary of the Coosa, where he encamped till the 
 morning of the twenty-ninth, to collect corn from the 
 neighboring Indians his army being entirely out of 
 bread. On the twenty-eighth instant, Lieutenant Colo- 
 nel Dyer was detached with two hundred cavalry, 
 against the village of Littefutchee, which he attacked 
 the following night; the village was burned, twenty- 
 nine prisoners were taken ; and considerable com, and 
 a number of beeves were collected from the vicinity. 
 While at Wills' Creek, Jackson was again obliged to 
 remove his contractors and employ others. On the 
 thirtieth instant, he reorganized his troops. General 
 Hall was placed in command of the first brigade, con- 
 sisting of the first and second regiments of volunteer 
 infantry, under Colonels Bradley and Pillow; and 
 General Roberts in command of the second brigade, 
 consisting of the first and second militia regiments, 
 under Colonels Wynne and M'Crory. General Coffee, 
 promoted from colonel, was placed in command of the 
 cavalry brigade, which consisted of the volunteer regi- 
 ment, Colonel Alcorn, and the mounted rifles, Colonel 
 Cannon. 
 
 The march was then resumed for the Ten Islands. 
 While General JacksoA was cutting his way over the 
 Coosa mountain, General Coffee was ordered to cross 
 the river, at the fish-dams, with one thousand men of 
 his brigade, to scour the country in the direction of the 
 Ten Islands, and attack the Indian town of Talluschat-
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 chee, about thirteen miles distant in an easterly direc- 
 tion, where a large force of the enemy had collected. 
 The orders issued to General Coffee were gallantly 
 executed. On the morning of the third of November 
 he approached the town ; the savages in vain attempted 
 to oppose his march ; and they were driven rapidly 
 back upon their buildings, in and about which a fierce 
 and bloody contest took place, that terminated in their 
 complete rout and overthrow. Both men and women 
 fought with the utmost desperation. One hundred and 
 eighty-six of the enemy, including one of their prophets, 
 and a number of women and children were found dead 
 on the field of battle : and there were eighty-four taken 
 prisoners, all of whom were women and children. Gen- 
 eral Coffee had five men killed, and fourteen wounded. 
 Having destroyed the town and buried his dead, he 
 rejoined the main army, at the Ten Islands, in the even- 
 ing of the same day, with his wounded and prisoners. 
 
 Harassed by constant care and anxiety exposed, 
 at every turn to vexatious delays and hindrances, that 
 fretted and annoyed him General Jackson never lost 
 that kindness and gentleness of spirit, which bloomed, 
 bright and pure, amid the intenser passions that burned 
 and blazed around it. Among the prisoners taken at 
 Talluschatchee, was an infant boy found clinging to 
 the breast of his dead mother. He was brought to 
 camp with the others, and General Jackson endeavored 
 to hire some of the captive women to take care of him. 
 They refused, saying, " All his relations are dead ; kill
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 him too!" Jackson then caused him to be fed with 
 sweetened water, and afterwards sent him to Hunts- 
 ville, where he was nursed at his expense. After the 
 close of the campaign, he took the little orphan, who 
 was named Lincoyer, home with him to the Hermitage, 
 where he was reared and educated with parental care 
 and kindness. At a proper age, he was apprenticed to 
 a saddler in Nashville : but' he never lost his Indian 
 tastes. His health began to fail before he reached the 
 age of manhood, and he was removed to the Hermitage. 
 He sunk rapidly into a consumption, and eoon died, 
 sincerely mourned and lamented by the general and 
 his wife, who had watched over his sick bed with un- 
 tiring assiduity. 
 
 At the Ten Islands, General Jackson established a 
 post, called Fort Strother, on the right bank of the 
 Coosa, opposite the mouth of Talluschatchee creek. 
 The prisoners brought in by General Coffee were forth- 
 with sent to Huntsville. No supplies had yet arrived ; 
 the army could not be furnished with regular rations - 
 and it was hardly known one day what they were to 
 subsist on the next. Once more the commanding gen- 
 eral appealed to the contractors, by every consideration 
 of humanity and patriotism, to forward the provisions, 
 which could alone save his troops from starvation. He 
 likewise again wrote to General White, who had ar- 
 rived at Turkey Town, twenty-live miles above Fort 
 Strother, to join him immediately. His dispatch was 
 written on the seventh of November, and, late in the
 
 Xlviii LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 evening, before it was closed, a runner came in from 
 Lashly's Fort, at Talladega, about thirty miles south of 
 Fort Strother, and a short distance east of the Coosa, 
 with the intelligence that a large body of Red Sticks 
 had encamped near that place, which was occupied by 
 friendly Indians, and were preparing to destroy it and 
 the inmates. General Jackson could not hesitate to 
 grant the desired succor. He determined to march 
 forthwith ; the urgent circumstances which induced 
 him to advance, were mentioned in the dispatch to 
 General White ; and the latter was entreated to lose no 
 time in reaching Fort Strother, to protect his depot and 
 cover his rear. 
 
 Marching orders were issued in a few moments after 
 the arrival of the runner, and at midnight General 
 Jackson was on the inarch for Talladega, with his whole 
 disposable force, consisting of twelve hundred infantry, 
 and eight hundred cavalry and mounted rifles. His 
 sick, wounded, and baggage, were left at Fort Strother. 
 Crossing the Coosa in the night, he pressed forward 
 with such celerity officers and men vying with each 
 other in zeal that, on the evening of the eighth instant, 
 he encamped within six miles of the Fort at Talladega, 
 which was occupied by one hundred and sixty friendly 
 warriors, with their women and children. About mid- 
 night the chief Chenubby arrived from Turkey Town, 
 with a letter from General White, informing General 
 Jackson that he had received an order from his division 
 commander, General Cocke, to join him at Chattooga,
 
 LIFE OF ANDliEW JACKSON. 
 
 higher up the Coosa, and that he could not, therefore, 
 advance to Fort Strother. 
 
 Jackson's cup of disappointment was almost full. 
 Neither General Cocke nor General White wanted in 
 patriotism ; but they seem, more particularly the for- 
 mer, to have been impressed with the belief, that by 
 remaining aloof from General Jackson, they would 
 secure a larger share of the honors of the campaign. 
 It seems almost painful to contemplate the struggles of 
 the proud and ambitious spirit constantly thwarted by 
 their unwise movements. Had they joined him. at 
 once, the war would have been brought to a close in a 
 few weeks : but they preferred to linger behind, in 
 safety and security, eating up the provisions better 
 deserved by those who were enduring the severest 
 fatigues and privations ; and when they recovered from 
 their inactivity, and advanced to strike a blow, it proved 
 to be the only unfortunate one of the whole campaign. 
 
 The dispatch from General White made no change, 
 however, in the determination of General Jackson. He 
 resolved to dispose of the enemy in his front, and then 
 fall back, with all possible speed, to Fort Strother, be- 
 fore the enemy would have time to profit by its defence- 
 less condition. The prospect before his troops was 
 disheartening in the extreme ; if they conquered, there 
 would be no food to refresh or reinvigorate them ; yet 
 his example inspired them with confidence, and they 
 obeyed his commands without hesitation or reluct- 
 ance.
 
 1 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 Long before daylight on the morning of the ninth of 
 November, the army was again in motion. Silently 
 threading their way through the luxuriant forests, wind- 
 ing over the hills, and crossing the rich intervals, that 
 separated them from the enemy, they approached their 
 position. Within a mile, they were halted, and formed 
 in order of battle. The infantry brigades were placed 
 in the centre, General Hall's on the right, and General 
 Roberts' on the left. They were flanked, on the right, 
 by Colonel Alcorn's volunteer cavalry, and, on the left, 
 by the mounted Rifles of Colonel Cannon. An advanc- 
 ed corps of riflemen, spies, and artillery, was formed 
 under Colonel Carroll, the inspector-general, and a strong 
 reserve of two hundred and fifty men, under Lieutenant 
 Colonel Dyer. 
 
 At eight o'clock, the attack was ordered ; and the 
 whole column moved rapidly forward, all full of anima- 
 tion and enthusiasm. Colonel Carroll preceded the 
 main body, with the advance, having received orders 
 to rouse the enemy from the thicket on the banka of a 
 small rivulet, in which they had concealed themselves, 
 and then to retire towards the centre. The sharp quick 
 report of his rifles, and the hideous yells and screams, 
 soon apprised the remainder of the column that the 
 savages had been started from their cover. Meantime, 
 the infantry regiments, which had previously advanced 
 by heads of companies, had deployed, in accordance 
 with the orders of General Jackson, and the cavalry 
 were extending themselves, to the right and left, so as
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 11 
 
 to encircle the enemy. The orders issued by the com- 
 manding General required the cavalry to keep up their 
 connection with the flanks of the infantry. This was 
 neglected on the right, and the plan of attack, which 
 was most skillfully formed, was partially defeated by thia 
 untoward circumstance. Colonel Bradley, the officer 
 commanding the infantry regiment on the right, also 
 halted his men on a rising ground, before he came in 
 contact with the enemy, and the gap was thereby con- 
 siderably widened. 
 
 When the fronts of the cavalry columns met on the 
 further side of the enemy, they faced inwardly, and a 
 general rush was made towards the centre. The Indians 
 did not appear inclined to fly, at first, but made a bold 
 onset upon the right wing of General Roberts' brigade. 
 Three of the companies, after delivering their fire, be- 
 gan to stagger, and finally fell back in the rear. Colo- 
 ne.1 Bradley was then ordered to advance with his 
 regiment, and fill up the vacancy. This he declined 
 doing ; and General Jackson, much against his will, as 
 he designed the reserve to pursue the enemy if they at- 
 tempted to escape, was forced to direct Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Dyer to dismount his men, and engage them. 
 Observing this movement, the retiring militia rallied 
 and did good service. 
 
 The action was not of long continuance. The savages 
 could not withstand the destructive fire poured in upon 
 them from every side, and in fifteen minutes they com- 
 menced flying hither and thither, within the circle,
 
 lil LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 seeking some avenue of escape. "Whichsoever way they 
 turned, they encountered the rifle and the bayonet. At 
 length, ihey discovered the opening between Colonel 
 Alcorn's regiment of cavalry, on the right, and the 
 volunteers of Colonel Bradley. Through this numbers 
 of them dashed, hotly pursued by both cavalry and 
 infantry, who followed them for nearly three miles, 
 strewing the ground throughout the whole distance with 
 their dead bodies. The Indian force numbered one 
 thousand and eighty warriors, of whom two hundred 
 and ninety-nine were found killed on the field of battle, 
 and many more must have perished in the woods. The 
 Americans lost but fifteen killed, and eighty-five wound- 
 ed, some of the latter mortally. 
 
 General Jackson complimented his troops, in the 
 highest terras, for their gallantry in this action. All 
 the officers, with the exception of Colonel Bradley, who 
 was placed under arrest, but afterwards released, were 
 mentioned in his dispatches in terms of marked appro- 
 bation. 
 
 An instant retreat to Fort Strother was now neces- 
 sary. The horses were suffering for the want of forage, 
 and the men were half-famished, when they turned 
 their backs on the field of victory, and commenced their 
 retrograde march. Jackson was with the van of the 
 army, and on the way discovered a quantity of acorns 
 lying on the ground. .Dismounting from his horse, 
 he threw the bridle over his arm, and, having gathered 
 a few of the nuts, sat down on the roots of a tree to eat
 
 LITE OF ANDREW JACKSON. Kii 
 
 them. He was thus engaged in satisfying his hunger, 
 when a soldier approached him, and demanded some- 
 thing to eat. " I never turn away the hungry," said the 
 general, "while I have anything to give them." lie 
 then offered the soldier a few acorns, adding " I will 
 most cheerfully divide with you such food as I have." 
 Mortified and surprised, the man shrunk back among 
 his companions, who thereafter repressed every dispo- 
 sition to murmur or complain. 
 
 The army reached Fort Strother on the evening of 
 the eleventh of November, but it was only to be once 
 more disappointed. No provisions, except the limited 
 quantities forwarded by the contractors, had yet arrived ; 
 and the private stores of the general had been almost 
 exhausted, in order to supply the wants of the sick and 
 wounded. Still he assumed a cheerful and confident 
 tone, though sad enough at heart, and resorting to the 
 slaughter-pens, provided himself with tripes with which 
 he made what he termed a comfortable repast. His ex- 
 ample was imitated by the soldiers, who seemed inclined 
 willingly to endure the hardships of the campaign. 
 
 But matters could not long continue in this situation. 
 The battles of Talluschatchee and Talladega had satis- 
 fied, to a considerable degree, the desire for adventure 
 which had previously animated the troops in the midst 
 of the most embarrassing difficulties, and they soon be- 
 gan to pine for the comforts of home. Starvation was 
 far more terrible to them than " an army with banners." 
 They were brave this could not be doubted and
 
 v LIFE OF ANDREW JA.CKSON. 
 
 they would have gladly followed their general into the 
 very heart of the Creek country, if they could only have 
 been assured that a reasonable supply of food would be 
 provided ; of the two enemies whom they met in the 
 wilderness, they feared the savage least ; and was it not 
 asking too much that they should encounter both ? 
 
 On the sixteenth, General Jackson commenced his 
 preparations for the abandonment of Fort Strother ; but, 
 on reflecting how much this movement would reinspirit 
 the savages, he declared that he would not leave the 
 post, if only two men would remain with him. Captain 
 Gordon, of the spies, instantly volunteered to be one 
 of his companions, and through his exertions, and 
 those of some of the members of the general staff, 
 one hundred and nine men were found who agreed to 
 stay. 
 
 Feeling confident, however, that supplies were close 
 at hand, General Jackson marched with the militia, ap- 
 prising them, in advance, that they would be ordered 
 back if his expectations should be realized. "Within 
 ten or twelve miles of the fort, they met one hundred 
 and fifty beeves. The column at once halted ; the cat- 
 tle were knocked down, and eagerly cooked and eaten 
 by the half-starved troops. But when the order to re- 
 turn was issued, none obeyed it. One company, indeed, 
 had resumed the march, before the general discovered 
 the mutinous disposition which prevailed among the 
 troops. He immediately dashed ahead of the men who 
 were moving off, and with General Coffee, a part of the
 
 LIFE OF ANDBEW JACKSON. Iv 
 
 staff, and a lew soldiers, formed a line across -the road, 
 and declared that he would fire on them if they endea- 
 vored to pass. Well knowing that he was not the man 
 to forfeit his word, they fell back to the main body, who 
 were soon discovered to be likewise infected with the 
 spirit of mutiny. Arguments and entreaties proved of 
 no avail the troops all formed, and were on the point 
 of continuing their march to Fort Deposit. As a last 
 resort, the general snatched a musket, threw it across 
 the neck of his horse, and placing himself in front of 
 the column, declared that he would shoot down the first 
 man who moved a single step in advance. 
 
 The piece which General Jackson had seized was too 
 much out of order to be fired, and his arm was so weak 
 that he could not aim it with any precision ; but the men 
 before him knew nothing of this, or, if they did, thought 
 not of it. They only saw his flashing eye, and his de- 
 termined look. General Coffee and some of the staff 
 took their places in silence beside him. Two faith- 
 ful companies also formed in his rear. All were ready 
 to fire when he gave the signal. For several moments 
 not a word was uttered. At length the power of num- 
 bers quailed before the iron will, the moral greatness of 
 that one man. The mutineers signified their willing- 
 ness to return, and in a short time they were retracing 
 their steps to Fort Strother. 
 
 While General Jackson was engaged in quelling the 
 disturbances in his camp, the East Tennesseans, under 
 General White, were proceeding against the Hillabee
 
 vi LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 towns, the warriors from which had been present at the 
 battle of Talladega. Intimidated by the result of this 
 action, they had applied to General Jackson, on the 
 thirteenth of November, for terms of peace. On the 
 seventeenth he replied, making known to them the con- 
 ditions upon which their request would be granted. 
 On the same night, General White, who had been 
 detached for this service by General Cocke, on the 
 eleventh of November, with all his cavalry and 
 mounted infantry, approached the principal Hillabee 
 village, having previously destroyed Little Oakfuskie, 
 Genalga, and Netta Chaptoa. At daylight the town 
 was surprised, sixty warriors were killed, and two hun- 
 dred and fifty taken prisoners, without the loss of a 
 drop of blood on the part of General White's command. 
 
 This unfortunate movement unfortunate, inasmuch 
 as the blow fell with crushing weight upon a people 
 already subdued, and anxious to make peace on any 
 terms confirmed General Cocke in the opinion which 
 lie had previously formed and communicated to Gene- 
 ral Jackson on the fourteenth of November, that it was 
 far better to unite his forces with those of the latter, 
 and act in concert with him, than, by remaining sepa- 
 rate, to paralyze his efforts, and defeat his plans. 
 Thereafter he made no attempt to operate indepen- 
 dently of General Jackson, and on the twelfth of 
 December joined him at Fort Strother, with fourteen 
 hundred and fifty men. 
 
 After allaying the mutiny in his camp in November,
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 General Jackson visited Fort Deposit and Ditto's Land- 
 ing, to make arrangements for supplying his army, pre- 
 paratory to another forward movement which lie had in 
 contemplation. Requisitions were issued for furnishing 
 a suitable number of rations at Fort Strother, Talladega, 
 and the junction of the Coosa and Tallapoosa, together 
 with wagons and pack-horses for their transportation. 
 He then returned to Fort Strother with the first regi- 
 ment of volunteers. Shortly after his return a new 
 cause of disturbance arose. The volunteers had origi- 
 nally engaged to serve for twelve months, and they 
 claimed that their term of service would expire on the 
 tenth of December. General Jackson, however, con- 
 tended that the period which elapsed between the time 
 of their dismissal, after their return from Natchez, and 
 that of their subsequent re-muster, at Fayetteville, must 
 be deducted. Each party insisted on its particular 
 view of the case ; and in the evening of the ninth of 
 December, General Jackson was informed by General 
 Hall, that his brigade were preparing to move off, with, 
 or without permission, on the following morning. 
 
 General Jackson had become familiar with scenes of 
 this character, and he immediately issued an order, stat- 
 ing that an actual mutiny existed in the camp, and 
 commanding all officers and soldiers to unite in putting 
 it down. He further directed the volunteer brigade to 
 parade on the west side of the fort ; the company of 
 artillerists were ordered to take post, with one piece in 
 front, and one in rear, of their line ; and the militia, 1
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 under Colonel Wynne, were instructed to occupy the 
 eminences in advance. These dispositions being made, 
 the general rode in front of the volunteers, and 
 addressed each company separately, in eloquent and 
 animated terms, informing them that he had submitted 
 the question in dispute to the governor, and that, until 
 .his decision was known, or reinforcements joined him, 
 he could not dispense with their services. He appealed 
 to every noble and worthy motive to induce them to 
 remain ; but declared, that he should do his duty, 
 regardless of consequences ; and that they could not 
 leave him, without passing over his dead body. 
 "Now," said he, in conclusion, "argument is at an 
 end ; and you must choose, and that at once, whether 
 you will go or stay !" 
 
 Not a word was uttered in reply by the volunteers. 
 He then demanded a prompt answer. Still there was 
 no response. He now ordered the artillerists to prepare 
 their matches. Ere the order was obeyed, the obsti- 
 nacy of the men gave way before his unyielding firm- 
 ness. "Let us return," was whispered from one to 
 another, with trembling lips ; and the officers soon came 
 forward, and pledged themselves and their men, to 
 remain until the general should hear from the governor, 
 or the expected reinforcements arrive. 
 
 On the twelfth of December, General Cocke reached 
 the camp from Fort Armstrong, with the East Tennes- 
 seans. General Jackson then issued an address to the 
 volunteer brigade, offering to permit those who desired
 
 LIFE OF ANDBEW JACKSON. lix 
 
 to leave him, to return at once to Nashville, and those 
 who chose to remain, to organize themselves into a sepa- 
 rate corps, with officers of their own selection. But 
 one man in the whole brigade, Captain Williamson, 
 consented to stay ; the remainder were marched back to 
 Nashville, by General Hall, and soon after discharged 
 from the service. 
 
 The regiment of volunteer cavalry belonging to Gene- 
 ral Coffee's brigade, claimed the same indulgence with 
 the volunteer infantry, and the mounted rifles insisted 
 that they were only bound for a three months' tour 6f 
 duty. About one-half the brigade abandoned the ser- 
 vice, at Iluntsville, and the other half returned to Fort 
 Deposit, but they also subsequently deserted their com- 
 mander General Coffee exerting himself, in vain, to 
 induce them to remain and returned home. These 
 defections, and the expiration of the terms of service of 
 a portion of General Cocke's division, reduced the force 
 under General Jackson, at Fort Strother, to six hundred 
 militia, two companies of spies, under Captains Gordon 
 and Russell, one of artillery, under Captain Deadrick, 
 and a few volunteers from the various corps, who had 
 been, " faithful among the faithless found." The militia 
 demanded their discharge at the expiration of three 
 months, although it had been supposed they were 
 enlisted for six, and it was not thought advisable to 
 compel them to remain. 
 
 All these difficulties in keeping the troops in the field 
 arose from the want of sufficient supplies. Had General
 
 ix LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 Jackson been properly supported in this respect, it is 
 probable there would not have been a single case of 
 defection, and the first of January, 1814, would have 
 witnessed the complete subjection of the Creeks. Still 
 he was determined to prosecute the campaign, as soon 
 as he should be in a condition to move forward. After 
 the return of the militia, he was left with only about 
 one hundred men, and was, in consequence, obliged to 
 employ the friendly Cherokees in garrisoning Fort Arm- 
 strong, and protecting the stores at Camp Ross. Gene- 
 rals Cocke and Roberts, Colonel Carroll, and Major 
 Searcy, the aid of the commanding general, were at this 
 time absent in Tennessee, exerting themselves to raise 
 additional troops. 
 
 On being informed of the situation of General Jack- 
 son, Governor Blount advised him to fall back from his 
 advanced posts, and content himself with defending the 
 frontiers of the State, until he was placed in sufficient 
 force to carry on the war. On the twenty-ninth of De- 
 cember, 1813, the general unburdened his whole soul 
 to the governor, 
 
 " In thoughts that breathe, and words that burn." 
 
 "What!" said he, in his letter, "retrograde under 
 such circumstances ! I will perish first. What ! a 
 governor of a patriotic State, whose citizens pressed for 
 war, who bawled for permission to exterminate the 
 Creeks, to pause or hesitate at such a crisis as this ? 
 Such conduct cannot be justified, cannot be excused. 
 Hear the voice of a friend : If you compel me to retro-
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. Ixi 
 
 grade, the awful responsibility must and will be ascribed 
 to you. * * * I shall do my duty. I will retain 
 the post, or die in the struggle, unless ordered to retreat 
 by my commanding general !" 
 
 The earnest appeals of General Jackson, whose intre- 
 pidity of spirit and resoluteness of purpose appeared 
 only the more conspicuous, when fortune smiled the most 
 unkindly on him, were not without effect. On the 
 thirteenth of January, 1814, he was joined at Fort 
 Strother, by two regiments of mounted men, eight hun- 
 dred and fifty strong, under Colonels Perkins and Hig- 
 gins, who had volunteered for sixty days. Previous to 
 this time, he had ascertained that the hostile Indians 
 from several towns on the Tallapoosa, had concentrated 
 in a bend of the river, thirty-five miles south east of Talla- 
 dega, near the mouth of the Emuckfaw Creek, and were 
 either preparing to attack Fort Armstrong, or the 
 Georgia troops. 
 
 The volunteer cavalry having been enlisted for so 
 short a period, it was necessary to act speedily if he de- 
 sired to avail himself of their services. On the day of 
 their arrival at Fort Strother, he issued orders directing 
 them to hold themselves in readiness for the march, and, 
 on the fifteenth and sixteenth of January, crossed the 
 Coosa with his whole force, numbering seven hundred 
 and sixty-seven men, though the official reports, which 
 were not corrected lest the army should be intimidated 
 by the knowledge of its weakness, showed a total of 
 nine hundred and thirty.
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 At Talladega, General Jackson was joined by two hun- 
 dred friendly Creeks and Cherokees. The march was 
 continued without intermission, and on the ni;ht of the 
 
 * o 
 
 twentieth instant, he encamped at Enotochopco, one of 
 the Hillabee villages, within twelve miles of Emuck- 
 faw. In the morning of the twenty-first, the army pro- 
 ceeded direct towards the bend of the river where the 
 enemy were said to be fortified. About' the middle of 
 the afternoon, the spies discovered two Indians, who 
 were pursued, but made their escape. Advancing a 
 short distance further, they came upon the main trail 
 of the savages. The general then determined to encamp 
 and reconnoitre the surrounding country. A proper 
 position having been selected, the army encamped in a 
 hollow square. Pickets and spies were thrown out on 
 every side ; the sentinels were doubled ; fires were built 
 in a circle around the encampment ; and every precau- 
 tion taken to guard against a surprise. 
 
 Moments and hours of the night passed by in anxious 
 suspense. From time to time the orders enjoining strict 
 caution and vigilance were repeated. The darkest hour 
 of the morning the time usually selected by the Indians 
 for their attacks approached ; and when everything 
 was the most quiet and undisturbed, all at once there 
 rose a loud pealing yell on the left of the encampment, 
 and with it came a hurtling volley of rifle-balls. A 
 deafening responsive shout went up, within that fiery 
 circle, like the wild pibroch of some Gaelic clan, rous- 
 ing the martial spirit of all who heard it. The enemy
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. Ixiil 
 
 kept up a rapid and unintermitting tire ; but they could 
 not approach near enough to effect any execution, with- 
 out entering the line of light which the timely precau- 
 tion of Jackson had thrown around his men ; and when- 
 ever a single swart form, or painted visage, was disclosed, 
 the American bullet sped away on its sure errand of 
 death. 
 
 When the alarm was first given, General Coffee, 
 Colonel Carroll, and Colonel Sitler, the adjutant-gene- 
 ral who, with a number of other officers previously 
 belonging to different detachments, had remained with 
 the commander to whom they were devotedly attached, 
 and formed themselves into a corps, without privates 
 mounted their horses and rode to the left. Their pre- 
 sence inspirited and encouraged the troops, and the 
 savages were held firmly at bay till the dawning light 
 enabled objects to be distinguished with precision. A 
 company of infantry were then ordered to that flank, 
 and thus strengthened, General Coffee, supported by 
 Colonels Higgins and Carroll, led the whole line to the 
 charge. The red warriors were driven from their coverts 
 at the point of the bayonet, and pursued for more than 
 two miles; the friendly Indians joining in the chase, 
 and marking their pathway with the blood of the slain. 
 
 Victorious as he was, General Jackson was still in a 
 precarious position. His men had few rations left, and 
 the horses had not had corn or cane, for two days. The 
 main object of the expedition a diversion in favor of 
 Mie Georgia troops had been accomplished, yet his
 
 1XIV LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 small force was seriously crippled, and it was to be 
 feared, if he remained at Emuckfaw, that the Red Sticks 
 would rally in greater numbers, and attack him once 
 more, under all his disadvantages. He therefore decid- 
 ed to fall back to Fort Strother as soon as practicable. 
 The remainder of the day was spent in burying the 
 dead, in taking care of the wounded and preparing lit- 
 ters for their transportation, and in fortifying the camp. 
 The militia sentinels were repeatedly alarmed during 
 the night, probably by their own fancies, as no enemy 
 was discovered; and on the morning of the twenty-third, 
 without having been again molested, the army com- 
 menced the return march. 
 
 Not a solitary Indian was seen through the day, ex- 
 cept those attached to the command. They defiled, 
 without interruption, through a hurricane, covered with 
 the huge bolls of prostrate oaks, and pines, with strag- 
 gling branches of trees flung in every direction, and 
 closely-matted weeds and brambles, in which there were 
 numerous hiding-places that might have afforded shel- 
 ter to an enemy ; and just before sunset, they arrived 
 at Enotochopco, where they halted for the night, select- 
 ing a strong position, which they fortified, within a 
 quarter of a mile of the creek. 
 
 In the evening, small parties of the hostile savages 
 were seen prowling about the encampment, although 
 no attack was made. This circumstance, in connection 
 with the fact that he had not been molested during tho 
 day, convinced General Jackson that the enemy had got
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. xV 
 
 in the advance, and were lying in wait for him at a dan- 
 gerous defile where he had forded the creek on his out- 
 ward march. He therefore sent out his pioneers, who 
 discovered another crossing, about six hundred yards 
 lower down, which was approached through open wood- 
 lands; and, unlike the other, its banks sloped gently 
 down, and were tolerably free from reeds and under- 
 brush. The lower ford was, of course selected, in pre- 
 ference to the one above. 
 
 Presuming that the Indians would rush upon his 
 men, when they were engaged in passing the stream, 
 the general made his preparations with great care, and 
 issued his orders with unusual precision. Colonel Car- 
 roll was ordered to take command of the centre of the 
 rear-guard ; Colonel Perkins of the right column ; and 
 Colonel Stump of the left. Captain Russell was directed 
 to bring up the rear with his company of spies. If 
 attacked, Colonel Carroll was instructed to face about, 
 display, and maintain his ground ; while the right and 
 left columns were to face outward, wheel back on theii 
 pivots, and then attack the Indians on both flanks. 
 
 In this order the crossing proceeded on the morning 
 of the twenty-fourth. The front-guard, the wounded, 
 and a part of the flank cohimns, had passed over ; and 
 the artillery were in the act of entering the creek- 
 General Jackson being on the bank superintending the 
 movement when an alarm gun was fired in the rear. 
 The instant after, the whole troop of Indians, who had 
 discovered the effort to turn their position, came plung-
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 ing down upon the rear-guard. Captain Russell received 
 them gallantly, and fell back in good order. Colonel 
 Carroll had scarcely given the order to halt and form, 
 when the right and left columns, headed by their offi- 
 cers, broke and fled down the bank. Colonel Stump 
 was among the foremost, and as he approached General 
 Jackson's position, the latter attempted to cut him down 
 with his sword. 
 
 All was now confusion and disorder. The panic was 
 communicated to the rear-guard, most of whom followed 
 the example of their companions. Colonel Carroll and 
 Captain Quarles were left with only twenty-five men, 
 yet they sustained the unequal contest with unflinching 
 bravery. The savages were checked in their advance, 
 but the men were rapidly falling, and the iron hail 
 came thicker and faster. General Jackson fairly boiled 
 over with rage and indignation; yet, smothering his 
 passion, he gave his orders coolly and calmly, but in a 
 tone that rang like the blast of a trumpet. Words of 
 encouragement were not wanting ; and when the fear- 
 less and intrepid Coffee sprang from his litter into the 
 saddle, he cried, "We shall whip them yet, my men ! 
 the dead have risen and come to aid us I" 
 
 The company of artillery, who were armed with mus- 
 kets, now rushed up the acclivity, and ranged them- 
 selves by the side of Colonel Carroll and his little band, 
 while their commander, Lieutenant Armstrong Cap 
 tain Deadrick being absent -and a few of his men, 
 dragged up their six-pounder. The gun had been un-
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 limbered at the foot of the height, and when they pre- 
 pared to load it, the rammer and picker were missing. 
 No time was to be lost, as the savages were fast closing 
 upon them. One of the men instantly wrested off his 
 bayonet, and rammed the cartridge home with his 
 musket; another used his ramrod as a picker, and 
 primed with a musket cartridge. Twice was the gun 
 loaded and fired with grapeshot. At the second dis- 
 charge, the enemy were thrown into confusion, when 
 Colonel Carroll pressed upon them with the bayonet, 
 and forced them to retire a short distance, though they 
 still persisted in the attack. 
 
 Meanwhile, Captain Gordon, whose company had 
 been in the advance, had moved round and thrown him- 
 self upon the left flank of the Indians ; and a few mo- 
 ments later, General Jackson brought up a considerable 
 number of the rear-guard and flankers, whom he had 
 rallied and reformed, with the assistance of General 
 Coffee, Colonel Higgins, and other officers. Finding 
 themselves baffled at every point, the enemy gave up 
 the contest and made a hasty retreat, throwing away 
 their packs as they fled, and leaving twenty-six of their 
 warriors dead on the field. 
 
 In this series of engagements, at Emuckfaw and 
 Enotochopco, General Jackson lost twenty men killed, 
 and seventy-five wounded, four of them mortally. One 
 hundred and eighty-nine dead bodies of the enemy were 
 counted ; but they removed all their wounded, and, pro 
 bably, many who were killed outright.
 
 Ixviii LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 The brilliant successes of General Jackson in the 
 Creek country now began to attract unusual attention. 
 The commander of the military district, General Pinck- 
 ney, referred to his conduct in terms of strong approba- 
 tion, and suggested his name to the Secretary of War, 
 for an appointment in the regular army. He had fought 
 himself into the confidence and affections of the public, 
 and he had no further need to depend on the reluctant 
 services of a disorderly and half-mutinous soldiery. 
 
 So far from being offended at the tone and language 
 of General Jackson's letter, Governor Blount properly 
 appreciated the feelings of the writer, and made every 
 possible exertion to send him both troops and supplies. 
 Men were not wanting to enroll their names ; for there 
 were hundreds and thousands who longed to fight be- 
 neath the standard, and under the eye, of Andrew 
 Jackson. On the third of February, General Doherty 
 arrived at Camp Ross with two thousand men from 
 East Tennessee ; and, shortly after, General Johnston 
 reported himself at Huntsville, with over seventeen 
 hundred men, from West Tennessee. Two regiments 
 of cavalry, one from each section of the state, under 
 Colonels Dyer and Brown, also appeared, and were 
 organized into a brigade, under General Coffee. On 
 the sixth of February, the 39th infantry, under Colonel 
 Williams, about six hundred strong, joined General 
 Jackson at Fort Strother, and about the same time, the 
 Choctaws took up the. hatchet against the Red Sticks, 
 and offered him their services.
 
 LIFE. OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 While the general was making his preparations at 
 Fort Strother, most of the detachments composing the 
 force under his command remained in the rear, that the 
 supplies thrown forward to that post might not be too 
 quickly consumed. During this period of inaction, the 
 spirit of mutiny again made its appearance among the 
 West Tennessee troops. He felt that he had so far 
 dealt too leniently with this offence, and determined to 
 visit it with summary punishment. A private belong- 
 ing to General Johnston's command was convicted of 
 open mutiny, and sentenced to death. This was his 
 second offence, and the general firmly refused to pardon 
 him. The sentence was carried into effect, and the 
 example thus presented exerted a most salutary influ- 
 ence on the whole army. 
 
 Early in March, General Jackson had finally com- 
 pleted his arrangements. Colonel Dyer was ordered to 
 scour the country between the Coosa, Blackwarrior, 
 and Cahawba, as low down as the old Coosa towns; 
 the Choctaws and Chickasaws were directed to watch 
 the country west of the Tombigbee, and prevent the 
 escape of any of the Red Sticks beyond the Mississippi ; 
 and the Cherokees received instructions to range about 
 the headwaters of the Tallapoosa. At the same time, 
 there was a large force of North Carolina and South 
 Carolina militia, under Colonel Pearson, who had 
 relieved the Georgia troops under General Floyd, on 
 the eastern borders of the Creek country, in readiness
 
 1XX LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 to cooperate in any simultaneous movement upon the 
 fastnesses of the hostile Indians. 
 
 Leaving a garrison of four hundred and fifty men at 
 Fort Strother, under Colonel Steel, General Jackson 
 commenced descending the Coosa, having embarked his 
 stores in boats, with the remainder of his force, on the 
 sixteenth day of March. Arrived at the mouth of 
 Cedar Creek, he established a dpot at this point, and 
 commenced the construction of a fort, which he named 
 Fort Williams. The work on the fort being in a suffi- 
 cient state of forwardness, he took up the line of march 
 across the country to Emuckfaw, on the morning of the 
 twenty-fourth instant, with about two thousand men, 
 A strong detachment was left at Fort Williams, to pro- 
 tect the supplies, and continue the labor on the fortifica- 
 tions. 
 
 Not far from five miles below the battle-ground of 
 the twenty-second of January, at Emuckfaw, is the 
 great bend of the Tallapoosa, called by the Indians 
 Tohopeca, or Horse Shoe. At this place, the warriors 
 from the hostile towns of Oakfuskie, Oakchoya, Eufau- 
 lee, New Youca, the Hillabees and Fish Ponds, had 
 concentrated their forces, near one thousand strong, for 
 a last desperate struggle. Across the narrow neck of 
 land, or isthmus, by which the peninsula formed by the 
 crooked river was entered, they had erected a breast- 
 work of logs, from five to eight feet high, with double 
 portholes, arranged with no little skill and ingenuity.
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 Within the inclosure, there were about one hundred 
 acres of land; the centre was high ground, covered 
 with brush and fallen timber ; and on the river bottom, 
 at the lower extremity of the peninsula, was the Indian 
 village. 
 
 On the night of the twenty-sixth of March, General 
 Jackson encamped within six miles of the Horse Shoe, 
 and early on the following morning. General Coffee 
 was detached, with the mounted men and most of the 
 friendly Indians, under instructions to cross the river 
 at a ford two miles below Tohopeca, and take posses- 
 sion of the high grounds on the opposite bank, so as to 
 cut off all chance of escape in that quarter. General 
 Jackson then marched the remainder of his force to a 
 position in front of the enemy's breastworks, where he 
 halted his men, until the pre-arranged signal announced 
 that General Coffee had drawn a cordon of soldiers 
 around the elevated ground overlooking the river and 
 the hostile town and fortification. The main column 
 immediately moved forward ; the two pieces of artil- 
 lery, a six and a three ponnder, were planted on a hill 
 eighty yards distant from the left of the enemy's line ; 
 and at half past ten o'clock in the forenoon, the action 
 was opened by a brisk fire, which was warmly returned 
 by the Ked Sticks. 
 
 The firing on the American side was mainly confined 
 to the artillery, though a rifle or musket was occasion- 
 ally discharged, whenever the dark warriors incauti 
 ously exposed their persons. For nearly two hours, the
 
 Ixxii LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 cannonade was kept up, with spirit and activity, though 
 without producing any sensible impression. Meantime, 
 the friendly Indians had advanced to the left bank of 
 the river, while General Coffee remained on the high 
 ground with the rest of his troops. Some of the Chero- 
 kees now discovered that the enemy's canoes, which 
 were drawn up on the shore, near their village, had been 
 left unguarded. They instantly plunged into the stream, 
 swam across, and, in a few moments, returned with a 
 number of the canoes. Means being thus provided for 
 passing over, the Cherokees, headed by their chief, 
 Richard Brown, and Colonel Morgan, and Captain Rus- 
 sell's company of spies, crossed to the village, set it on 
 fire, and attacked the enemy in the rear. 
 
 Surrounded though they were, the hostile Indians 
 fought with the utmost bravery and desperation. Every 
 avenue by which they might have fled was occupied by 
 the American troops, and their habitations were in 
 flames ; still they refused to surrender, and successfully 
 resisted every attempt of the spies and Cherokees to 
 dislodge them. The soldiers with General Jackson 
 clamored loudly to be led to the assault, but he hesitated 
 to give the order, till he became convinced that the 
 party in the rear were not strong enough to overcome 
 the opposition they encountered. The command to 
 storm the works was then received with shouts and 
 acclamations. General Doherty's brigade, and the 39th 
 infantry, under Colonel "Williams, promptly advanced 
 to the attack. The result of the contest did not long re-
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 main in doubt. A fierce struggle was maintained for a 
 short time, through the portholes, muzzle to muzzle ; the 
 action being so close, as remarked in the dispatch of the 
 commanding general, " that many of the enemy's balls 
 were welded to the American bayonets." Major Mont- 
 gomery, of the 39th infantry, was the first to spring 
 upon the breastwork, but was shot dead among his com- 
 rades, who were rushing forward to sustain him. A 
 smothered cry for vengeance rolled along the line and 
 the whole column dashed over the feeble Carrier, like 
 the avalanche, crushing and bearing down everything 
 before it. 
 
 The Indians, fighting with the fury of despair, met the 
 shock with clubbed muskets and rifles, with the gleam- 
 ing knife and tomahawk. Some few attempted to 
 escape by swimming the river, but were shot down in 
 their flight, by the spies and mounted men under Gene- 
 ral Coffee. Most of them, however, fought and died, 
 where they stood behind the ramparts which they 
 were unable to defend. The conflict nay, we may call 
 it without reproach to the victors, the butchery was 
 continued for hours. None asked for quarter. The 
 Tallapoosa ran red with the blood of the savages, 
 and the dead were piled in mangled heaps upon its 
 banks. 
 
 Driven from the breastwork, a considerable number 
 of the enemy took refuge among the brush and fallen 
 timber on the high ground in the centre of the penin- 
 sula. General Jackson sent them an interpreter, to offer
 
 LIFE OF ANDKEW JACKSON. 
 
 terms of capitulation, but they fired on and wounded 
 him. The cannon were brought to bear on their posi- 
 tion, and a partially successful charge was made, yet 
 they were not dislodged. Finally, the brush was set on 
 fire. The flames spread with rapidity, snapping and 
 crackling as they caught the dry bark and leaves, and 
 licking up everything in their way, like some huge, 
 greedy monster. The Indians were now forced from 
 their concealment ; and all who attempted to fly, or 
 offered resistance, were shot down. Night at length put 
 an end to the carnage, and, under cover of the darkness, 
 a few of the survivors of that fatal field escaped into the 
 adjoining forests. 
 
 Five hundred and fifty-seven dead bodies of the 
 enemy were found within the peninsula ; and there were 
 over three hundred taken prisoners, nearly all women 
 and children. The total loss of the lied Sticks, in killed 
 alone, must have been near eight hundred ; as a num- 
 ber of the dead were thrown into the river previous to 
 the final rout, .by their surviving friends, or shot by 
 General Coffee's men while attempting to make their 
 escape. Among the slain were three prophets, one of 
 whom, by the name of Monohoe, was struck by a grape- 
 shot in his mouth, out of which had issued the lies 
 which had lured his nation to their ruin. 
 
 General Jackson lost fifty-five men killed, and one 
 hundred and forty-six wounded. Twenty-three of the 
 killed, and forty-seven of the wounded, were friendly 
 Creeks and Cherokees.
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. IxXV 
 
 The campaign was now drawing to a close, but its 
 hardships were not quite ended. The roads were flood- 
 ed by the heavy rains, and the streams scarcely fordable ; 
 and, consequently, the march was tedious and difficult. 
 General Jackson was much worn by the fatigues and 
 privations which he had encountered, but his capability 
 of endurance was not yet exhausted ; and the strength 
 of constitution he manifested, though belied by the ap- 
 parent weakness of his frame, gave rise to the sobriquet 
 of " Old Hickory," which was applied to him by his 
 soldiers, and adhered to him through life. 
 
 The terrible vengeance taken at Tohopeka, for the 
 massacre at Fort Mi ins, and the other monstrous cruel- 
 ties perpetrated by the Red Sticks, put an end to the 
 war. The great body of the hostile savages fled in 
 dismay before the advancing columns of General Jack- 
 son. Many of the fugitives were killed by a detach 
 ment of the 3rd infantry, under Colonel Russell, but 
 numbers effected their escape into Florida, on account 
 of the remissness of Colonel Milton, the officer in com- 
 mand of the South Carolinians, who were then on the 
 left bank of the Tallapoosa, not far above its junction 
 with the Coosa. McQueen, one" of the most prominent 
 chiefs among the Red Sticks, was captured, but after- 
 wards escaped to the Escambia river, with five hundred 
 adherents. 
 
 Arrived at Hoithlewalee, General Jackson found the 
 toWn" abandoned. On the faurteenth of April it was 
 destroyed, with several other villages in the vicinity.
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 The general then divided his command into two col- 
 umns ; one scouring the country on the left bank, arid 
 the other, with which he remained in person, advancing 
 down the right bank of the Tallapoosa, to the conflu- 
 ence, where a fort was constructed, called by General 
 Piuckney, in honor of the gallant Tennessee comman- 
 der, Fort Jackson. At this point most of the Hickory 
 Ground chiefs came in and submitted to the conqueror. 
 Weatherford also voluntarily surrendered, and the great 
 prophet of the Creeks, Hillinghagee, was taken pri- 
 soner. The only terms prescribed by the victorious 
 general were, that all who surrendered themselves 
 should retire to the country north of Fort Williams, 
 where, if their conduct was good, they would be per- 
 mitted to remain unmolested. In a few days after his 
 humane and generous proposition was made known, 
 numbers of the fugitives were on their way to the neu- 
 tral territory. 
 
 On the twentieth of April, General Pinckney arrived 
 at Fort Jackson, and on the following day assumed the 
 command. General Jackson shortly after repaired to 
 his home in Tennessee, to recruit his health and strength, 
 which had suffered materially during his long and ar- 
 duous campaign. The thanks of the government and 
 the applause of the nation followed him in his retire- 
 ment. An opportunity was soon afforded for rewarding 
 his services by an appointment in the regular army. 
 On the resignation of General Harrison, President Mad- 
 ison nominated him as a brigadier general, and major
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 general by brevet ; and, a short time afterwards, he 
 was appointed a full major general, to fill the vacancy 
 occasioned by the retirement of General Hampton. 
 Both commissions were received at the same time, and 
 the latter was accepted. 
 
 In the summer of 1814, General Jackson was ordered 
 to take command of the seventh military district, and 
 established his headquarters at Mobile. Associated with 
 Colonel Hawkins, he concluded a favorable treaty with 
 the Creek nation, by which, with the exception of a 
 small portion of the tribe who chose to remain in Flo- 
 rida, they were prevented from again taking up arms 
 during the continuance of the war with England. 
 
 In the month of August, Captain Gordon, of the 
 spies, visited Pensacola, and ascertained that a large 
 body of savages had been organized there by Colonel 
 Nicholls, of the British army, and were then being 
 instructed and drilled by British officers, in the pre- 
 sence, and with the knowledge, of the Spanish governor ; 
 that Fort Barrancas was occupied by between two and 
 three hundred British troops ; and that there were three 
 armed vessels belonging to the same nation, in the bay, 
 from which a considerable quantity of arms and provi- 
 sions had been disembarked. Another reconnoissance 
 was subsequently made by Lieutenant Murray, of the 
 Mississippi militia, which fully confirmed the report 
 made by Captain Gordon. On the twenty-ninth of 
 August, also, Colonel Nicholls issued a proclamation, 
 dated at his "headquarters, Pensacola," addressed to
 
 LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. 
 
 the inhabitants of the southern and southwestern states, 
 and inviting them to join his standard, in which he 
 informed them that he was " at the head of a large 
 body of Indians, well armed, disciplined, and com- 
 manded by British officers ; a good train of artillery, 
 with every requisite ; seconded by the powerful aid of 
 a numerous British and Spanish squadron of ships and 
 vessels of war." 
 
 General Jackson was not disposed to stand idly by, 
 and see the rights of his country violated, and her in- 
 terests jeoparded. He forthwith dispatched an express 
 to the governor of Tennessee, requesting the whole quota 
 of the militia of that State to be brought into the field 
 without delay, and commenced his preparations for a 
 march on Pensacola. On the fifteenth of September, Colo- 
 nel Nicholls appeared before Fort Bowyer, thirty miles 
 below Mobile, at the entrance of the Bay, with four ves- 
 sels containing a number of siege pieces, and several hun- 
 dred sailors, marines, and savages. The heavy guns 
 were landed, the fort invested, and a lively cannonade 
 opened upon it. Major Lawrence, of the 2nd infantry, 
 the commander of the post, with its garrison of one 
 hundred and twenty men, made a brave defence, and 
 finally forced the enemy to retire, with the loss of 
 one of their ships, and over two hundred killed and 
 wounded. 
 
 Having been joined by about two thousand men from 
 Tennessee, General Jackson took up the line of march 
 for Pensacola, with all his disposable troops. His whole
 
 LIFE OF ANDBEW JACKSON. 
 
 force consisted of upwards of three thousand men, but a 
 small part being regulars, and the remainder militia 
 from Mississippi and Tennessee, with a few Choctow 
 warriors. On the sixth of November, he arrived near 
 Pensacola, and sent a flag to the Spanish governor, to 
 communicate the purpose of his visit. The bearer of 
 the flag was fired on from the batteries in the town, and 
 forced to return. Dispositions were then made for car- 
 rying the fort by assault, which was discovered to be 
 defended by both British and Spanish troops,' on the fol- 
 lowing day. On the morning of the seventh, the gene- 
 ral entered the town with his troops, under a heavy 
 fire from the fort, and the British flotilla in the harbor, 
 and carried one of the advanced batteries at the point 
 of the bayonet. The governor now supplicated for 
 mercy, and surrendered the town and fort uncondition- 
 ally ; the British troops retiring to Fort Barrancas, and 
 their savage allies seeking shelter in the everglades of 
 Florida, whither they were driven by a detachment 
 from the American army under Major Blue.
 
 JACKSON S FIRST ENTBY INTO NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 IN the rear of the city of New Orleans, and about a 
 mile from its centre, there is a small, narrow, winding, 
 and still stream, called, in the South, a Bayou, which 
 communicates with Lake Pontchartrain. This bayou, 
 no doubt, once flowed from the Mississippi, but in the 
 progress of time and in the process of accretion, its 
 source has been thrown some distance from the river, 
 and now starting in the swamp above the city, it steals 
 through an indentation of the delta, winds along the 
 base of the Metairie Ridge (a curious protrusion from 
 the level plain in which New Orleans is built), and, 
 approaching the suburbs of the city, turns abruptly to 
 the east, and then, with sluggish current, meanders 
 towards the lake. A canal, commenced by that great 
 benefactor of New Orleans, Baron Carondelet, the 
 labor of which was performed by slaves belonging to 
 the citizens, who were levied upon for that purpose, 
 which was completed in 1796, connects the bayou with . 
 
 1*
 
 10 JACKSON AND NEW OKLEANS. 
 
 the city, and thus supplies the latter with an excellent 
 water communication with the lake, through which, in 
 the early days of its history, much of the commerce of 
 New Orleans was conducted. Biloxi, the Bay of Saint 
 Louis and Pass Christian were then flourishing settle- 
 ments, where the French established their first colonies, 
 before the mouth of the Mississippi had been dis- 
 covered, and where most of the shipping engaged in the 
 foreign and coastwise trade came to anchor, and trans- 
 shipping their cargoes into smaller crafts, sent them to 
 New Orleans through the Bayou Saint John (the name 
 of the stream we have described), and the canal 
 Carondelet. There, at the head of navigation on the 
 bayou, and about half a mile from the mouth of the 
 canal, is the old settlement of Saint John, which existed 
 when the present site of New Orleans was an unbroken 
 swamp, the favorite retreat of alligators and other rep- 
 tiles. But time has wrought a striking change in the 
 character and aspect of these localities. The seashore 
 settlements no longer resorted to for purposes of trade, 
 are now only known as places of summer sojourn and 
 recreation. Thither flock the jaded denizens of the city, 
 to refresh their wearied frames, to invigorate broken 
 constitutions, to relieve their minds of the oppression 
 of all business cares, and to inhale an atmosphere of 
 luxurious and exhilarating salubrity. 
 
 Alas ! this ancient canal and bayou followed the for- 
 tunes of the ancient population of New Orleans, and, 
 in the march of Anglo-American enterprise, lost its 
 value and importance as a vehicle of commerce, when a 
 new canal of larger dimensions was constructed in 
 another part of the city, where the all-conquering invad- 
 ers from Northern climes had "pitched their tents."
 
 JACKSON'S FIRST ENTRY INTO NEW ORLEANS. 11 
 
 Che fame and history of this old bayou and canal had 
 become classical, as relics of a past age and generation. 
 They were intimately associated with the early glories 
 of New Orleans, and were, therefore, held in warm vene- 
 ration by the old inhabitants. Several attempts have 
 been made to restore the fortunes of the old bayou, and 
 render it what it appears to be so admirably designed 
 for, an additional means of transit for the great and 
 rapidly increasing commerce between New Orleans and 
 the growing towns and settlements on the Lake .and 
 Gulf shore; but thus far they have not proved suc- 
 cessful. 
 
 The Bayou St. John empties into Lake Pontchartrain 
 at a distance of seven miles from the city. Here, at 
 its mouth, may be seen the remains, in an excellent 
 state of preservation, of an old Spanish fort, which was 
 built many years ago by one of the Spanish Governors, 
 as a protection of this important point ; for, by glancing 
 at the map of New Orleans and its vicinity, it will be 
 seen that a maritime power could find no easier approach 
 to the city than through the Bayou St. John. This fort 
 was built, as the Spaniards built all their fortifications 
 in this State, where stone could not be procured, of small 
 brick, imported from Europe, cemented with a much 
 more adhesive and permanent material than is now used 
 for building, and with walls of great thickness and 
 solidity. The foundation and walls of the fort still re- 
 main, interesting vestiges of the old Spanish dominion. 
 On the mound and within the walls, stands a comfort- 
 able hotel, where, in the summer season, may be ob- 
 tained healthful cheer, generous liquors, and a pleasant 
 view of the placid and beautiful lake, over whose gen tie 
 bosom the sweet south wind conies with just power
 
 12 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 enough to raise a gentle ripple on its mirror-like surface, 
 bringing joy and relief to the wearied townsman, and 
 debilitated invalid. What a different scene did this fort 
 present forty years ago ! Then there were large cannon 
 looking frowningly through those embrasures, whicli are 
 now filled up with dirt and rubbish, and around them 
 clustered glittering bayonets and fierce-looking men, full 
 of military ardor and determination. There, too, was 
 much of the reality, if not of " the pomp and circum- 
 stance " of war. High above the fort, from the summit 
 of a lofty staff, floated not the showy banner of Old 
 Spain, with its glittering and mysterious emblazonry, 
 but that simplest and most beautiful of all national 
 standards, the Stars and Stripes of the Republic of the 
 United States. 
 
 From the Fort St. John to the city, the distance is 
 six or seven miles. Along the bayou, which twists its 
 sinuous course like a huge dark green serpent, through 
 the swamp, lies a good road, hardened by a pavement 
 of shells, taken from the bottom of the lake. Hereon, 
 city Jehus now exercise their fast nags, and lovely 
 ladies take their evening airings. But at the time our 
 narrative commences, it was a very bad road, being 
 low, muddy, and broken. The ride, which now occu- 
 pies some twenty minutes very delightfully, was then a 
 wearisome two hours' journey. 
 
 It was along this road, early on the morning of the 
 2d December, 1814, that a party of gentlemen rode at 
 a brisk trot, from the lake towards the city. The mist, 
 which during the night broods over the swamp, had not 
 cleared off. The air was chilly, damp and uncomfor- 
 table. The travellers, however, were evidently hardy 
 men, accustomed to exposure, and intent upon purposes
 
 JACKSON'S FIEST ENTBY INTO NEW ORLEANS. 13 
 
 too absorbing to leave any consciousness of external 
 discomforts. Though devoid of all military, display 
 and even of the ordinary equipments of soldiers, tho 
 bearing and appearance of these men betokened their 
 connection with the profession of arms. The chief of 
 the party, which was composed of five or six persons, 
 was a tall, gaunt man, of very erect carriage, with a 
 countenance full of stern decision and fearless energy, 
 but furrowed with care and anxiety. His complexion 
 was sallow and unhealthy ; his hair was iron grey, and 
 his body thin and emaciated, like that of one who had 
 just recovered from a lingering and painful sickness. 
 But the fierce glare of his bright and 5 hawk-like grey 
 eye, betrayed a soul and spirit which triumphed over 
 all the infirmities of the body. His dress was simple, 
 and nearly threadbare. A small leather cap protected 
 his head, and a short Spanish blue cloak his body, 
 whilst his feet and legs were encased in high dragoon 
 boots, long igorant of polish or blacking, which reached 
 to the knees. In age, he appeared to have passed about 
 forty-five winters, the season for which his stern and 
 hardy nature seemed peculiarly adapted. 
 
 The others of the party were younger men, whose 
 spirits and movements were more elastic and careless, 
 and who relieved the weariness of the journey with 
 many a jovial story. 
 
 Arriving at the high ground near the junction of the 
 Canal Carondelet with the Bayou St. John, where a 
 bridge spanned the bayou, and quite a village had 
 grown up, the travellers halted before an old Spanish 
 villa, and, throwing their bridles to some grinning 
 negro boys at the gates, dismounted and walked into 
 the house. On entering the gallery, they were received
 
 14 JACKSON A.ND NEW OELEAN8. 
 
 in a very cordial and courteous manner, by J. Kilty 
 (Smith, Esq., then a leading New-Orleans merchant of 
 enterprise and public spirit, and who, a few months ago, 
 still survived, one of the most venerable of that small 
 band of the early American settlers, in the great com- 
 mercial emporium of the South, who, out-living several 
 generations, 'still linger in green old age, amid the scenes 
 of their youthful struggles, and survey, with proud satis- 
 faction, the greatness to which that city has grown, 
 whose tender infancy they witnessed and helped to 
 nurse and rear into a sturdy and robust maturity. On 
 the bayou, in an agreeable suburban retreat, Mr. Smith 
 had established himself. Here he dispensed a liberal 
 hospitality, and lived in such a style as was regarded in 
 those economical days, and by the more frugal Spanish 
 and French populations, as quite extravagant and 
 luxurious. 
 
 Ushering them into the marble-paved hall of his old 
 Spanish villa, Mr. Smith soon made his guests comfort- 
 able. It was evident that they were not unexpected. 
 Soon the company were all seated at the breakfast 
 table, which fairly groaned with the abundance of gene- 
 rous viands, prepared in that style of incomparable 
 cookery, for which the Creoles of Louisiana are so 
 renowned. Of this rich and savory food, the younger 
 guests partook quite heartily ; but the elder and leader 
 of the party was more careful and abstemious, confin- 
 ing himself to some boiled hominy, whose whiteness 
 rivaled that of the damask table-cloth. In the midst of 
 the breakfast, and whilst the company were engaged in 
 discussing the news of the day, a servant whispered tc 
 the host, that he \vas wanted in the ante-room. Excus- 
 ing himself to his guests, Mr. Smith retired to the ante-
 
 JACKSON'S FIRST ENTRY INTO NEW ORLEANS. 15 
 
 room, and there found himself in the presence of an 
 indignant and excited Creole lady, a neighbor, who had 
 kindly consented to superintend the preparations in Mr. 
 Smith's bachelor-establishment, for the reception of - 
 some distinguished strangers, and who, in that behalf, 
 had imposed upon herself a severe responsibility and 
 labor. 
 
 "Ah! Mr. Smith," exclaimed the deceived lady, in 
 a half-reproachful, half-indignant style, "how could 
 you play such a trick upon me ? You asked mo to 
 get your house in order to receive a great General. I 
 did so. I worked myself almost to death to make your 
 house comme il faut, and prepared a splendid dejeuner, 
 and now I find that all my labor is thrown away upon 
 an ugly, old Kaintuck-flat-boatman, instead of your 
 grand General, with plumes, epaulettes, long sword, 
 and moustache." 
 
 It was in vain that Mr. Smith strove to remove the 
 delusion from the mind of the irate lady, and convince 
 her that that plainly-dressed, jaundiced, hard-featured, 
 unshorn man, in the old blue coat, and bullet buttons, 
 was that famous warrior, Andrew Jackson. 
 
 It was, indeed, Andrew Jackson, who had come, fresh 
 from the glories and fatigues of his brilliant Indian 
 campaigns, in this unostentatious manner, to the city 
 which he had been sent to protect from one of the most 
 formidable perils that ever threatened a community. 
 Cheerfully and happily had he embraced this awful 
 responsibility. He had come to defend a defenceless 
 city, situated in the most remote section of the Union, 
 a city which had neither fleets nor forts, means nor 
 men a city, whose population were comparative 
 strangers to that of the other States, who sprung from 

 
 16 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 a different national stock, and spoke a different lan- 
 guage from that of the overwhelming majority of their 
 countrymen a language entirely unknown to the 
 General to defend it, too, against a power then victo- 
 rious over the conqueror of the world, at whose feet the 
 mighty Napoleon lay a prostrate victim and chained 
 captive. 
 
 After partaking of their breakfast, the General, tak- 
 ing out his watch, reminded his companions of the 
 necessity of their early entrance into the city. In a 
 few minutes, carriages were procured, and the whole" 
 party rode towards the city, by the old bayou road. 
 The General was accompanied by Major Hughes, com- 
 mander of the Fort St. John, by Major Butler, and 
 Captain Reid, his Secretary, who afterwards became 
 one of his biographers, Major Chotard, and other 
 officers of the staff. The cavalcade proceeded to the 
 elegant residence of Daniel Clark, the first representa- 
 tive of Louisiana, in the Congress of the United States, 
 a gentleman of Irish extraction, who had acquired 
 great influence, popularity, and wealth, in the city, and 
 died shortly after the commencement of the war of 
 1812. Here Jackson and his aids were met by a com- 
 mittee of the State and city authorities, and of the 
 people, at the head of whom was the Governor of the 
 State, who, in earnest but rather rhetorical terms, wel- 
 comed the General to the city, and proffered him every 
 aid of the authorities and the people, to enable him to 
 justify the title which they were already conferring 
 upon him of " Savior of New Orleans." His Excel- 
 lency, "W. C. C. Claiborne, the first American Gover- 
 nor of Louisiana, a Virginian, of good address, and 
 fluent elocution, then in the bloom of life, was sup
 
 JACKSON'S FIRST ENTRY INTO NEW ORLEANS. 17 
 
 ported by the leading civil and military characters of 
 the city. There, in the group was that redoubtable 
 naval hero, Commodore Patterson, a stout, compact, 
 gallant-bearing man, in the neat undress naval uniform. 
 His manner was slightly marked by hauteur, but his 
 movement and expression indicated the energy and 
 boldness of a man of decided action, as well as confi- 
 dent bearing. 
 
 Here, too, was the then Mayor of New Orleans, Nicholas 
 Girod, a rotund, affable, pleasant old French gentleman, 
 of easy, polite manners. There, too, was Edward Liv- 
 ingston, then the leading civil character in the city, 
 a tall, high-shouldered man, of ungraceful figure and 
 homely countenance, but whose high brow, and large, 
 thoughtful eyes, indicated a profound and powerful 
 intellect. By his side stood his youthful rival at the 
 the bar an elegant, graceful, and showily-dressed gentle- 
 man, whose figure combined the compact dignity and 
 solidity of the soldier, with the ease and grace of the 
 man of fashion and taste, and who, as the sole survivor 
 of those named, retained, in a remarkable degree, the 
 elegance and grace, which characterized his bearing 
 forty years ago, to the day of his very recent and lamented 
 decease. We refer to John Jfc. Grymes, so long the 
 veteran and chief ornament of the New Orleans bar. 
 
 Such were the leading personages in the assembly 
 which greeted Jackson's entrance into New Orleans. 
 
 The General replied briefly to the welcome of the 
 Governor. He declared that he had come to protect 
 the city, and he would drive their enemies into the sea, or 
 perish in the effort. He called on all good citizens to 
 rally around him in this emergency, and, ceasing all 
 differences and divisions, to unite with him in the
 
 18 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 patriotic resolve to save their city from the dishonor 
 and disaster, which a presumptuous enemy threatened to 
 inflict upon it. This address was rendered into French 
 by Mr. Livingston. It produced an electric effect upon 
 all present. Their countenances cleared up. Bright 
 and hopeful were the words and looks of all, who heard 
 the thrilling tones, and caught the heroic glance of the 
 hawk-eyed General. The General and staff then re-en- 
 tered their carriages. A cavalcade was formed, and 
 proceeded to the building, 106 Royal street one of the 
 few brick buildings then existing in New Orleans, which 
 now stands but little changed or affected by the lapse 
 of so many years. A flag unfurled from the third story, 
 soon indicated to the population the headquarters of the 
 General who had come so suddenly and quietly to their 
 rescue. 
 
 It was true he had come almost alone, without troops, 
 without arms, without money. Nor did he seek to sup- 
 ply these deficiencies with big words, large promises, 
 and loud vauntings. He had a more efficient means of 
 influencing men, a more powerful wand to wield over 
 the minds and hearts of the people. His army and his 
 armor, his strength and means, consisted in the prestige 
 of a name and history, which were then as familiar as 
 household words to all the people of the Yalley x>f the 
 Mississippi, a recurrence to which never failed to en- 
 kindle the enthusiasm and excite the pride of the 
 emporium of that valley. 
 
 What were these glorious antecedents, that drew so 
 much of popular admiration and confidence to Andrew 
 Jackson, and constitute some of his titles to the renown, 
 which history and all nations assign to him ? Let us 
 briefly sketch them.
 
 JACKSON'S FIRST ENTRY INTO NEW ORLEANS. Id 
 
 A wild aud desolate place called the Waxhaw Settle- 
 ment, in a remote district of South Carolina, was the 
 scene of Jackson's birth and boyhood. Throughout the 
 wide Union it would be difficult to find two more 
 dreary and desert-looking localities, than those, which 
 have been consecrated by the birth of the two most 
 eminent men in the history of America George Wash- 
 ington and Andrew Jackson. 
 
 Jackson was born on the 15th March, 1767. His 
 parents were emigrants from the north of Ireland, but 
 of Scotch descent. They had fled from the persecutions 
 and dissensions of the Old World, in pursuit of peace 
 and happiness in the New. They had been two years 
 in the country when Andrew was born. Like most 
 great men, he was blessed with a mother of uncommon 
 intelligence and vigor of mind. With such an instruct- 
 ress and guardian, his intellect early developed, and his 
 spirit expanded into premature manliness. He needed 
 only the occasion to cast his thoughts and feelings in that 
 heroic mould, which constitutes true greatness. Such 
 opportunity was presented, when in beardless boyhood, 
 he found himself in the very midst of some of the most 
 gloomy scenes of the Revolution of 1776. 
 
 In old age, when time and infirmity pressed heavily 
 upon that sanguine and dauntless spirit, and the impres- 
 sions of youth came out upon the memory with more 
 distinctness, that tottering old man of the Hermitage, 
 with his shrivelled visage and snowy locks, but with 
 eye still undimmed and piercing as ever, would recall, 
 with frightful accuracy, the horrible scenes of carnage, 
 rapine, and desolation which had made that boyhood, to 
 which most men recur as the bright period of their lives, 
 the gloomiest and saddest epoch in his career. .
 
 20 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 When a stripling of thirteen, with scarcely the strength 
 to raise a musket, he joined a party of patriots, under 
 the heroic Sumpter, and in the action at Hanging Rock, 
 and in various skirmishes, showed himself to be a boy 
 only in years. His biographers relate several instances 
 in which his ready courage and self-possession saved 
 himself and his companions from death and capture. 
 Even then he was a chief among men, and often assumed 
 the leadership of those who were old enough to be his 
 father. 
 
 Captured, at last, by the British, with his brother, he 
 was subjected to the most cruel treatment. When, with 
 characteristic spirit, he refused to perform some menial 
 office for a British officer, he was dastardly cut down 
 by the blow of a sabre, the mark of which was visible 
 ever afterwards. A similar cruelty to his elder brother 
 eventually produced his death. Closely confined in a 
 British prison, Andrew contracted a disease from which 
 he barely escaped with his life, and the effects of which 
 were felt by him for many years after. It was whilst 
 suffering with this disease, and nearly mad with fever 
 and pain, that the young soldier, hearing that a battle 
 was to be fought within view of the prison windows, 
 contrived, by the exertion of all his strength, to climb 
 up the wall to a small port-hole, which commanded a 
 view of the field of strife. It was thus the boy warrior 
 witnessed the first and only pitched battle that ever oc 
 curred under his observation previous to the events we 
 are about to relate. 
 
 This was the severely-contested battle of Camden, of 
 which Jackson never failed to retain a clear, distinct, 
 and vivid recollection. 
 
 Such were the scenes and sufferings amid which the
 
 JACKSON'S FIRST ENTRY INTO NEW ORLEANS. 21 
 
 boyhood of Jackson was passed. It was a severe school, 
 and its effects were quite perceptible in that staunch, 
 unyielding spirit, heroic fortitude, and dauntless resolu- 
 tion, which distinguished him through life. 
 
 At the close of the Revolution, Jackson found him- 
 self alone in the world, the solitary survivor of a family, 
 which, twenty years before, had left Ireland, with bright 
 hopes of finding in the forests of America, a peaceful, 
 happy home. These circumstances were well calculated 
 to impart to the character of Jackson, that tinge of 
 melancholy which it wore through life. This feeling o* 
 loneliness and keen sense of wrong, in the high-day of 
 youth, broke out into reckless dissipation, which, how- 
 ever, was always redeemed and qualified by a spirit of 
 generosity and chivalry. Conquering this tendency, 
 after expending his patrimony, Jackson, with dauntless 
 heart and iron will, threw himself among the hardy and 
 reckless frontiersmen of Tennessee, and engaged in the 
 perilous practice of law, at a time, and in a country, 
 when and where a good eye, steady nerve, and prowess 
 and courage in personal combat, were more essential to 
 the success of a lawyer, than a knowledge of Coke and 
 Blackstone. Jackson possessed these qualifications of 
 " sharp practice " in an eminent degree. His professional 
 career was a perilous and contentious one. It was 
 better adapted to train and form the warrior than the 
 jurisconsult. The courage, which had been so severely 
 tested in the Revolution, was frequently required to 
 repel the aggressions of those pestilent bullies, who 
 always abound in frontier settlements. Through many 
 dangerous conflicts, the impetuous young Carolinian had 
 to fight his way to a position, which secured him the 
 fear and awe of the disorderly, and the respect and con-
 
 22 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Science of the hardy settlers. Chivalrous and generous, 
 as determined and ferocious, he was the leader in all 
 enterprises to protect the weak and defenceless. Patri- 
 otic and high-toned, he was ever ready to risk his life, 
 to maintain the laws of his country, and enforce justice 
 and lawful authority. Thus the "Sharp Knife" and 
 " Pointed Arrow " of the Indians, was not only a terror 
 to the prowling aborigines, who hung around the settle- 
 ments, but to the even more ferocious frontiersmen, who 
 straggled from more populous and better organized dis- 
 tricts, in the hope of getting beyond the reach of the law 
 and justice, and finding larger and safer fields for their 
 deeds of violence and crime. 
 
 Calle.d by the people successively to the civil offices 
 of member of the State Convention, Representative and 
 Senator in Congress, and lastly Supreme Judge of the 
 State, Jackson displayed in all these positions, the same 
 firm spirit and fearless courage, united with great saga- 
 city, and that remarkable courtesy and impressiveness 
 of manner, which excited so much surprise in all per- 
 sons, who never having before seen him, but familiar 
 with his character and acts, were suddenly brought into 
 his presence. 
 
 The life and character, we have thus imperfectly de- 
 scribed, clearly indicate the man who would be selected 
 from a million for high military command. And yet, 
 when the war of 1812 broke out, Jackson sought a com- 
 mand in vain. His friends and neighbors understood 
 and appreciated his merits ; but those charged with the 
 administration of the Federal Government did not. He 
 only asked for a commission, offering to raise the com- 
 mand himself in thirty days. But he was no intri- 
 guer, and his pretensions were ignored. Others were
 
 JACKSON'S FIRST ENTRY INTO NEW ORLEANS. 23 
 
 appointed. Disaster after disaster followed. The tra- 
 gedy of the River Raisin, and the disgraceful failure of 
 the Northern Campaign, tilled the whole country, and 
 especially the gallant West, with grief and humiliation. 
 Thousands panted to wipe out these blots from the 
 escutcheon of the Union, with their heart's blood. But 
 alas ! the Government at Washington was in the hands 
 of " closet warriors," and political . abstractionists, 
 " ideologists," in the sense of Napoleon's characterization 
 of the Republicans of the Abbe Sieyes school. Slighted 
 and rejected by the government, Jackson's ardor and 
 ambition to serve his country were not extinguished in 
 the chagrin of personal disappointment. He deter- 
 mined to force himself into the service, by raising a large 
 volunteer corps, and so organizing it, that the govern- 
 ment would be compelled to recognize its value and 
 muster it into service. The gallant youth of Tennessee 
 quickly rallied to his call. Having soon collected, and 
 organized the requisite force, he at once tendered his 
 services, was accepted by the government, and ordered 
 to proceed to Natchez, a distance of a thousand miles. 
 This march was performed in the depth of winter, 
 through a wild and difficult country, with new and 
 young soldiers. 
 
 On his arrival at Natchez, he was destined to receive 
 new mortifications. Suddenly there came an order to 
 disband his troops, and deliver over the public stores, 
 arms, and munitions to an agent of the government. 
 It was a cruel and incomprehensible order. The sol- 
 diers were youths, the sons of his neighbors and friends. 
 He was bound to them by stronger and dearer ties, than 
 even those of the chief to his followers. He had pledged 
 his honor to venerable fathers and mothers, to loving
 
 24 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 wives and sisters, to protect their sons, husbands, and 
 brothers, and lead them back to their homes. Could he 
 obey this revolting command, and then go home and 
 face his old friends and neighbors, who had been thus 
 shamefully deceived ? To the soldier and citizen it was 
 a severe alternative, but Jackson did not hesitate. He 
 disregarded the order, and marched his whole command 
 back to Tennessee, through incredible toils and suffer- 
 ings. He had encountered no enemy, and yet, in that 
 brief campaign, he had displayed higher and nobler 
 traits, than those which shine through the smoke and 
 carnage of battle. He had shown that iron firmness 
 and fortitude, that heroic devotion to his companions, 
 which secured him their lasting gratitude, affection, and 
 confidence, to a degree that rendered his control and 
 influence over them unlimited. When the war-blast 
 sounded, the youth of Tennessee knew in whom to find 
 a chief worthy to lead them. 
 
 It was not long before the tocsin rang throughout the 
 "West. 
 
 Tecumseh, the great Indian Chief, aided by the in- 
 trigues of the Spaniards in Florida, and the British, had 
 succeeded in uniting the formidable tribes of Indians in 
 the Mississippi Territory, the Chickasaws, Cherokees, 
 and Creeks, into a powerful league and conspiracy to 
 attack and destroy the most exposed white settlements. 
 The fearful massacre at Fort Mimms was the first de- 
 monstration of this design. It fell like a thunder clap 
 from a cloudless sky, on the southwest. A public meet- 
 ing was held at Nashville, to devise means of arresting 
 and punishing these depredations. With one voice 
 Jackson was designated by the people as the chief in 
 such enterprise. He accepted the responsible duty, and
 
 JACKSON'S FIRST ENTRY INTO NEW ORLEANS. 25 
 
 issued a thrilling appeal to the young men of Tennessee 
 to assemble around his standard. Twenty-five hundred 
 gallant and patriotic men promptly responded to this 
 call. 
 
 At the head of this force, though still suffering from a 
 severe wound received in a personal rencontre with the 
 Bentons, Jackson marched rapidly to the southward to 
 the scene of the Indian cruelties. After many delays 
 and difficulties, which would have crushed the energies 
 of almost any other man, Jackson found his blood-thirsty 
 enemy strongly posted at Tallahatchie. His " right 
 arm," the intrepid Coffee, was thrown forward with a 
 portion of his force, with orders to dislodge the savages. 
 The order was obeyed by Coffee with characteristic 
 energy and promptitude, and after an obstinate conflict, 
 the Indians were entirely routed, with a loss of two 
 hundred killed and eighty-four prisoners. Thence, after 
 issuing requisitions for reinforcements from Tennessee, 
 and after establishing Fort Stockton, Jackson advanced 
 rapidly to the relief of Fort Talladega, where a small 
 force of Americans was surrounded and threatened with 
 instant destruction by more than a thousand fierce war 
 riors. Without resting his men, Jackson pushed forward 
 and fell, with the fury of a tempest, on the surprised 
 savages. The field for some distance around was strewn 
 with the gory bodies of painted warriors. Those who 
 survived the attack and escaped the vengeance of 
 "Sharp Knife," fled with terror into the deepest recesses 
 of the forest. But these victories, prompt, brilliant, and 
 decisive as they were, did not afford the best tests of 
 Jackson's military genius. His real trial was yet to 
 come. He did not have to wait long for it. 
 
 2
 
 26 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 J ackson had moved so rapidly, and penetrated so far 
 from the base of his operations, that he soon found him- 
 self in great stress for provisions and munitions. The 
 promised supplies had failed. There was no evidence 
 in the Southwest, of the existence of a central Govern- 
 ment, to aid and further military operations. Thus far, 
 he had maintained himself by his own credit. This re- 
 source was exhausted, and now Jackson found himself 
 in the severest strait of the military commander. He 
 had to keep up the spirits and discipline of raw volun- 
 teer troops, under the pressure of hunger, want, and 
 sickness. Never did his heroic soul shine out with 
 greater splendor than in this emergency. Cheerfully 
 he shared the bitterest trials and sufferings of his men, 
 selecting the offal of the few cattle left to them for his 
 rations, and allowing his sick men the wholesome meat, 
 dividing his acorns with a fellow-soldier, and giving his 
 blankets, so much needed for his own wasted frame, to 
 some wounded companion. But even this example of 
 heroic fortitude could not prevail over the gnawings of 
 hunger. His men grew clamorous and mutinous. 
 What he would not concede to violence, he cheerfully 
 yielded to reason. He consented to return, until they 
 could meet some supplies. The troops had not proceeded 
 far before they met a large drove of cattle, which had 
 been dispatched to them by some of Jackson's agents. 
 Oh, with what zest and eagerness did those famished 
 men devour the fresh meat, which the foresight and 
 energv of their General had thus procured for them ! 
 But swety did not restore their spirits, nor invigorate 
 their sense of duty. They still longed for their homes, 
 and persisted ir returning. Jackson, ordered them to
 
 JACKSON'S FIKST ENTRY INTO NEW ORLEANS. 27 
 
 retrace their steps, and pursue the enemy. They sul- 
 tenly refused to obey, and, forming the column, were 
 about to resume their march homeward. 
 
 Now was the time for action, for resolution, for heroic, 
 sublime courage. Mounting his charger, Jackson rode 
 to the front, and seizing a musket from one of the men, 
 levelled it at the head of the column, and swore, " by the 
 Eternal," he would shoot the first man who advanced a 
 step. The men were astounded by his audacity and 
 resolution. They knew he was a man of his word. 
 Two thousand impatient, fiery, self-willed frontiersmen, 
 who were little accustomed to restraint or control, thus 
 awed, by one emaciate, weak, broken-armed man! 
 Presently, some of the men, ashamed of their conduct, 
 went over to him and pledged their lives to sustain him. 
 Finally, they yielded to Jackson's resolution, and agreed 
 to resume their march forward. 
 
 New difficulties and sufferings again aroused the 
 spirit of mutiny, and another attempt to depart home- 
 ward was made and resisted in the same prompt and 
 decisive manner. At last, Jackson having carried his 
 point, and entirely suppressed the rebellious tendencies 
 of his men, deemed it best to send home the greater 
 part of his troops, and defer further operations for some 
 months. With a few faithful officers and soldiers, he 
 established himself at Fort Stockton. 
 
 In January, 1814, having been joined by a force of 
 raw troops, Jackson pushed forward to Emuckfaw, on 
 the Tallapoosa. Near this place he was suddenly at- 
 tacked with great fury, by a powerful force of Indians, 
 whom he defeated in a close hand-to-hand fight. But 
 his force was too weak to follow up this advantage, so 
 he determined to return to Fort Stockton. It was on
 
 28 JACKSON AND NEW OBLEAN8. 
 
 his return march, that the enemy surprised Jackson's 
 rear guard, at Enotchhopo. A momentary panic was 
 created, and the Indians were rapidly breaking into the 
 very centre of the column, when the gallant Armstrong 
 (the late General Robert Armstrong, of the Washington 
 Union), arrested their advance by the effective discharge 
 of a small piece of ordnance, of which he had charge, 
 and by the side of which he fell, desperately wounded. 
 As he lay bleeding on the ground, with crowds of savage 
 enemies pressing around him impatient for his scalp, 
 Armstrong called out, " Some of us must fall, but save 
 the gun !" Carroll, too, a young and intrepid officer, 
 rushed to the relief of Armstrong. He was followed by 
 the famous spy-captain of Duck River, Gordon, who, 
 pressing closely on the left of the enemy, held them in 
 check until Jackson could bring up the main body, 
 which he rapidly effected, and falling upon them, soon 
 put them to flight with great loss, causing their precipi- 
 tate dispersion through the country in the most destitute 
 and panic-stricken condition. 
 
 This affair concluded Jackson's second campaign. 
 He returned to Fort Stockton, and discharged his men 
 with high testimonials to their good conduct. Soon 
 after, he was joined by a fresh army of nearly three 
 thousand men, with which he determined to advance, 
 and annihilate, at one blow, the hostile tribes. Learning 
 that the Indians had collected in large force, in a spot 
 regarded by them as holy ground, situated in the bend 
 of the Tallapoosa River, called from its shape Tohopeka, 
 or the Horse-shoe, he inarched thither. 
 
 The Indians were stationed behind a well-constructed 
 breastwork thrown across the neck. Sending Coffee to 
 surround the bend, Jackson opened a cannonade upon
 
 JACKSON'S FIRST ENTRY INTO NEW ORLEANS. 29 
 
 their defences in front. This plan not succeeding against 
 so agile and wary a foe, Jackson resolved to storm their 
 works. This was done with the greatest ardor and hero- 
 ism by the intrepid Tennesseans. It was a close and 
 bloody fight, of man to man. The Indians, instigated 
 by superstition, as well as by their natural blood-thirsti- 
 ness, fought with more than usual desperation. They 
 bared their breasts to the gleaming knives, and with 
 their small tomahawks fearlessly threw themselves on 
 the bayonets of their pale-face enemies. It was as ter- 
 rible, and for the numbers engaged, as destructive a 
 conflict as ever occurred. The breastwork was stormed 
 by the Tennesseans ; the charm of invincibility was 
 broken, and the " sacred ground " of the Eed Sticks 
 was strewn with eight hundred dead warriors. There 
 were no wounded in those battles. The Red Stick was 
 only conquered in battle when life was extinct. ' 
 
 Thus Jackson redeemed his pledge. The Red Sticks, 
 as a tribe, were annihilated. The few survivors fled to 
 the Spanish settlements in Florida. Some humbly 
 sought for peace and pardon, which Jackson, as gener- 
 ous as brave, cheerfully granted. 
 
 This victory for ever destroyed the power of the war- 
 like tribes of the Southwest, and made them ever after- 
 wards, either friends or very timid foes of the whites. 
 It was a brilliant conclusion of Jackson's Indian cam- 
 paign. He began now to be known abroad. The peo- 
 ple all over the country applauded his heroic bearing, 
 under all circumstances, against starvation, mutiny, de- 
 sertion and disaffection, as well as against the rifles and 
 tomahawks of his savage enemies. Even the torpid 
 Government at Washington, which had failed to recog- 
 nize his rights before, now hastened to redeem its error,
 
 30 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 by appointing him to the Major-Generalship, made 
 vacant by the resignation of William Henry Harrison. 
 Jackson's first duty, in his new command was, to nego- 
 tiate a treaty of peace with the Indians, and to guard 
 generally the Southwestern frontier. 
 
 It was in the discharge of this duty he approached 
 the Gulf shore, to observe the intrigues of the Span- 
 iards, who were charged with giving aid and comfort to 
 the Indians in their inroads on the white settlements. 
 A much more formidable and important enemy, was 
 also implicated in that infamous alliance with barbarians. 
 The British were virtually in possession of Pensacola. 
 The soul of Jackson fired with the recollection of the 
 cruelties his family had suffered at the hands of his 
 hereditary enemy, in the Revolution of 1776. He longed 
 to avenge those wrongs, not l^y like cruelties, but by 
 legitimate victories obtained in manly warfare. We 
 shall soon see, whether he was disappointed in this hon- 
 orable revenge ; whether the military genius, which had 
 been nursed amid the fearful struggles of the War of 
 Independence, which had been trained and disciplined 
 by the trying scenes and perils of frontier life, and in 
 warfare against brave and desperate savages, will not 
 shine even more brilliantly and gloriously in a highei 
 sphere, and on a grander scale of warlike achievement.
 
 LAFLTTK, "THE PIRATE." 31 
 
 n. 
 
 LAFTTTE, " THE PIRATE.** 
 
 A.BOUT one mile above New Orleans, oppceite the 
 nourishing City of Jefferson, and on the right bank of 
 the Mississippi, there is a small canal, now used by fish- 
 ermen and hunters, which approaches within a few hun- 
 dred yards of the river's bank. 
 
 The small craft that ply on this canal are taken up on 
 cars, which run into the water by an inclined plane, and 
 are then hauled by mules to the river. Launched upon 
 the rapid current of the Mississippi, these boats are soon 
 borne into the Crescent port of New Orleans. Follow- 
 ing this canal, which runs nearly due west for five or 
 six miles, we reach a deep, narrow, and tortuous bayon. 
 Descending this bayou, which for forty miles threads its 
 sluggish course through an impenetrable swamp, we 
 pass into a large lake, girt with sombre forests and 
 gloomy swamps, and resonant with the hoarse croakings 
 of alligators, and the screams of swamp fowls. 
 
 From this lake, by a still larger bayou, we pass into 
 another lake, and from that to another, until we reach 
 an island, on which are discernible, at a considerable 
 distance, several elevated knolls, and where a scant 
 vegetation and a few trees maintain a feeble existence. 
 At the lower end of this island, there are some curious
 
 32 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 aboriginal vestiges, in the shape of high mounds of 
 shells, which are thought to mark the burial of some 
 extinct tribes. This surmise has been confirmed by 
 the discovery of human bones below the surface of 
 these mounds. The elevation formed by the series 
 of mounds, is known as the Temple, from a tradition 
 that the Natchez Indians used to assemble there to 
 offer sacrifices to their chief deity, the " Great Sun." 
 This lake or bayou finally disembogues into the Gulf 
 of Mexico by two outlets, between which lies the 
 beautiful island of Grand Terre. 
 
 This island is a pleasant sea-side resort, having a 
 length of six miles, and an average breadth of a mile 
 and a-half. Towards the sea it presents a fine beach, 
 where those who love " the rapture of the lonely shore," 
 who delight in the roar and dash of the foaming billows, 
 and in the ecstasy of a bath in the pure, bracing surge, 
 may find abundant means of pleasure and enjoyment. 
 
 Grand Terre is now occupied and cultivated by a 
 Creole family, as a sugar plantation, producing annually 
 four or five hundred hogsheads of sugar. At the west- 
 ern extremity of the island stands a large and powerful 
 fortification, which has been quite recently erected by 
 the United States, and named after one of the most dis- 
 tinguished benefactors of Louisiana, Edward Livingston. 
 This fort commands the western entrance or strait lead- 
 ing from the Gulf into the lake or bay of Barataria. 
 Here, safely sheltered, some two or three miles from the 
 gulf, is a snug little harbor, where vessels drawing from 
 seven to eight feet water, may ride in safety, out of 
 the reach of the fierce storms that so often sweep the 
 Gulf of Mexico. 
 
 Here may be found, even now, the foundations of
 
 LAFITTE, " THE PIRATE." 33 
 
 bouses, the brickwork of a rude fort, and otber evi- 
 dences of an ancient settlement. Tbis is tbe spot which 
 bas become so famous in tbe history and romances of tbe 
 Southwest, as tbe " Pirate's Home," tbe retreat of tbe 
 dread Corsair of tbe Gull', wbom tbe genius of Byron, 
 and of many succeeding poets and novelists, bas conse- 
 crated as one wbo 
 
 " Left a corsair's name to other times, 
 Linked with one virtue and a thousand crimes." 
 
 Sucb is poetry sucb is romance. But autbentic bis- 
 tory, by wbicb alone tbese sketcbes are guided, dissi- 
 pates all tbese fine flights of tbe poet and romancer. 
 
 Jean Lafitte, tbe so-called Pirate and Corsair, was a 
 blacksmitb from Bordeaux, France, wbo, witbin tbe 
 recollection of several old citizens now living in New 
 Orleans, kept bis forge at tbe corner of Bourbon and St. 
 Pbillip streets. He bad an older brother, Pierre, wbo 
 was a seafaring character, and bad served in tbe French 
 Navy. Neither were pirates, and Jean knew not 
 enough of tbe art of navigation to manage a jolly boat. 
 But be was a man of good address and appearance, of 
 considerable shrewdness, of generous and liberal heart, 
 and adventurous spirit. 
 
 Shortly after the cession of Louisiana to tbe United 
 States, a series of events occurred which made the Gulf 
 of Mexico the arena of tbe most extensive and profita- 
 ble privateering. First came the war between France 
 and Spain, which afforded the inhabitants of the French 
 islands a good pretence to depredate upon the rich com- 
 merce of tbe Spanish possessions the most valuable 
 and productive in the New World. The Gulf of Mex- 
 ico and Caribbean Sea swarmed with privateers, owned 
 
 2*
 
 34: JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 and employed by men of all nations, who obtained their 
 commissions (by purchase) from the French authorities 
 at Martinique and Guadalupe. Among these were not 
 a few neat and trim crafts belonging to the staid citizens 
 of New England, who, under the tri-color of France, 
 experienced no scruples in perpetrating acts which, 
 though not condemned by the laws of nations, in their 
 spirit as well as in their practical results, bear a strong 
 resemblance to piracy. The British capture and occu- 
 pation of Guadalupe and Martinique, in 1806, in which 
 expeditions Col. Ed. Packenham, who will figure con- 
 spicuously in these sketches, distinguished himself, and 
 received a severe wound, broke up a favorite retreat of 
 these privateers. Shortly after this, Columbia declared 
 her independence of Spain, and invited to her port of 
 Carthagena, the patriots and adventurers of all nations, 
 to aid her struggle against the mother country. Thither 
 flocked all the privateers and buccaneers of the Gulf. 
 Commissions were promptly given or sold to them, to 
 sail under the Columbian flag, and to prey upon the 
 commerce of poor old Spain, who, invaded and despoiled 
 at home, had neither means nor spirit to defend her dis- 
 tant possessions. 
 
 The success of the privateers was brilliant. It is a 
 narrow line, at the best, which divides piracy from pri- 
 vateering, and it is not at all wonderful that the reck- 
 less sailors of the Gulf sometimes lost sight of it. The 
 shipping of other countries was, no doubt, frequently 
 mistaken for that of Spain. Rapid fortunes were made 
 in this business. Capitalists embarked their means in 
 equipping vessels for privateering. Of course they 
 were not responsible for the excesses which were com 
 mitted by those in their employ, nor did they trouble
 
 LAFITTE, <: THE PIRATE." 36 
 
 themselves to inquire into all the acts of their agents. 
 Finally, however, some attention was excited by this 
 wholesale system of legalized pillage. The privateers 
 found it necessary to secure some safe harbor, into which 
 they could escape from the ships of war, where they 
 could be sheltered from the northers, and where, too, 
 they could establish a depot for the sale and smuggling 
 of their spoils. It was a sagacious thought which se- 
 lected the little bay or cove of Grand Terre for this pur- 
 pose. It was called Barataria, and several huts and 
 store-houses were built there, and cannon planted on the 
 beach. Here rallied the privateers of the Gulf, with 
 their fast-sailing schooners, armed to the teeth and 
 manned by fierce-looking men, who wore sharp cut- 
 lasses, and might be taken anywhere for pirates, without 
 oifence. They were the desperate men of all nations, 
 embracing as well those who had occupied respectable 
 positions in the naval or merchant service, who were in- 
 stigated to their present pursuit by the love of gain, as 
 those who had figured in the bloody scenes of the buc- 
 caneers of the Spanish Main. Besides its inaccessibility 
 to vessels of war, the Bay of Barataria recommended 
 itself by another important consideration : it was near 
 to the city of New Orleans, the mart of the growing 
 valley of the Mississippi, and from it the lakes and 
 bayous aiforded an easy water communication, nearly to 
 the banks of the Mississippi, within a short distance of 
 the city. A regular organization of the privateers was 
 established, officers were chosen, and agents appointed 
 in New Orleans to enlist men, and negotiate the sale of_ 
 goods. 
 
 Among the most active and sagacious of these town 
 agents, was the blacksmith of St. Phillip street, who,
 
 36 JAUKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 following the example of much greater and more pre- 
 tentious men, abandoned his sledge and anvil, and 
 embarked in the lawless and more adventurous career of 
 smuggling and privateering. Gradually by his success, 
 enterprise, and address, Jean Lafitte obtained such 
 ascendancy over the lawless congregation at Bara- 
 taria, that they elected him their Captain or Com- 
 mander. 
 
 There is a tradition that this choice gave great dissat- 
 isfaction to some of the more warlike of the privateers, 
 and particularly to Gambio, a savage, grim Italian, who 
 did not scruple to prefer the title and character of 
 " Pirate," to the puling, hypocritical one of " Privateer." 
 But it is said, and the story is verified by an aged Ital- 
 ian, one of the only two survivors of the Baratarians, 
 now resident in Grand Terre, who rejoices in the 
 "nom de guerre" indicative of a ghastly sabre cut 
 across the face, of " Nez Coupe" that Lafitte found it 
 necessary to sustain his authority by some terrible ex- 
 ample, and when one of Gambio's followers resisted his 
 orders, he shot him through the heart before the whole 
 band. Whether this story be true or not, there can be 
 uo doubt that in the year 1813, when the association 
 had attained its greatest prosperity, Lafitte held undis- 
 puted authority and control over it. He certainly con 
 ducted his administration with energy and ability. A 
 large fleet of small vessels rode in the harbor, besides 
 others that were cruising. Their store-houses were filled 
 with valuable goods. Hither resorted merchants and 
 traders from all parts of the country, to purchase goods, 
 which, being cheaply obtained, could be retailed at a 
 large profit. A number of small vessels were employed 
 in transporting goods to New Orleans, through the
 
 LAFTTTE, " THE PIRATE." 87 
 
 bayou we have described, just as oysters, fish and game 
 are now brought. 
 
 Oil reaching the head of the bayou, these goods would 
 be taken out of the boats and placed on the backs of 
 mules to be carried to the river banks whence they 
 would be ferried across into the city, at night. In the 
 city they had many agents, who disposed of these goods. 
 By this profitable trade, several citizens of New Orleans 
 laid the foundations of their fortunes. But though pro- 
 fitable to individuals, this trade was evidently detri- 
 mental to regular and legitimate commerce, as well as 
 to the revenue of the Federal Government. Accord- 
 ingly, several efforts were made to break up the associa- 
 tion, but the activity and influence of their city 
 friends generally enabled them to hush up such 
 designs. 
 
 Legal prosecutions were commenced on 7th April, 
 1813, against Jean and Pierre Lafitte, in the United 
 States District Court for Louisiana, charging them with 
 violating the Revenue and Neutrality Laws of the Uni- 
 ted States. Nothing is said about piracy the gravest 
 offence charged, being simply a misdemeanor. Even 
 these charges were not sustained, for, although both the 
 Lafittes, and many others of the Baratarians, were cap- 
 tured by Captain Andrew Holmes, in an expedition 
 down the bayou, about the time of the filing of these 
 informations against them, yet it appears they were re- 
 leased, and the prosecutions never came to trial, the 
 warrants for their arrest being returned " not found." 
 These abortive proceedings appear to have given encour 
 agement and vigor to the operations of the Baratarians. 
 Accordingly, we find on the 28th July, 1814, the Grand 
 Jury of New Orleans making the following terrible ex-
 
 3 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 posure of the audacity and extent of these unlawful 
 transactions : 
 
 "The Grand Jury feel it a duty they owe to society to state that 
 piracy and smuggling, so long established and so systematically pur- 
 sued by many of the inhabitants of this State, and particularly in 
 this city and vicinity, that the Grand Jury find it difficult legally to 
 establish facts, even where the strongest presumptions are offered. 
 
 " The Grand Jury, impressed with a belief that the evils com- 
 plained of have impaired public confidence and individual credit, 
 injured the honest fair trader, and contributed to drain our country 
 of its specie, corrupted the morals of many poor citizens, and finally 
 stamped disgrace on our State, deem it a duty incumbent on them, 
 by this public presentation, again to direct the attention of the 
 public to this serious subject, calling upon all good citizens for their 
 most active exertions to suppress the evil, and by their pointed dis- 
 approbation of every individual who maybe concerned, directly or 
 indirectly in such practices, in some measure to remove the stain 
 that has fallen on all classes of society in the minds of the good 
 people of our sister States." 
 
 The Report concludes with a severe reproof of the 
 Executive of the State, and of the United States, for 
 neglecting the proper measures to suppress these evil 
 practices. 
 
 The tenor of this presentment leads to the belief that 
 the word " piracy," as used by the Grand Jury, was 
 intended to include the more common offences of iitting 
 out privateers within the United States, to operate 
 against the ships of nations with which they were at 
 peace, and that of smuggling. Certainly the grave 
 fathers of the city would not speak of a crime, involving 
 murder and robbery, in such mild and measured terms, 
 as one "calculated to impair public confidence, and 
 injure public credit, to defraud the fair dealer, to drain
 
 LAFITTE, " T1IK PIRATE." 39 
 
 the country of specie, and to cormpt the morals of the 
 people." Such language, applied td the enormous crime 
 of piracy, would appear quite inappropriate, not to say 
 ridiculous. It is evident from this, as well as other 
 proofs, that the respectable citizens, several of whom 
 now survive, who made this report, had in view the 
 denunciation of the offence of smuggling into New 
 Orleans, goods captured on the high seas, by privateers, 
 which, no doubt, seriously interfered with legitimate 
 trade, and drew off a large amount of specie. 
 
 However, indictments for piracy were found against 
 several of the Baratarians. One against Johnness, for 
 piracy on the Santa, a Spanish vessel, which was cap- 
 tured nine miles from Grand Isle, and nine thousand 
 dollars taken from her ; also, against another, who went 
 by the name of Johannot, for capturing another Spanish 
 vessel with her cargo, worth thirty thousand dollars, off 
 Trinidad. Pierre Lafitte was charged as aider and 
 abettor in these crimes before and after the fact, as one 
 who did, " upon land, to wit : in the city of New 
 Orleans, within the District of Louisiana, knowingly 
 and willingly aid, assist, procure, counsel and advise the 
 said piracies and robberies." It is quite evident from 
 the character of the ships captured, that had the indict- 
 ments been prosecuted to a trial, they would have 
 resulted in modifying the crime of piracy into the 
 offence of privateering, or that of violating the Neu- 
 trality Laws of the United States, by -bringing prizes 
 taken from Spain into its territory and selling the same. 
 
 Pierre Latitte was arrested on these indictments. An 
 application for bail was refused, and he was incarcerated 
 in the Calaboose, or city prison, now occupied by the 
 Sixth District Court of New Orleans.
 
 40 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 These transactions, betokening a vigorous determina- 
 tion on the part of the authorities, to break up the es- 
 tablishment at Barataria, Jean Lafitte proceeded to that 
 place and was engaged in collecting the vessels and 
 property of the association, with a view of departing to 
 some more secure retreat, when an event occurred, which 
 he thought would afford him an opportunity of propiti- 
 ating the favor of the government, and securing for 
 himself and his companions a pardon for their offences. 
 
 It was on the morning of the second of September, 
 1814, that the settlement of Barataria was aroused by 
 the report of cannon in the direction of the gulf. Lafitte 
 immediately ordered out a small boat, in which, rowed 
 by four of his men, he proceeded toward the mouth of 
 the strait. Here he perceived a brig of war, lying just 
 outside of the inlet, with the British colors flying at the 
 mast-head. As soon as Lafitte's boat was perceived, 
 the gig of the brig shot off from her side and approached 
 him. 
 
 In this gig were three officers, clad in naval uniform, 
 and one in the scarlet of the British army. They bore 
 a white signal in the bows, and a British flag in the 
 stern of their boat. The officers proved to be Captain 
 Lockyer, of his Majesty's navy, with a Lieutenant of the 
 same service, and Captain Me Williams, of the army. 
 On approaching the boat of the Baratarians, Captain 
 Lockyer called out his name and style, and inquired if 
 Mr. Lafitte was at home in the bay, as he had an im- 
 portant communication for him. Lafitte replied, that 
 the person they desired could be seen ashore, and invited 
 the officers to accompany him to their settlement. They 
 accepted the invitation, and the boats were rowed 
 through the strait into the Bay of Barataria. On their
 
 LAFTTTE, "THE PIRATE." 4rl 
 
 way Latitte confessed his true name and character ; 
 whereupon Captain Lockyer delivered to him a paper 
 package. Latitte enjoined upon the British officers to 
 conceal the true object of their visit from his men, who 
 might, if they suspected their design, attempt some 
 violence against them. Despite these cautions, the 
 Baratarians, on recognizing the uniform of the strangers, 
 collected on the shore in a tumultuous and threatening 
 manner, and clamored loudly for their arrest. It 
 required all Lafitte's art, address, and influence to calm 
 them. Finally, however, he succeeded in conducting 
 the British to his apartments, where they were enter- 
 tained in a style of elegant hospitality, which greatly 
 surprised them. 
 
 The best wines of old Spain, the richest fruits of the 
 West Indies, and every variety of fish and game were 
 spread out before them, and served on the richest carved 
 silver plate. The aifable manner of Latitte gave great 
 zest to the enjoyment of his guests. After the repast, 
 and when they had all smoked cigars of the finest Cuban 
 flavor, Lafitte requested his guests to proceed to business. 
 The package directed to " Mr. Lafitte," was then opened 
 and the contents read. They consisted of a proclama- 
 tion, addressed by Colonel Edward Nichols, in the 
 service of his Britannic Majesty, and commander of the 
 land forces on the coast of Florida, to the inhabitants of 
 Louisiana, dated, Headquarters, Pensacola, 29th August, 
 1814; also a letter from the same, directed to Mr. 
 Lafitte, as the commander at Barataria ; also a letter 
 from the Hon. Sir W. H. Percy, captain of the sloop of 
 war Hermes, and commander of the Naval Forces in the 
 Gulf of Mexico, dated September 1, 1814, to Lafitte ; 
 and one from the same captain Percy, written on 30th
 
 42 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 August, on the Hermes, in the Bay of Pensacola, to 
 Captain Lockyer of the Sophia, directing him to pro- 
 ceed to Barataria, and attend to certain affairs there, 
 which are fully explained. 
 
 The originals of these letters may now be seen in the 
 records of the United States District Court in New 
 Orleans, where they were filed by Lafitte. They con- 
 tain the most flattering offers to Lafitte, on the part of 
 the British officials, if he would aid them, with his 
 vessels and men, in their contemplated invasion of the 
 State of Louisiana. Captain Lockyer proceeded to 
 enforce the offers by many plausible and cogent argu- 
 ments. He stated that Lafitte, his vessels and men 
 would be enlisted in the honorable service of the British 
 Navy, that he would receive the rank of Captain (an 
 offer which must have brought a smile to the face of 
 the unnautical blacksmith of St. Philip street), and the 
 sum of thirty thousand dollars : that being a Frenchman, 
 proscribed and persecuted by the United States, with a 
 brother then in prison, he should unite with the English, 
 as the English and French were now fast friends ; that 
 a splendid prospect was now opened to him in the 
 British navy, as from his knowledge of the Gulf Coast, 
 he could guide them in their expedition to New Orleans, 
 which had already started ; that it was the purpose of 
 the English Government to penetrate the upper country 
 and act in concert with the forces in Canada ; that 
 everything was prepared to carry on the war with 
 unusual vigor ; that they were sure of success, expecting 
 to find little or no opposition from the French and Span- 
 ish population of Louisiana, whose interests and manners 
 were opposed and hostile to those of the Americans ; 
 and, finally, it was declared by Captain Lockyer to be
 
 LAFITTE, "THE PIBATJE." 43 
 
 the purpose of the British to free the slaves, and arm 
 them against the white people, who resisted their 
 authority and progress. 
 
 Lafitte, affecting an acquiescence in these propositions, 
 begged to be permitted to go to one of the vessels lying 
 out in the bay to consult an old friend and associate, in 
 whose judgment he had great confidence. "Whilst he 
 was absent, the men who had watched suspiciously the 
 conference, many of whom were Americans, and not 
 the less patriotic because they had a taste for privateer- 
 ing, proceeded to arrest the British officers, threatening 
 to kill or deliver them up to the Americans. In the 
 midst of this clamor and violence, Lafitte returned and 
 immediately quieted his men, by reminding them of 
 the laws of honor and humanity, which forbade any 
 violence to persons who come among them witli a flag 
 of truce. He assured them that their honor and rights 
 would be safe and sacred in his charge. He then 
 escorted the British to their boats, and after declaring 
 to Captain Lockyer, that he only required a few days to 
 consider the flattering proposals, and would be ready at 
 a certain time to deliver his final reply, took a respect- 
 ful leave of his guests, and escorting them to their boat, 
 kept them in view until they were out of reach of the 
 men on shore. 
 
 Immediately after the departure of the British, Lafitte 
 sat down and addressed a long letter to Mr. Blanque, a 
 member of the House of Representatives of Louisiana, 
 which he commenced by declaring that "though pro- 
 scribed in my adopted country, I will never miss an 
 occasion of serving her, or of proving that she has never 
 ceased to be dear to me." He then details the circum- 
 stances of Captain Lockyer's arrival in his camp, and
 
 44 . JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS 
 
 encloses the letters to him. He then proceeds to say : 
 "I may have evaded the payment of duties to the 
 Customhouse, but I have never ceased to be a good 
 citizen, and all the offences I have committed have been 
 forced upon me by certain vices in the laws." He then 
 expresses the hope that the service he is enabled to 
 render the authorities, by delivering the enclosed letters, 
 " may obtain some amelioration of the situation of an 
 unhappy brother," adding with considerable force and 
 feeling, " our enemies have endeavored to work upon 
 me, by a motive which few men would have resisted. 
 They represented to me a brother in irons, a brother 
 who is to me very dear, whose deliverer I might become, 
 and I declined the proposal, well persuaded of his inno- 
 cence. I am free from apprehension as to the issue of 
 a trial, but he is sick, and not in a place where he can 
 receive the assistance he requires." Through Mr. 
 Blanque, Lafitte addressed a letter to Governor 
 Claiborne, in which he stated very distinctly his posi 
 tion and desires. He says : 
 
 " I offer to you to restore to this State several citizens, who, 
 perhaps, in your eyes, have lost that sacred title; I offer you them, 
 however, such as you could wish to find them, ready to exert their 
 utmost efforts in defence of the country. This point of Louisiana 
 which I occupy is of great importance in the present crisis. I 
 tender my services to defend it, and the only reward I ask is, that 
 a stop be put to the prosecutions against me and my adherents, by 
 an act of oblivion for all that has been done hitherto. I ara the 
 stray sheep wishing to return to the sheepfold. If you are 
 thoroughly acquainted with the nature of my offence?, I should 
 appear to you much less guilty, and still worthy to discharge the 
 duties of a good citizen. I have never sailed under any flag but 
 that of the Republic of Carthagena, and my vessels are perfectly 
 regular in that respect. If I could have brought my lawful prizes
 
 * LAFITTE, "TUB: PIRATE." 45 
 
 into the ports of this State, I should not have employed the illicit 
 means that have caused ine to be proscribed. Should your answer 
 not be favorable to my ardent desires, I declare to you that I will 
 instantly leave the country to avoid the imputation of having co- 
 operated towards an invasion on that point., which cannot fail to 
 take place, and to rest secure in the acquittal of my own conscience." 
 
 Upon the receipt of these letters, Governor Claiborne 
 convoked a council of the principal officers of the arm y, 
 navy and militia, then in New Orleans, to whom he 
 submitted the letters, asking their decision on these two 
 questions : 1st. Whether the letters were genuine ? 2d. 
 Whether it was proper that the Governor should hold 
 intercourse or enter into any correspondence with Mr. 
 Lafitte and his associates ? To each of these questions 
 a negative answer was given, Major General Villere 
 alone dissenting this officer being (as well as the Gov- 
 ernor, who, presiding in the council, could not give his 
 opinion), not only satisfied as to the authenticity of the 
 letters of the British officers, but believing that the 
 Baratarians might be employed in a very effective man- 
 ner in case of an invasion. 
 
 The only result of this council was to hasten the steps 
 which had been previously commenced, to fit out an 
 expedition to Barataria to break up Lafitte's establish- 
 ment. In the meantime, the two weeks asked for by 
 Lafitte to consider the British proposal, having expired, 
 Captain Lockyer appeared off Grand Terre, and hovered 
 around the inlet several days, anxiously awaiting the 
 approach of Lafitte. At last, his patience being 
 exhausted, and mistrusting the intentions of the Barata- 
 rians, he retired. It was about this time that the spirit 
 of Lafitte was sorely tried by the intelligence, that the 
 constituted authorities, whom he had supplied with such
 
 4:6 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 valuable information, instead of appreciating his gener- 
 ous exertions in behalf 'of his country, were actually 
 equipping an expedition to destroy his establishment. 
 This was truly an ungrateful return for services, which 
 may now be justly estimated. Nor is it satisfactorily 
 shown that mercenary motives did not mingle with those 
 which prompted some of the parties engaged in this 
 expedition. 
 
 The rich plunder of the " Pirate's Retreat," the valu- 
 able fleet of small coasting vessels that rode in the Bay 
 of Barataria, the exaggerated stories of a vast amount 
 of treasure, heaped up in glittering piles, in dark, mys- 
 terious caves, of chests of Spanish doubloons, buried in 
 the sand, contributed to inflame the imagination and 
 avarice of some of the individuals who were active in 
 getting up this expedition. 
 
 A naval and land force was organized under Commo- 
 dore Patterson and Colonel Ross, which proceeded to 
 Barataria, and with a pompous display of military 
 power, entered the Bay. The Baratarians at first thought 
 of resisting with all their means, which were considera- 
 ble. They collected on the beach armed, their cannon 
 were placed in position, and matches were lighted, when 
 lo ! to their amazement and dismay, the stars and stripes 
 became visible through the mist. 
 
 Against the power which that banner proclaimed, 
 they were unwilling to lift their hands. They then sur- 
 rendered, a few escaping up the Bayou in small boats. 
 Lafitte, conformably to his pledge, on hearing of tho 
 expedition, had gone to the German coast as it is called 
 above New Orleans. Commodore Patterson seized 
 all the vessels of the' Baratarians, and, filling them and 
 his own with the rich goods found on the island, returned
 
 LAFTTTE, "THE PIRATE." 47 
 
 to New Orleans loaded with spoils. The Baratarians, 
 who were captured, were ironed and committed to the 
 Calaboose. The vessels, money and stores taken in this 
 expedition were claimed as lawful prizes by Commodore 
 Patterson and Colonel Koss. Out of this claim grew a 
 protracted suit, which elicited the foregoing facts, and 
 resulted in establishing the innocence of Lafitte of all 
 other offences but those of privateering, or employing 
 persons to privateer against the commerce of Spain 
 under commissions from the Republic of Columbia, and 
 bringing his prizes to the United States, to be disposed 
 of, contrary to the provisions of the Neutrality Act. 
 
 The charge of piracy against Lafitte, or even against 
 the men of the association, of which he was the chief, 
 remains to this day unsupported by a single particle of 
 direct and positive testimony. All that was ever 
 adduced against them, of a circumstantial or inferential 
 character, was the discovery among the goods taken at 
 Barataria, of some jewelry, which was identified as that 
 of a Creole lady, who had sailed from New Orleans 
 seven years before, and was never heard of afterwards. 
 
 Considering the many ways in which such property 
 might have fallen into the hands of the Baratarians, it 
 would not be just to rest so serious a charge against 
 them on this single fact. It is not at all improbable 
 though no facts of that character ever came to light 
 that among 1 so many desperate characters attached to 
 the Baratarian organization, there were not a few who 
 would, if the temptation were presented, " scuttle ship, 
 or cut a throat" to advance their ends, increase their 
 gains, or gratify a tiatural bloodthirstiness. 
 
 But such deeds cannot be associated with the name 
 of Jean Lafitte, save in the idle fictions by which the
 
 48 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 taste of the youth of the country is vitiated, and history 
 outraged and perverted. That he was more of a patriot 
 than a pirate, that he rendered services of immense 
 benefit to his adopted country, and should be held in 
 respect and honor, rather than defamed and calumniated, 
 will, we think, abundantly appear in the chapter which 
 follows.
 
 LAFOTE, THE PATRIOT. 49 
 
 ni. 
 
 LAFTTTE, THE PATKIOT. 
 
 THOUGH repudiated arid persecuted by the authorities 
 of the State and Federal Government, Jean Lafitte did 
 not cease to perform his duties as a citizen, and to warn 
 the people of the approaching invasion. The people, 
 as is often the case, were more sagacious on this occasion 
 than their chief officials. They confided in the repre- 
 sentations of Lafitte, and in the authenticity of the docu- 
 ments forwarded by him to Gov. Claiborne. One of 
 the first manifestations of these feelings was the convo- 
 cation of an assembly of the people at the City Exchange, 
 on St. Louis street. This was after the tenor of Lafitte's 
 documents and the character of his developments had 
 become known, to wit : on the 16th of December, 1814. 
 This assembly was numerous and enthusiastic. It was 
 eloquently addressed by Edward Livingston, who, in 
 manly and earnest tones, and with telling appeals, urged 
 the citizens to organize for the defence of their city, and 
 thus, in a conspicuous manner, refute the calumnies 
 which had been circulated against their fidelity to the 
 new Republic, of which they had so recently become 
 " part and parcel." 
 
 These appeals met a warm response from the people. 
 
 3
 
 50 JAOKS01J AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Nor did the enthusiasm which they excited vent itself 
 in mere applause and noisy demonstrations. They pro- 
 duced practical results. A Committee of Public Safety 
 was formed, to aid the authorities in the defence of the 
 city and supply those deficiencies which the exigency 
 should develop, in the organization of the Government, 
 as well as in the characters of those charged with its 
 administration. This committee was composed of the 
 following citizens : Edward Livingston, Pierre Foucher, 
 Dussau de la Croix, Benjamin Morgan, George Ogden, 
 Dominique Bouligny, J. A. Destrehan, John Blanque, 
 and Augustin Macarte. They were all men of note and 
 influence. 
 
 The leading spirit of the committee was Edward Liv- 
 ingston, a native of New York, and once Mayor of that 
 great city. He had emigrated to New Orleans shortly 
 after the cession and organization of the territory. Of 
 profound learning, various attainments, great sagacity 
 and industry, possessing a style of earnest eloquence 
 and admirable force, which even now render the pro- 
 ductions of his pen the most readable of the effusions 
 of any of the public men, who have figured largely in 
 political or professional spheres in the United States, 
 Edward Livingston could not but be a leading man in 
 any community. 
 
 The talents which many years afterwards adorned 
 some of the highest offices under the Federal Govern- 
 ment, and reflected so much distinction on Louisiana in 
 the United States Senate, were eminently conspicuous 
 and serviceable in rallying the spirits, and giving con- 
 fidence and harmony" of action to the people of New 
 Orleans, during the eventful epoch to which these 
 sketches relate. He was ably supported by his associ-
 
 LAFTTTE, THE PATRIOT. 51 
 
 ates. Destrehan was a native of France, a man of 
 science, resolution and intelligence, though somewhat 
 eccentric. Benjamin Morgan was one of the first and 
 most popular of the class of American merchants, then 
 composing a rising party in New Orleans. P. Toucher 
 was a Creole of Louisiana, of great ardor and activity 
 in the defence of his natal soil. Dussau de la Croix, 
 was a Frenchman of the ancien regime, an exile, who 
 found in Louisiana the only sovereignty and the only 
 soil which he deemed worth fighting for. A. Macarte 
 was a planter of spirit, patriotism and energy. George 
 M. Ogden was a leader of the Young America of that 
 day, and possessed great zeal, activity, and influence 
 among the new population. John Blanqne was an 
 intelligent, industrious and prominent member of the 
 State Legislature. Dominique Bouligny represented 
 the old Spanish and French colonists, who in turn had 
 possessed Louisiana, his family being one of the oldest 
 in the State. He was a staid, solid and true man, who 
 afterwards tilled a seat in the United States Senate, and 
 held other offices of dignity and trust in the State. 
 
 Such was the composition of the Committee of Public 
 Safety in New Orleans. The first act of the commitee 
 was to send forth an address to the people. This docu- 
 ment bears unmistakably the imprint of Edward 
 Livingston's genius. It is a fervid and thrilling appeal, 
 which produced, wherever it was read among the 
 excitable population of Louisiana, the effect of a trum- 
 pet blast, rallying the people to the defence " of their 
 sovereignty, their property, their lives, and the dearer 
 existence of their wives and children." 
 
 There can be little doubt that this highly important 
 movement and effective address were induced by the
 
 52 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 information supplied by Lafitte. Edward Livingston, 
 the chief in the movement, had been the confidential 
 adviser and counsellor of Lafitte since 1811. His inter- 
 course with that much maligned individual had dispelled 
 all doubts as to his honorable purposes. The date of the 
 address, being about the time of Lafitte's retirement 
 from Barataria, and the absence of other information of 
 the designs of the British, whose army had not then left 
 the Chesapeake and England, all tend to the conclusion 
 that Lafitte's representations aroused the people to take 
 the defence of the city into their own hands. But the 
 value of Lafitte's intelligence did not end here. Clai- 
 borue, persevering in his reliance in the verity of the 
 documents dispatched to him by Lafitte, sent copies of 
 them to General Jackson, who was theu stationed at 
 Mobile, watching the movements of the Spanish and 
 British at Pensacola. 
 
 The perusal of these letters, under the popular impres- 
 sion as to the character of the parties from which they 
 were obtained, drew from the stern and ardent Jackson 
 a fiery proclamation, in which he indignantly denounced 
 the British, for their perfidy and baseness, and appealed 
 in fervid language to all Louisianians, to repel " the 
 calumnies which that vain-glorious boaster, Colonel 
 Nichols, had proclaimed in his insiduous address." The 
 calumnies referred to were the assertions that the Creoles 
 were crushed and oppressed by the Yankees and that 
 they would be restored to their rightful dominion by the 
 British. Herein we may observe the germ of that feel- 
 ing which led even Jackson into some errors, and the 
 British into the most ridiculous delusions. It was the 
 apprehension or doubt as to the fidelity and ardor of the 
 French settlers and Creoles of Louisiana, in the defence
 
 LAFITTE, THE PATRIOT. 53 
 
 of the State. Subsequent events will show, despite the 
 grossest misrepresentations of ignorant or designing 
 persons, that in no part of the United States did there 
 exist greater hostility to the British, or a more earnest 
 determination to resist their approach to the city, than 
 among the descendants of that race, which had been 
 from time immemorial England's national, if not natural 
 enemy. 
 
 It is remarkable, that whilst making use of the infor- 
 mation furnished by Lafitte, General Jackson indulges 
 in the strongest language of denunciation of the " Pirates 
 of Barataria," styling them " a hellish banditti." It 
 would not be consistent with the acknowledged gener- 
 osity and manly frankness of Jackson, as well as with 
 subsequent events, to suppose that he knew at the time 
 this language was used, how great a debt was due to 
 the chief of that " hellish banditti," for the very infor- 
 mation upon which his energetic measures were based. 
 Though severe and violent against evil doers, and espe- 
 cially against those who were implicated in transactions 
 having the aspect of cruelty, of lawless violence and 
 oppression, Jackson was at the same time remarkable 
 for that prompt magnanimity which would extend justice, 
 protection and even generous forbearance to all brave 
 and sincere, but guilty and erring men. 
 
 A striking example of these qualities of Jackson, 
 which was given but a few months before the occur- 
 rences we are describing, and is connected with events 
 that belong to this history, may not be inappropriately 
 introduced in this place. 
 
 After the disastrous battle of the Horse-Shoe, the 
 broken-spirited chiefs of the Red Sticks, who had been 
 dispersed over the country, crept singly, or in small
 
 5i JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 squads, into Jackson's headquarters, at Fort Jackson, 
 humbly suing for his pardon and protection. The last 
 to stoop to this degradation, was the famous half-breed 
 chief, William Weatherford, familiarly known as "Bloody 
 Bill." This chief was truely one of Nature's noblemen. 
 Though uneducated, he possessed an excellent native 
 intellect, great magnanimity of soul, clouded but not 
 obscured by his savage education and habits. He 
 moved with a dignified, graceful, and courtly bearing, 
 not only in his favorite home, the forest, but even among 
 the haunts and in the circles of the white man. His 
 eyes were large, dark, and piercing. His proportions 
 were symmetrical yet powerful, sinewy, and agile. He 
 possessed those virtues which would have adorned a 
 knight in the days of chivalry, bravery, generosity, truth 
 and honor. His vices were those of his race, vindictive 
 ferocity, unsparing and undying hate of the whites. 
 
 "Weatherford led a thousand warriors against Fort 
 Mimms in the summer of 1813. Falling upon the 
 garrison, he took it by surprise, and after a gallant 
 resistance slew the whole party, consisting of several 
 families and a military force. It was this event which 
 had drawn Jackson from his civil pursuits, into his first 
 Indian campaign. The descriptions of that bloody 
 massacre greatly excited his ardent and sympathetic 
 nature, and no doubt gave vigor and determination to 
 the measures employed by him to punish such atrocities. 
 
 After several fights, in which he displayed his usual 
 courage and address, Weatherford encountered a strong 
 force under General Claiborne, at another " Holy 
 Ground" of the Indians, on the Alabama River, where a 
 fierce and protracted conflict ensued. Fighting to the 
 last, Weatherford discovered that his men had deserted
 
 LAFTTTE, THE PATRIOT. 55 
 
 Him, and were passing over in the boats to the other 
 side of the river, leaving him alone amid his enemies. 
 As soon as he perceived his situation, he put spurs to a 
 splendid grey charger of unsurpassed activity and fleet- 
 ness, which he always rode in battle, and coursing along 
 the bank of the Alabama, came to a ravine, where there 
 was a perpendicular bluff, ten or fifteen feet above the 
 surface of the river. Over this, with a mighty bound, 
 leaped the dauntless chief, and both rider and charger 
 sunk out of sight beneath the waves. Soon, however, 
 they rose again, the chief grasping the mane of his horse 
 with his left hand and firmly holding his rifle in his 
 right. Swimming boldly forward, he gained the opposite 
 bank of the river, and shouting a loud defiance at his 
 foes, plunged into the forest and disappeared. This feat 
 has given name to the bluff where it was performed, and 
 ever since it has been known throughout Alabama, as 
 Weatherford's Leap." 
 
 Deserted by his men, alone, amid the solitudes of 
 nature, AVeatherford roamed the forest unsubdued and 
 undaunted. Hearing that General Jackson had offered 
 a large reward for his capture, and that many, even of 
 his old followers, were on his track, he resolved to go in 
 person and surrender himself to Jackson, and thus 
 thwart the treacherous designs of the recreant of his 
 own race. Mounting the noble charger that had borne 
 him over the bluff at the Iloly Ground, he rode within 
 a few miles of Fort Jackson, when, a fine deer crossing 
 his path, and stopping within rifle distance, he fired at 
 and killed it. Reloading his rifle with two balls, for the 
 purpose of shooting " Big Warrior," a renegade of his 
 own tribe, then in Jackson's camp, should he offer him 
 any insult, he threw the deer across his horse's
 
 56 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 shoulders, and advanced to the American outposts, 
 Some soldiers, of whom he politely inquired for Jack- 
 son's whereabouts, gave him unsatisfactory and rude 
 replies, which sorely tried the temper of the fiery chief, 
 when a grey-headed man, pointing him to the General's 
 marquee, Weatherford contemptuously turned his back 
 upon his revilers, and rode up to the tent, where, sud- 
 denly checking his horse, he discovered the treacherous 
 Big Warrior standing before him. " Ah ! Bill Weather- 
 ford," exclaimed Big Warrior, "have we got you at 
 last." The fearless chief cast a glance of ineffable scorn 
 at the renegade, who shrank under his keen glance, and 
 exclaimed in a determined voice, "You base traitor, if 
 you give me any impudence I will blow a bullet through 
 your cowardly heart." 
 
 General Jackson, hearing the altercation and the 
 name of Weatherford, rushed out of his tent, and in a 
 furious and threatening manner cried out, " How dare 
 you, sir, ride up to my tent after having murdered the 
 women and children at Fort Mimms ?" Assuming an 
 attitude of fearless defiance, folding his arms with the 
 resignation of a hero, Weatherford replied, "General 
 Jackson, I am not afraid of you. I fear no man, for 1 
 am a Creek warrior. I have nothing to ask for myself. 
 You can kill me if you desire. But I came to beg you 
 to send for the women and children of the war party, 
 who are starving in the woods. Their fields and cribs 
 have been destroyed by your people, who have driven 
 them to the woods without an ear of corn. I hope you 
 will send parties to relieve them. I tried in vain to pre- 
 vent the massacre of the women and children at Fort 
 Mimms ; I am now done fighting. The Red Sticks are 
 nearly all killed. If I could fight you any longer, I
 
 LAFITTE, THE PATRIOT. 57 
 
 would most heartily do so. Send for the women and 
 children ; they never did you any harm ; but kill me, if 
 the white people want it." 
 
 At the conclusion of these words, several persons of 
 the crowd that had gathered around the chief exclaimed, 
 " Kill him, kill him !" Gen. Jackson commanded 
 silence, and in an emphatic manner said, " Any one 
 who would kill as brave a man as this in cold blood, 
 would rob the dead !" He then invited Weatherford to 
 alight, drank with him a glass of brandy, and entered 
 into cheerful conversation with him under the General's 
 marquee. Weatherford gave the General the deer, and 
 they were ever afterwards good friends. 
 
 The magnanimity thus displayed to the chief, in one 
 of the bloodiest Indian massacres recorded in our 
 annals, would have revolted at the application of terms, 
 "hellish banditti," to men, whose leader had, at such 
 great sacrifices of personal advancement and interest 
 supplied the information of the designs of the British 
 against New Orleans, furnishing the key by which 
 Jackson was enabled to arrange and prepare his unpar- 
 alleled and glorious defence. Much more satisfactory ia 
 the conclusion, that Jackson was kept in ignorance of 
 the means by which this intelligence was obtained, and 
 knew only the fact, that propositions had been made 
 by the British to the Baratarians, whom vulgar and 
 prevalent report characterized as savage and blood- 
 thirsty pirates. 
 
 Thus conspicuous and valuable were the services 
 which Jean Lafitte rendered to the State of Louisiana. 
 
 The long agony was now over. The suspense and 
 doubt which had agitated the whole country, were, for 
 the first time, dissipated. The designs of the British 
 
 3*
 
 58 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 were laid bare. Their vast preparations were now 
 understood. The point upon which they were to throw 
 themselves with the powerful force which was now 
 hurrying towards the West Indies, was clearly perceived. 
 The deeply-laid scheme of the British Cabinet, by which 
 all the disasters of the war were to be redeemed in a 
 blaze of glory, was exposed to the world. In the con- 
 fidence that secresy had been preserved, the politicians 
 of Great Britain, at home and on the Continent, boldly 
 proclaimed the conquest and occupation of New Orleans 
 as fait accompli. " I expect at this moment," remarked 
 Lord Castlereagh, at Paris, about the middle of Decem- 
 ber, 1814, "that most of the large seaport towns of 
 America are by this time laid in ashes ; that we are in 
 possession of New Orleans, and have command of all 
 the rivers of the Mississippi valley and the Lakes, and 
 that the Americans are now little better than prisoners 
 in their own country." 
 
 It has been asserted by British writers that the secret 
 of the expedition transpired through the carelessness 
 and blundering of one of their own naval officers, w r ho 
 communicated the tenor of his instructions to a Jew 
 trader, whilst a portion of the fleet lay off the West 
 Indies. This is the English story but it is an error. 
 Before the fleet arrived near Jamaica, Lah'tte had trans- 
 mitted the documents already referred to, which devel- 
 oped the design of the British on New Orleans, and led 
 to the measures which were set on foot for its defence. 
 Had Lafitte assented to the proposals of the British 
 authorities, and permitted them to occupy his port at 
 Barataria, giving them the use of his fleet of small 
 vessels, they would have been able to transport their 
 army with rapidity and ease to the Mississippi River, at
 
 LAJTTTE, THE PATRIOT. 56 
 
 a point above New Orleans. Thus having the means of 
 cutting off reinforcements and supplies from the West, 
 the capture of the city would have been inevitable. By 
 examining the map of Louisiana, it will be seen that 
 there is no easier access to the city from the Gulf, than 
 through the Bay and Bayou of Barataria, a circumstance 
 which has induced the General Government to expend 
 so large a sum on the fortifications at Grand Terre, that 
 command the entrance of the Bay. 
 
 Let the truth then be now told ! Time scatters the 
 mist of prejudice and passion, and patient inquiry dis- 
 sipates the gaudy arid ingenious web of poetry and 
 romance. . In truthful history Jean Lafitte must ever 
 occupy a conspicuous position among the gallant spirits 
 of 1814 and 1815, for the brilliancy and efficiency of 
 the services which he rendered his adopted country, 
 whose authorities destroyed his fortune, blasted his 
 prospects, and handed his name down to posterity as 
 that of a blood-thirsty corsair and outlaw, the hero of 
 numerous fictions, written to inflame youthful imagina- 
 tions and satisfy a morbid appetite for scenes of blood, 
 of murder, of reckless daring, and lawless outrage. A 
 name which he had, by such honorable self abnegation, 
 hoped to redeem from all dishonor, and connect with 
 conspicuous and patriotic services, became the favorite 
 nom de guerre of every desperate adventurer and roving 
 corsair of the Gulf. 
 
 Less cruel was that terrific Norther which, a few 
 years after the events we have described, when misfor- 
 tune had crushed his spirit, bowed his manly form, 
 dimned the lustre of that eye, that once possessed such 
 power " to threaten or command," and sprinkled with 
 premature snows those raven locks that once gave so
 
 60 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 mucJti effect to his handsome face more merciful, 
 indeed, was that resistless hurricane which, sweeping 
 over the Gulf in the fall of 1817, struck the little 
 schooner, laden with all that remained of the once 
 princely fortune of Jean Lafitte, which he was bearing 
 to some distant land, where the odious epithet of pirate 
 would not follow him where he might end his days in 
 peace and contentment. Amid the shrieks of the storm- 
 bird, the roar of the elements, the crash of thunder, and 
 the screams for mercy of erring men, Jean Lafitte, with 
 all his worldly goods, found in a watery tomb, that 
 oblivion and rest which were denied to him in this life. 
 Peace to his soul ! Justice to his memory ! 
 
 Barataria, once so busy a scene, where roystering 
 freebooters held their noisy wassail, where sharp-eyed 
 peddlers were wont to gather as to a fair, to purchase 
 great bargains from traders more skillful in handling a 
 pike and cutlass than in higgling over silks and jewelry ; 
 and where, not unfrequently, might be seen some of the 
 chief men of New Orleans, who, from the profits of their 
 transactions with the unsophisticated but very successful 
 privateers, became millionaires in full time to repent of 
 their early irregularities, and establish for themselves 
 high reputations, as punctilious merchants and law- 
 abiding citizens ; where floated a gallant little fleet of 
 fast sailers, trim, arrow-like craft, armed to the teeth, 
 and ready for any emergency ; where, on the low coast, 
 quite a formidable battery of cannon stood ready to 
 defend the valuable stores, and to dispute the passage 
 through the narrow strait by which New Orleans could 
 be reached in the shortest distance from the Gulf of 
 Mexico, the scene of all this life, jollity, and lawless 
 adventure, is now one of the most solitary, dreary, and
 
 LA1>'ITTE, THE PATRIOT. 01 
 
 desolate along the whole low, flat coast of the Gulf of 
 Mexico. Barataria, no longer a doubtful or disputed 
 territory, has long since passed from the possession of 
 the freebooter into that of the republic of the United 
 States, which now proclaims and enforces its title by a 
 powerful fortification, that completely commands tho 
 entrance of the bay, from whose ramparts the eye, fol- 
 lowing the winding strait, can discern the quiet little 
 cove, now restored to its original desolation and solitude, 
 and the dreary, storm-beaten shore, where a few dark 
 mounds and crumbling heaps afford the only vestiges 
 of the brief but brilliant reign of Jean Lafitte, the 
 blacksmith of St. Philip street, New Orleans, miscalled 
 the Pirate of the Gulf of Mexico.
 
 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 IY. 
 
 JACKSON CLEARS HIS FLANKS. 
 
 IT was in the middle of September, 1814, when Jack- 
 son learned definitely the design of the British against 
 New Orleans. Before he could leave for that scene of 
 operations, it was necessary to ascertain what was the 
 object of the several British ships that were hovering 
 about the Gulf coast, as well as of the preparations that 
 were going on atPensacola, with the connivance of the 
 Spanish authorities. It was quite evident that the 
 British had .selected this important post as the base of 
 their operations. In the summer of 1814, the brig 
 Orpheus, under the command of the Hon. Sir "VV. H. 
 Percy, a youthful officer, who inherited the courage and 
 enterprise of his ancestors immortalized in the fine old 
 ballad of " Chevy Chase" landed at Apalachicola, 
 and dispatched several officers to intrigue with the 
 neighboring Choctaws, with a view of obtaining their 
 aid in operations against Fort Bowyer. As far as 
 promises and assurances would go, these intrigues were 
 quite successful. The Choctaws are a cunning tribe, 
 wlto prefer the money, the blankets, the gew-gaws and 
 whisky of the whites, to all the scalps, trophies and 
 glories of war.
 
 JACKSON CLEARS HIS FLANKS. 63 
 
 Shortly after the arrival of the Hermes, two British 
 sloops of war appeared in the same waters. These 
 sloops had on board a small land force, intended as the 
 nucleus of an army, to be augmented by additions from 
 the Spanish and Indian populations of the country. 
 These were under the command of Col. Nichols, an 
 Irishman by birth, and an officer of much daring, 
 activity and energy, but of blustering manners, of quick 
 and violent temper, and unscrupulous character. 
 
 On his way to the Florida coast, Nichols stopped at 
 Havana and endeavored to persuade the Captain- 
 General to cooperate with the means and force of that 
 colony, in the enterprise against Louisiana and Florida. 
 But the cautious Spaniard was not to be enticed into 
 such a perilous adventure. Nichols then proceeded to 
 Pensacola, landed his force without asking leave of the 
 authorities, and commenced organizing an expedition to 
 march into the interior. The Indians were invited to 
 come in and join the party. Runners were sent in 
 every direction to collect and conduct them to Pen- 
 sacola. There, they were supplied with arms and 
 uniforms, and drilled according to the civilized mode of 
 warfare. Grotesque and ludicrous in the extreme, was 
 the appearance of these untutored savages, as they 
 paraded the streets of the quaint old town of Pensacola, 
 arrayed in the gaudy scarlet uniforms of the British 
 army. 
 
 Almost the first act of Nichols, after arriving at 
 Pensacola, was to dispatch Captain Lochkyer to Bara- 
 taria, for the purpose of obtaining the aid of Lafitte 
 and his men, and particularly of his invaluable small 
 craft, so necessary in coast operations. The result of 
 that mission has already been related. Meantime
 
 64 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Nichols continued to organize and strengthen his 
 motley command at Pensacola, 
 
 The conduct of the Spanish authorities, in conniving 
 at and permitting such an organization within their 
 territory and against the United States, naturally 
 excited much indignation throughout the Union. Gene- 
 ral Jackson had been sent specially to prevent and 
 punish such violations of neutrality and good faith. 
 He had full authority to call upon the neighboring 
 States for troops. His call upon Louisiana was promptly 
 responded to, and Governor Claiborne held all the 
 available force of the State ready to march to Jackson's 
 aid. But the timely approach of the indefatigable and 
 unfailing CoiFee with his mounted gunmen, together 
 with several detachments of regular troops then in the 
 territory, supplied Jackson with a force sufficient to 
 check any movements of the British from that quarter, 
 and to put a stop to the proceedings at Pensacola. His 
 keen eye, in surveying the coast, quickly discovered 
 that a great error had been committed in the evacua- 
 tion of Fort Bowyer, a point, from which the British 
 would be exposed to much annoyance in any operations 
 in the Lakes and along the Gulf coast. This fort not 
 only commanded the entrance into Mobile Bay and 
 the navigation of the rivers which empty into it, but 
 also the passes of the Lakes on the west side. The fort 
 stood at the extremity of the tongue or isthmus extend- 
 ing between Lake Borgne and Bon Secour, or mouth 
 of the Mobile Bay. To this fort, Jackson sent Major 
 Lawrence, of the regular army, with one hundred and 
 thirty men, including officers and twenty pieces of 
 cannon. By great exertions, the fort was placed in a 
 situation to make a vigorous defence, in time for the
 
 JACKSON CLEARS HIS FLANKS. 65 
 
 arrival of the British fleet, whose commander, seeing 
 the importance of the point, hastened to attack it. 
 
 On the evening of the 12th September, 1814, the 
 outpost sentinel of the fort descried a dark, confused 
 mass of men coming over the low beach from the Lake 
 Borgne side of the isthmus. It was nightfall, and the 
 party having halted, bivouacked on the beach. The 
 next day, as soon as it was light, they advanced in bat- 
 tle array against the fort. It was quite a formidable 
 force. There were about two hundred Indian warriors, 
 who had acquired some experience and familiarity with 
 warlike operations, in the recently concluded campaigns 
 of Jackson ; most of them disguised in British jackets, 
 bearing awkwardly heavy muskets, and wearing swords 
 that dangled between their naked legs, and tripped 
 them up on the sand. They came towards the fort in 
 one long, straggling line their flanks being supported 
 by compact lines of British marines. Permitting them 
 to approach within good range, Major Lawrence sud- 
 denly opened upon them with a few well-directed 
 discharges of grape, which soon drove them howling 
 and screaming, like wild beasts, foiled of their prey, 
 beyond the reach of his guns. 
 
 In the meantime the British squadron approached 
 the fort in front. This was a more serious affair. 
 Major Lawrence assembled his men, and called on 
 them to join in a solemn oath, not to surrender the 
 fort. The spirit of his gallant namesake prevailed in 
 that heroic band " Don't give up the fort," was the 
 oath and motto of the garrison. 
 
 The British ships were four in number. The Hermes, 
 28 ; the Charon, 28 ; Sophia, 18 ; Anaconda, 16 ; all
 
 66 JACKSON AND NEW OBLEANS. 
 
 thirty-twos, making an effective battery of ninety guns, 
 manned by six hundred sailors and marines. These 
 ships approached within musket range of the fort, and 
 casting anchor, opened a tremendous tire upon it. At 
 the same time, their land forces having thrown up a 
 battery within seven hundred yards of the fort, com- 
 menced firing from that direction. Major Lawrence 
 returned both fires with great vigor. For some time 
 the cannonade was maintained on both sides with the 
 greatest fury, the fort and ships being completely 
 enveloped in smoke. The American batteries, though 
 managed by infantry, were more effective than the 
 British. Soon the flag of the Hermes was shot away. 
 Major Lawrence, with the chivalric consideration of a 
 true soldier, suspended his firing. The Hermes having 
 restored her flag again poured her broadsides into the 
 little fort with redoubled fury. The reply of the fort 
 was equally earnest. At last the cable of the Hermes 
 was cut, and her situation became very critical. Struck 
 by the current, she was borne towards the fort, and her 
 bows presented to its cannon, which raked her decks 
 fore and aft. Soon she drifted ashore, when her com- 
 mander, Cap-tain Percy, setting fire to her, abandoned 
 the wreck and escaped aboard the Charon. About this 
 time the flag of the fort was shot away, and whilst 
 Major Lawrence was fastening it to a sponge-rod .to 
 elevate it again, the British force on land rushed 
 towards the fort, thinking it had surrendered. A few 
 discharges of grape, however, from the fort, soon sent 
 them back again in double-quick time. The other 
 vessels were then, with difficulty, hauled off, and 
 finally, the enterprise was abandoned by the British
 
 JACKSON CLEARS UIS FLANKS. 67 
 
 with a loss of one hundred and sixty-two killed and 
 seventy-two wounded. Major Lawrence lost four killed 
 and four wounded. 
 
 Never was there a more poignant disappointment 
 than that which prevailed at Pensacola among the 
 Spaniards and British, when the result of this expedi- 
 tion was known. The Spaniards had been excited by 
 the hope of reclaiming the valuable territory which the 
 Americans had snatched from them four years before. 
 The Indians had been enticed, by the prospect of 
 revenge, of bloodshed and rapine. The British confi- 
 dently hoped to secure the key to their future grand 
 designs against the Southwest. But in place of these 
 splendid results, behold their fleet, creeping in such 
 crippled state slowly into Pensacola, with signs of 
 defeat and disaster, that might move the pity of their 
 enemies. Their noble commander's laurels have shri- 
 velled, and the lofty pride of the Percys suffered an 
 abasement, which must indeed have sent a bitter pang 
 to the heart of the aristocratic young sailor, whose once 
 gallant ship now lay a smouldering wreck on the dreary 
 coast of Bon Secour. 
 
 The feelings of the impetuous Irishman,* who was the 
 soul and author of this enterprise, may be better 
 imagined than described. To the mental chagrin of 
 defeat in a cherished undertaking, Colonel Nichols 
 had the misfortune, on this, occasion, to add the agony 
 of a severe and painful wound received in the action. 
 
 Major Lawrence and his gallant associates well 
 deserved the thanks which Jackson, in his own, and 
 in the name of the Republic, conveyed to them as the 
 heroes of one of the most gallant but least noticed 
 affairs of the war of 1812.
 
 68 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Jackson now began to chafe with impatience at th 
 long delays in the approach of the troops, for which he 
 had for some months before issued his requisitions. Ho 
 perceived very clearly the plan of the British. The 
 "Pirate's" information was now confirmed. It was 
 quite evident that the attack on Fort Bowyer was a 
 feeler, a preliminary step to the occupation of a more 
 important place, the only considerable town in the 
 Southwest. New Orleans was the game for which 
 they were " beating the bush." Jackson soon dissemi- 
 nated this conviction. The news flew through the 
 country, not with electric fleetness, but as rapidly as 
 the imperfect communications of that period would 
 permit, that New Orleans was to be attacked that 
 New Orleans, for the' possession of which, the popula- 
 tion in the Mississippi valley had struggled so long, 
 even to the point of threatening to dissolve the Union 
 and involving the nation in war, rather than permit so 
 important a depot of their trade to remain in the hands 
 of another Power. The city, which was destined to 
 become the second in commerce in the Union, the 
 metropolis and capital of the great empire of the 
 Mississippi valley, whither the vast and various popu- 
 lation of this great region would resort for trade, 
 pleasure, information was not to be yielded up on any 
 consideration or at any sacrifice. 
 
 All depended on the West. The South was too weak 
 in resources and population, to offer a prompt and effect- 
 ive resistance to the invader. The Government at Wash- 
 ington, so incapable in its own immediate neighborhood, 
 had neither the energy, nor the means to afford any 
 prompt aid in defence of so remote a settlement. Presi- 
 dent Madison's " inability to view scenes of carnage
 
 JACKSON CLEARS HIS FLANKS. 69 
 
 with composure," to which Jackson ascribed that sad 
 disgrace at Bladensburg and Washington, had quite 
 unnerved him ever since the destruction of the Capitol 
 by a British force one-fourth as large as that which was 
 reported to be on its way towards New Orleans. In 
 place of men and munitions, the Government sent Jack- 
 son to create both. Thus it redeemed the most criminal 
 neglect. 
 
 The occasion had brought forward the man. Un- 
 daunted, whilst the whole country was filled with the 
 gloomiest forebodings, Jackson commenced his prepara- 
 tions to receive the enemy. He sent forth proclama- 
 tions, full of ardent patriotism and inspiring energy, to 
 the people of the South and West, entreating them to 
 leave their peaceful homes, their families, and their civil 
 duties, and hasten to the point where the honor of the 
 Republic was threatened. No class of citizens was 
 omitted in these rallying appeals. Even the colored 
 freemen of Louisiana, so generally excluded from poli- 
 tical rights and duties, were invited to co-operate with 
 their white brethren in the defence of a common coun- 
 try. 
 
 Before leaving Mobile to commence his personal 
 superintendence of the defence of New Orleans, Jack- 
 son determined to rid that quarter of an annoyance 
 from which he might experience some embarrassment in 
 his future operations. We refer to the proceedings at 
 Pensacola, where the hostile British and Indians found 
 constant aid and encouragement from the faithless Span- 
 iards. The opportune arrival of some new levies from 
 Tennessee, together with detachments of regular troops, 
 a troop of Mississippi dragoons, amounting in all to four 
 thousand effective men, supplied him with an efficient
 
 70 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 force, which he immediately set in motion, and after a 
 long and wearisome march, appeared suddenly before 
 Pensacola. 
 
 After some negotiations conducted through Major 
 Peire a gallant and high-toned young officer a native 
 of New Orleans, the Spaniards refusing to accede to 
 demands which were equally just, and necessary to their 
 own security and the preservation of their neutrality, 
 Jackson pushed his column into the town, carrying a 
 Spanish fort which opened upon him, at the point of 
 the bayonet, with the loss of eleven killed and wounded. 
 The Governor then, sent a flag of truce and hostilities 
 ceased. But the commander of Fort St. Michael, refus- 
 ing to surrender that post, Major Peire was directed 
 with eight hundred men to take it, Jackson, at the same 
 time, withdrawing the greater part of his force from the 
 town, under the fire of the English ships anchored in 
 the harbor. The commandant of the fort, after much 
 equivocation and delay, at last surrendered to Major 
 Peire just as that officer was forming his storming party. 
 
 The moderation and good conduct of the Americans 
 soon reconciled the Spaniards to the vigorous measures 
 which Jackson had employed against them. Jackson 
 next advanced against Fort Barancas. on the other side 
 of the bay, but seeing his approach, the Spaniards blew 
 it up. and retreated to the British ships, which shortly 
 after weighed anchor, and dropped over the bar. 
 
 It was in this attack on Pensacola, that two of the 
 most gallant of Jackson's young officers were grievously 
 wounded. The forlorn hope in this attack was composed 
 of the company of Captain Laval, of the Third Regi- 
 ment. Laval was a South Carolinian. His father had 
 been an officer in the French service, who came over to
 
 JACKSON CLEARS HIS FLANKS. 71 
 
 America in the legion of the Duke of Lauzun in tho 
 war of independence. 
 
 Calling upon his men to follow, Capt. Laval rushed 
 forward at the head of his company, through a tempest 
 of grape and round shot, until he reached the foot of 
 the Spanish battery, when a large grape shot tore his 
 leg to pieces, and he fell apparently lifeless to the ground 
 At the same moment Lieutenant Flournoy lost his leg, 
 and fell by the side of Captain Laval. Both these gal- 
 lant men survived their injuries, and are now living in 
 robust health and vigor. 
 
 Captain Laval, who resides in Charleston, after filling 
 the offices of Secretary of State of South Carolina, Con- 
 troller General, Assistant Treasurer of the United States, 
 is now the Treasurer of his native State, universally 
 respected for his many virtues, and admired for his 
 manly bearing and striking military appearance. 
 
 Lieutenant Flournoy, now Dr. Flournoy, is a highly 
 respectable citizen of Louisiana, residing in the parish 
 of Caddo. 
 
 By these vigorous measures, Jackson relieved himself 
 of all trouble and annoyance in this quarter. Establish- 
 ing garrisons in Pensacola, he marched the greater part 
 of his force back to Mobile. From this point he dis- 
 patched all his disposable troops to Kew Orleans, and 
 then left for this scene of his more trying and important 
 duties. 
 
 The State authorities of Louisiana had not been idle. 
 Governor Claiborne, having convened the Legislature 
 on the 5th October, 1814, called their attention to the 
 impending invasion, and to the duty and necessity of 
 meeting it in a vigorous and effective manner. The 
 Legislature proceeded to business, but under most dis*
 
 72 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 couraging auspices. The members were divided into 
 several factions. The most trivial disputes engrossed 
 their minds. By one party the Governor was so cor- 
 dially hated, that the members, in the manifestation of 
 their hostility, did not perceive, or did not care, that 
 their conduct was communicating discouragement and 
 discord to the people. There was no union or harmony 
 of action ; no confidence in one another, or between 
 officials, under the same Government. Besides, there 
 was the prejudice and jealousy of races. The Ameri- 
 cans distrusted the loyalty of the Creoles, and the Creoles 
 could not believe that the new settlers would risk their 
 lives for the defence of the soil whereon they had so 
 recently " pitched their tents." 
 
 Both distrusted the foreign population, though it con- 
 tributed some of the boldest and most efficient of the 
 city's defenders. Prominent in this class were the Irish 
 and French emigrants, all of whom, then residing in 
 the city, and capable of bearing arms, came forward 
 promptly and determinedly to fight for their adopted 
 country, and for freedom, against their hereditary 
 oppressor and enemy. 
 
 Seeing their chiefs and leaders thus divided, the people 
 grew alarmed, distrustful, and despairing. They com- 
 plained of the Legislature ; the Legislature complained 
 of the Governor ; the Governor complained of both the 
 Legislature and the people. Time and money were 
 consumed in these idle disputations, and in the discus- 
 sion of various schemes of defence, concocted by " rising 
 politicians," smart lawyers, enterprising merchants, and 
 pretentious planters. There was neither money nor 
 credit in the city. The country had been drained of 
 its specie. New Orleans being exclusively an exporting
 
 JACKSON" CLEAK8 HIS FLANKS. 73 
 
 city, ceased to possess any resources \vheii its foreign 
 commerce was cut off. The banks bad suspended pay- 
 ment ; small notes were put in circulation ; and dollars 
 cut in pieces to make small change. Capitalists and 
 merchants hoarded their means. All kinds of arms 
 and munitions of war were scarce. 
 
 Indeed, never was a city so defenceless, so exposed, 
 so weak, so prostrate, as New Orleans in the fall of 1814. 
 There was not sufficient time to obtain aid from the 
 West. There was no naval force in the port or the 
 adjacent waters ; not a regiment of armed men in the 
 city. The resources of the whole State were scarcely 
 adequate to the production and organization of two 
 militia regiments. The population of the city was a 
 new and mixed one, composed of people of all nations 
 and races, who had been too recently admitted into the 
 Union to feel that strong attachment for the government 
 and flag, which characterizes an old and homogeneous 
 community. Besides, there was a vast amount of valu- 
 able property, merchandise and produce accumulated 
 in the storehouses, which would be in danger of destruc- 
 tion in case of an attempt to repel the invader. To save 
 this property, would be, a strong inducement to a sur- 
 render and capitulation of the city. Few, indeed, were 
 there who could look these perils and difficulties in the 
 face, and entertain the idea of a serious defence of the 
 city against any well-organized and well-conducted 
 expedition. 
 
 It was at this gloomy moment Jackson arrived. lie 
 was worn down by fatigne, anxiety and sickness. That 
 most distressing and enervating of all the diseases of 
 the soldier, the dysentery, had left him scarcely the 
 strength to stand erect or sit upon his horse. He carno 
 
 4
 
 74 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 to the city with no display of power ; with no loud pro- 
 testations, brilliant promises or extravagant boasts. And 
 yet his presence in New Orleans was like that of " an 
 army with banners ;" his name was " a host ;" his words 
 communicated confidence and hope to all. The stories 
 of his gallantry, his invincibility, his heroic resolution 
 and Spartan fortitude, were familiar as household ditties 
 to the people of New Orleans. No wonder, then, their 
 spirits rallied and their courage grew strong, when the 
 electric words flew through the city and its faubourgs 
 " Jackson has come !" The people were now thor- 
 oughly aroused to a sense of their duty. A resolute 
 determination to defend the city to the last pervaded all 
 classes. Jackson did not permit their ardor to cool. 
 He proceeded to organize the military force of the 
 city, which at that time consisted of two small militia 
 regiments, and a weak but gallant battalion of 
 uniformed volunteers, commanded by Major Plauche, a 
 firm, sedate, gallant Creole, who now lives in New 
 Orleans, respected and honored by all his fellow citizens. 
 This corps was composed chiefly of young Creoles, who 
 were full of military ardor and courage. The compa- 
 nies were variously uniformed, and highly disciplir^ed 
 and trained. They marched with the port and precision 
 of regular soldiers to the music of a fine band. 
 
 This battalion had been formed about a month before 
 the arrival of Jackson. It originated with the company 
 of " Carabinicrs d* Orleans" the first independent volun- 
 teer corps organized in New Orleans after the cession 
 of Louisiana to the United States, which had already 
 been in existence, under the command of Captain 
 Plauche, for two years, when it was proposed, in view 
 of the threatening aspect of affaire, to form other com-
 
 JACKSON CLEARS DI8 FLANKS. 75 
 
 panies, in numbers sufficient to make a battalion. Ac- 
 cordingly, four other companies were organized, under 
 the respective names of " Hulans," or Foot Dragoons, 
 under captain St. Geine; "Francs," Captain Hudry; 
 " Louisiana Blues," Captain Maunsel White ; " Chas- 
 seurs," Captain Guibert. The rank and file of the 
 battalion amounted to three hundred and eighty-five 
 men. Captain Plauche was elected Major on the 15th 
 December, and Captain Roche succeeded him in the 
 command of the Carabiniers. 
 
 Forty years and more have now elapsed since this 
 gallant corps d 1 elite of citizen soldiers was formed. 
 Death has not spared its ranks ; still there linger in our 
 midst, not a few of these veterans, who were the first to 
 illustrate and stimulate that military ardor, which has 
 ever distinguished New Orleans above all other com- 
 munities ; and which, thirty-four years after, enabled a 
 city of one hundred thousand inhabitants to contribute 
 in a few weeks, six fine regiments of volunteers, who 
 abandoned homes and families, to march to a distant 
 and foreign land, to defend the flag and sustain the arms 
 of the Republic. 
 
 The names of the men of the bataillon d'Orleans who 
 still survive, deserve to be mentioned in sketches, that 
 aim to revive and invigorate the gratitude and venera- 
 tion, in which the present generation should hold those 
 whose gallant bearing gave so much courage and confi- 
 dence to the population of New Orleans in its day of 
 trial and peril. Those names are as follows: J. B. 
 Plauche, major ; Maunsel White, captain of the Louis- 
 iana Blues ; E. J. Forstall, corporal ; Tricou, Boreas, 
 Pelerin, Pedesclaux, P. Lanaux, P. DeBuys, W. De- 
 Buys, Garidel, II. McCall, Vincent Nolte, Carabiniere. 
 A. Fernandez, Fauchet, musicians. Of the Hulans there
 
 76 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 are but three survivors Correjoles, Duplantier, and 
 Barnet. Of the Francs there are also three living, 
 C. Toledano, R. Toledano, P. D. Henry. Of the Louis- 
 iana Bines, besides their captain, Messrs. John Hagan 
 and H. W. Palfrey survive. The latter is now the Briga- 
 dier General commanding the Louisiana Legion, a large 
 military force composed of several battalions, of which 
 the Carabiniers of 1814 was the origin. Of the Chas- 
 seurs the survivors are J. R. Lepretre, Lamothe fils, 
 S. Cyr, G. Montamat, C. W. Duhy, S. M. Lapice, S. Pey- 
 rouse, L. Ferranderie, Meunier, M. Melleur and Bournos, 
 making in all thirty-six. 
 
 Jackson called together all the engineers in New 
 Orleans, to obtain the necessary information in regard 
 to the topography of the city, and consult about the 
 defences. He saw at a glance, that the city could be 
 approached by various large bayous, which, starting 
 near the Mississippi, flow into the gulf or the numerous 
 bays that indent the Gulf shore. By his order, Governor 
 Claiborne caused the mouths of the principal of these 
 bayous to be filled up with earth and trees. Next, 
 Jackson visited all the forts in the neighborhood of the 
 city, ordered them to be strengthened, and new forts 
 and fortifications to be established at various points. 
 He gave special attention to strengthening and render- 
 ing impregnable Fort St. Philip, below the city, and 
 occupying a most favorable position to prevent the 
 passage up the river of ships of war. 
 
 And now the people of New Orleans breathed freely 
 and slept soundly. They had neither armies nor navies, 
 but they had the bold heart, the strong mind, and the 
 unconquerable spirit of a Jackson to defend their 
 firesides, and they felt secure, confident and courageous.
 
 THE BRITISH REVIEW AND EMBARKATION. 77 
 
 V. 
 
 THE BRITISH REVIEW AND EMBARKATION. 
 
 ABOUT the first of September, 1814, there was a great 
 stir and commotion in the good old seaport town of 
 Plymouth, England. Everybody was on the qui vive. 
 The streets thronged with people, elate with the excite- 
 ment of some public festivity, and dressed for some 
 gala occasion. All was life, happiness and enjoyment. 
 All the clouds that had lowered upon the island were 
 now dissipated by the treaty of Paris. The dread 
 Napoleon was playing Emperor on the island of Elba. 
 The Continental war had ceased to be the " thought by 
 day and dream by night " of the pacific and commercial 
 classes, who composed the majority of the population 
 of Great Britain. There was only one speck on the 
 horizon of England's happiness, and that was too 
 distant to excite any serious apprehensions, or inter- 
 rupt the general contentment. 
 
 The enthusiasm and excitement, which had aroused 
 the usually staid and lethargic population of Plymouth, 
 on the present occasion, were due to the expected review 
 of one of the finest regiments in the British service, a 
 regiment which did not return, as so many others had 
 straggled into Plymouth, shattered and demoralized, 
 broken in body, spirit, and soul ghastly remnants of
 
 78 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 the fierce struggles that had destroyed the constitutions 
 and moral control of so many men, who might other- 
 wise have proved useful members of society, but by the 
 ambition of monarchs or ministers, were converted either 
 into crippled invalids or reckless vagabonds. 
 
 Not in this condition did the Ninety-third Highland- 
 ers return to Plymouth, from their long and peaceful 
 sojourn at the Cape of Good Hope. Their history, their 
 long absence the reputation of the regiment for moral- 
 ity and even piety, had surrounded the Ninety-third 
 with more than usual interest and eclat, in the view of 
 the Plymouth people. This regiment was the junior 
 Highland corps of the service, having been organized 
 by General Wemyss, in 1803. The men were chiefly 
 enlisted in Ross and Sutherland counties of Scotland. 
 Hence they were usually styled the Sutherland High- 
 landers. In 1811 the numerical strength of the regi- 
 ment, including non-commissioned officers, was one 
 thousand and fifty men, of whom one thousand were 
 Scotch, seventeen were Irish, and eighteen English. 
 The uniform of the regiment was very rich and showy, 
 being of a bright tartan with kilts, high caps trimmed 
 with yellow and red. The men were of the most stal- 
 wart proportions, having been recruited with particular 
 reference to size, height and youth. On account of the 
 admirable discipline and moral character of this regi- 
 ment, it was kept on home service until 1805, when, for 
 the first time, the pibroch was played at its head, and 
 the Ninety-third was mustered into the Expedition 
 against the Cape of Good Hope, under Major General 
 Sir David Baird. In this enterprise the Ninety-third 
 was greatly distinguished. After the capture and occu- 
 pation of the Cape, the regiment remained there in
 
 THE BRITISH REVIEW AND EMBARKATION. 79 
 
 garrison until 1814, when it embarked for England. 
 During its long sojourn at this remote station, the 
 Ninety-third continued in excellent condition, its disci- 
 pline and moral tone being admirably preserved. As 
 an evidence of this, we may cite the remarkable fact, 
 that in the Light Infantry company, which is composed 
 usually of the youngest, most reckless and volatile of 
 the regiment, no man was punished for eighteen years. 
 A strong feeling of piety pervaded the regiment ; the 
 charity and thrift of the men were strikingly illustrated 
 by the fact that during their sojourn at the Cape they 
 were in the habit of sending considerable sums of 
 money home for charitable and religious purposes. 
 
 The review of such a regiment could not but be inter- 
 esting to a people not much accustomed to military dis- 
 play. The Prince of Orange, with a splendid staff, had 
 come down from London to attend this review. The 
 parade was brilliant and impressive. The Ninety-third 
 was out in all its strength, over a thousand rank and 
 file. The men, habited in bran new tartans, with bright 
 muskets, waving banners, and the pipers sending forth 
 their wildest and most warlike strains, presented a most 
 exciting martial spectacle. When formed in line to 
 receive the Prince of Orange and staff, the broad 
 breasts, wide shoulders, and stalwart figures of the 
 Highlanders gave their front a more extended and 
 formidable aspect, than even the strength and number 
 of the regiment appeared to justify. 
 
 Never did a commander regard his men with more 
 pride than the gallant Colonel Dale did his splendid 
 corps, nor were a people ever more pleased and de- 
 lighted with a military display than were the good citi- 
 zens of Plymouth with this parade of soldiers, who were
 
 80 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 no less remarkable for their orderly habits than for their 
 fine military condition and appearance, who presented 
 to them the novel anomaly in the British army, of 
 peaceable and sober soldiers. The review passed off 
 very pleasantly, and a ball and other festivities con- 
 cluded the gaieties of the day. The report to the Horse 
 Guards of the review and inspection of the ISTinety- 
 third, represented that there was no regiment in his 
 Majesty's service in such effective and complete condi- 
 tion. 
 
 But was this a mere holiday display and parade ? So 
 the people thought, so they desired, for the English were 
 heartily sick of war and military glory. So, too, thought 
 the Highlanders, though they had long panted for an 
 opportunity of showing that they were as brave in action 
 and efficient in war, as they were sober and orderly in 
 peace. But no opportunity seemed open to them. 
 England was at peace with all the world, except the 
 United States, and the hostilities with the latter power 
 were believed to be hastening to a close. Commissioners 
 of the two nations were then engaged in discussing and 
 arranging the terms of a peace and settlement. 
 
 It was not many days after the review we have 
 described, that a large fleet of ships-of-war and trans- 
 ports sailed into the port of Plymouth. Soon the news 
 flew through the town that these vessels were to be 
 employed in some highly important secret expedition. 
 Yarious were the surmises and conjectures as to the 
 object of such expedition, few of which, we imagine, 
 approached the truth. That it was a serious affair, was 
 soon confirmed by the fact of the Ninety-third receiving 
 marching orders, and proceeding on board the trans- 
 ports. Here they were joined by fragments of other
 
 THE BRITISH REVIEW AND EMBARKATION. 81 
 
 corps, by six companies of the 95th Rifles, of the famous 
 Riflle brigade, which, under Crauford and Barnard had 
 participated so largely in the glories of the Peninsular 
 war, with detachments of artillery, sappers and rocket- 
 ers, and a squadron of dragoons of the 14th. This 
 force, it was soon known was placed under the command 
 of Major General John Keane, a young, gallant and 
 ambitious officer, of approved courage and experience. 
 
 Keane was a native of the North of Ireland, and 
 entered the army very young. Of an active tempera- 
 ment, full of enterprise and devotion to his profession, 
 he rose rapidly in rank. In the expedition to Egypt, 
 under Sir Ralph Abercrombie, Keane, who was then a 
 subaltern, obtained the high praise of his superior officer. 
 He was next attached to the Sicilian army, under Sir 
 William Bentinck and Sir John Murray, and in the 
 expedition to Catalonia against Suchet. He soon rose 
 to the command of a brigade, to which was attached 
 that celebrated fighting regiment, the 27th, or Enniskil- 
 lins. Though the conclusion of the operations in this 
 quarter was disastrous, it was from no want of gallantry 
 or hard fighting on the part of the troops engaged. The 
 chief brunt of the fighting fell on the 27th. Nobly did 
 that gallant corps bear up against the splendidly-disci- 
 plined and admirably-managed columns of that accom- 
 plished soldier, Marshall Suchet, the most successful of 
 Napoleon's Lieutenants in the Peninsular war. To show 
 the spirit and ardent gallantry of the Enniskillins, the 
 following incidents may not be uninteresting. 
 
 Previous to this first encounter with the Enniskillins, 
 it happened that a wag of an Irishman, who had been 
 taken prisoner by the 'French, enjoyed some free con* 
 versations with the Marshal, in the course of which ho 
 
 4*
 
 82 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 intimated that the Irish were strongly hostile to the 
 British, and only awaited a good excuse and a fair oppor- 
 tunity to go over to the French. Suchet bit at the bait. 
 Accordingly, on the first occasion of meeting the Ennis- 
 killins in battle, he directed several officers to advance 
 in front, and cry out at the top of their voices, " Vive 
 Irelandois !" at the same time, extending the hand of 
 friendship and fraternity. Keane, discovering at a 
 glance the purpose of the French, formed the regiment 
 into a hollow, and ordered it to assume a resting posi- 
 tion. The French, deceived by the attitude of the En- 
 niskillins, pushed forward enthusiastically to the very 
 centre of the line, giving the wildest demonstrations of 
 joy and delight over the fraternization with such formi- 
 dable foes. Suddenly Keane roared the order, " Charge 
 them Enniskillins, charge ! charge !" when the whole 
 line dashed forward like a drove of famished wolves, 
 and firing one volley into the thick columns of the 
 French, sprung at them with their bayonets and made 
 fearful havoc in their ranks. 
 
 It was the same regiment which, on another occasion, 
 was drawn up to receive the charge of the enemy, when 
 a tall grenadier officer stepped out of the French ranks, 
 and challenged to mortal combat any officer of the 27th, 
 The challenge was eagerly accepted by Captain Wal- 
 dron, who advanced half-way to the front, and meeting 
 the boastful Frenchman, crossed swords, and, after a 
 few passes, clove his head in twain. Then the Ennis- 
 killins raised a loud, wild shout of exultation, and rushed 
 upon the French with irresistible fury. Such were 
 some of the antecedents of the associates and compan- 
 ions in arms of an officer who is destined to figure con- 
 epic uously in these sketches, to whom was entrusted the
 
 THE BKITISII REVIEW AND EMBARKATION. 83 
 
 command of the expedition which was organized at 
 Plymouth in the fall of 1814. 
 
 "When the fleet weighed anchor, and set sail from 
 Plymouth on the 18th September, 1814, there were not 
 three in the hundreds composing the expedition, who 
 were cognizant of its object and design. The prevalent 
 idea was, that they were proceeding to join Gen. Ross 
 in America, Keane having been designated as the second 
 in command to that gallant and enterprising officer. 
 
 About this time, the little army of Gen. Ross, which 
 had executed one of the most daring expeditions of 
 modern times, found itself under the necessity of with- 
 drawing from the further prosecution of its designs 
 against Baltimore. The wanton excesses, and barbar- 
 ous outrages, the vandalic destruction of unoffending 
 buildings devoted to scientific and civil uses, and even 
 of monuments erected to commemorate the triumph of 
 American valor over the native tribes of JBarbary, have 
 so sullied and disgraced the character of this expedition, 
 that its merits, in a military point of view, have never 
 been appreciated. The death of Ross, and the subse- 
 quent disasters of his army, have prevented even 
 English writers from doing justice to the daring, bold- 
 ness, and effectiveness of that gallant dash of four 
 thousand men into the very heart of a nation of eight 
 or ten millions capturing and destroying their Capitol, 
 and slowly retiring, bearing away a large quantity of 
 spoils, and encamping in the midst of a country which 
 swarmed with partisan soldiery, composed of men who 
 were personally as brave as any in the world, but whoso 
 leaders and chiefs were mainly of that class which is so 
 justly the subject of burlesque, ridicule and distrust 
 militia officers a class made up chiefly of saddlebag
 
 84: JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 lawyers the keepers of cross-roads groceries, and ex- 
 pectant members of Congress, who are elected in time 
 of peace pretty much on the principle embodied in the 
 celebrated sarcasm of Pitt, in his amendment to the 
 proposition that the militia of Great Britain should never 
 be ordered out of the country, " except," Pitt added, 
 " in case of invasion." It was by the gross and palpa- 
 ble inefficiency of the superior officers, and of the Gov- 
 ernment, and the absence of a leader, that those stains 
 were inflicted upon our national escutcheon, which 
 could only be obliterated by the heroic valor of a Jack- 
 son, and expiated by the bloody sacrifice on the Plains 
 of Chalmette ! 
 
 The merit, and but little of the infamy of the expedi- 
 tion to Washington, were due to General Ross. He 
 was a very gallant and successful officer, who possessed, 
 to a remarkable degree, the confidence of his superiors 
 and inferiors in the army. In the Peninsular war, he 
 was distinguished for his activity, daring and steadiness. 
 No man could hold a column of men better in hand, 
 and manoeuvre them with more coolness undei fire. 
 Besides his military qualities, Ross was a generous, 
 high-toned and kind-hearted gentleman. His soul re- 
 volted at the outrages which his Government had 
 commanded him to inflict on the Americans, and he 
 cheerfully transferred to that willing and fit instrument, 
 in deeds of barbarism and atrocity, Admiral Cockburn, 
 the direction of that desolation, by which the British 
 Ministry had commanded him to mark his course, along 
 the sparsely settled and undefended shores of Virginia 
 and Maryland. 
 
 The circumstances of Ross' death were very impres- 
 sive, and to the British disheartening. He was advanc-
 
 THE BRITISH REVIEW AND EMBARKATION. 85 
 
 ing upon Baltimore, along the banks of the Petapsco, 
 with the same army, somewhat augmented in strength 
 and numbers, with which he had fought at Bladensburg 
 and captured Washington, when his advance and flank- 
 ing companies became engaged with some of the light 
 infantry of the brigade of the American General Stry- 
 ker. Capt. Aisquith, of the Baltimore Sharp-Shoot- 
 ers, a corps which still exists in that city, so famous for 
 the efficiency and brilliancy of its volunteer military, 
 had been thrown forward by Stryker to reconnoitre on 
 the very road which Ross was pursuing. The Sharp- 
 Shooters having scattered in small squads on either side 
 of the road, became engaged with the British flank 
 patrols, and quite a brisk firing ensued. 
 
 Ross immediately rode to the front to observe the 
 character of the attack, and had reached the most ad- 
 vanced party of his skirmishers, accompanied by his 
 aid, Major McDougal, when suddenly, as they reached 
 the top of a slight hill in the road, two of Aisquith's 
 Sharp-Shooters, H. G. McComas and, Daniel Wells, 
 appeared before them, and coolly levelling their rifles, 
 fired at the British, Ross was struck in the side and fell 
 into the arms of his aid, who lifted the wounded General 
 from his horse and laid him under a tree by the side of 
 the road. The General's horse, released from restraint, 
 galloped wildly to the rear, carrying in his terrified 
 aspect and blood-stained saddle the sad tidings to the 
 British troops, who pressed forward in quick time, full 
 of apprehension and grief. As soon as they perceived 
 their General fall, the British skirmishers rushed to the 
 front and avenged his death by killing the two Sharp 
 Shooters, who met their fate like men, and were over- 
 whelmed by superior numbers whilst gallantly fighting.
 
 86 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 They were honest, patriotic mechanics of Baltimore, 
 a class of men who give such efficiency to the Volunteer 
 corps of the United States. The grateful citizens of the 
 " monumental city " have erected a handsome monu- 
 ment commemorative of the defence of the city, on 
 which are inscribed the names of the two heroic volun- 
 teers, who thus fell, after avenging upon the British 
 leader, the indignities and barbarous outrage commit- 
 ted by the army under his command. Their exploit 
 was a gallant and daring one. Subsequent events will 
 show how important it was in its consequences. 
 
 There on the same road, separated by a distance of 
 two hundred yards, lay the bodies of the British General 
 who had fallen in an expedition to lay waste the country 
 and destroy the lives of a free people, who had done 
 him or his nation no wrong, and those of his destroyers 
 who had risked and lost their lives in defence of their 
 honor and the honor of their country. The British 
 soldiers, as they passed the corpse of their dead General, 
 ittered many a deep groan of real sorrow ; whilst the 
 bodies of the gallant American mechanics were spurned 
 and cursed, as if they had not, but a few moments be- 
 fore, been the tenements of nobler souls and higher 
 virtues, than even those which were embodied in their 
 gallant young chief, now a gory corpse, a sad sacrifice 
 to Moloch. 
 
 The British were greatly disheartened by the loss of 
 their chief. He left no officer who could fill his place 
 in the hearts and confidence of the army. Colonel 
 Brook, of 'the Fourth, a gallant man and good com- 
 mander of a battalion, but unused to the direction and 
 contrpl of a large force, succeeded to the command. 
 After a pretty severe action with a detachment of the
 
 THE BRITISH REVIEW AND EMBARKATION. 87 
 
 Americans, and some slight successes, the British Com- 
 mander discovered that the further advance of his army 
 was rendered impracticable, and having consulted with 
 Sir Alexander Cochrane, Commander of the Squadron, 
 he determined to withdraw the army to the fleet. This 
 was done in such good order and with so much secrecy, 
 that before the Americans could learn anything of their 
 movements, they had gained their fleet and disappeared 
 from the coast, which they had kept for several weeks 
 in a state of continual terror and distress. Whither had 
 they gone? For what purpose had they come? It 
 appeared, certainly, to be a wild, reckless, thoughtless 
 enterprise, thus to penetrate the very centre of a nation 
 of nine millions of people, with four thousand troops, 
 who, during the greater part of their operations, were 
 cut off from communication with their squadron. 
 What glory, what advantages, what political objects 
 could be gained by such an enterprise ? 
 
 The idea that it was prompted by a mere spirit of 
 revenge, by a reckless purpose of inflicting an indignity 
 upon a hostile nation, would not comport with the prac- 
 tical judgment and good sense, which, more than passion 
 or a love of military glory, usually characterize the plans 
 and orders of the British Government. Subsequent 
 events will afford the key of this expedition, and show 
 that the attacks upon Washington and Baltimore were 
 mere diversions blinds for a more important and 
 apparently more practicable design. 
 
 James, in his naval history of Great Britain, says : "In 
 our account of the unfortunate demonstration before 
 the city of Baltimore, we mentioned as one cause of the 
 abandonment of the enterprise and the tepidness with 
 which it had been conducted, an ulterior object in the
 
 88 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 view of the Naval Command er-in-Chief. That ulterio* 
 object was the city of New Orleans, the capital of the 
 State of Louisiana."* Confirmatory of this view, we 
 may mention the fact, that the force which left Plymouth 
 on the 18th of September, under General Keane, em- 
 barked about the same time the British were retiring 
 to the fleet from before Baltimore, for the same rendez- 
 vous for which the squadron, having Brook's command 
 on board, shaped its sails. 
 
 The attack on Baltimore was no doubt prompted by 
 the hope of capturing, in that port, a large number of 
 small vessels, for which Sir Alexander Cochrane had 
 great need in the execution of his " ulterior design." 
 This eifort was gallantly and effectively thwarted by the 
 vigorous defence of North Point and Fort McIIenry. 
 
 The fleet with Brooks' army sailed out of the Chesa- 
 peake on the 4th of October, 1814. Giving out that he 
 was bound for Halifax, Sir Alexander Cochrane in the 
 Tonnaut, and with the greater part of the squadron, set 
 sail in a northern direction. His real purpose was to 
 effect a junction with the squadron, which was bearing 
 Keane's command from England. Meantime, the ships 
 having on board the army of the Chesapeake, proceeded 
 in a Southern course towards Jamaica. 
 
 This army was composed of very choice troops. 
 There was the Fourth, or " King's Own," a very gal- 
 lant and distinguished regiment; the Forty-fourth, 
 which had borne itself with great steadiness in Egypt, 
 and in some of the most trying scenes of the Peninsular 
 "War ; the Eighty-fifth, a light-infantry regiment, com- 
 manded by one of the most distinguished light-infantry 
 
 * Jame' Naval History of Great Britain, vol. 7, page 355.
 
 THE BRITISH REVIBrtV AND EMBAKKATION. 89 
 
 officers in the British service, Col. Win. Thornton, who 
 won more laurels and received more wounds, in the 
 British operations in the South than any other officer in 
 the army, and who, at the time the army sailed out of 
 the Chesapeake, was suffering from a severe wound 
 received at the battle of Bladensburg. 
 
 The Fourth, Forty-fourth, and Eighty-fifth, having 
 passed through the Peninsular campaign, embarked at 
 Bordeaux on the 2d of June, 1814, for America, and 
 touching at Bermuda, were joined by the Twenty -first, 
 the North British Fusileers. These, with a battalion of 
 marines and a strong body of artillerists and sappers and 
 miners constituted the army, which Ross led against 
 Washington and Baltimore, the remains of which sailed 
 for the West Indies in the beginning of October, 1814. 
 
 The squadron arrived safely at Jamaica, and not 
 many days after, the troops were joined by those which 
 had been sent from Plymouth. 
 
 The tropical sun shone upon a brilliant and animated 
 scene in the bay of Negril, in the island of Jamaica, on 
 24th November, 1814. That was the day appointed for 
 a general review of the troops and ships, which Great 
 Britain had so mysteriously assembled in this remote 
 quarter of the globe. It was a grand display of naval 
 and military power. Two large squadrons had been 
 combined those of Cochrane and Malcolm. The bay 
 was crowded with every description of sailing craft, 
 from huge three-deckers to little pinnaces. Rarely, if 
 ever, has Great Britain collected a braver or more 
 powerful fleet. It was commanded, too, by chiefs, 
 whose valor had built up for England those impregnable 
 wooden walls which enabled her to defy the conqueror 
 of Europe. An enumeration of this fleet will confirm
 
 90 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 our estimate of its strength, and serve to rescue from 
 oblivion, one of the series of proofs of the great import- 
 ance attached to the expedition, in which it was em- 
 ployed, and of the gigantic preparations by which the 
 British Ministry had nearly justified the confident boast 
 of Castelreagh. 
 
 The following are the names of the ships, the number 
 of their guns, and their commanders, which rendezvoused 
 at Negril bay, under Sir Alexander Cochrane, on the 
 24th November, 1814. 
 
 Tonnant,- 80 guns, Vice- Admiral Sir Alexander Coch- 
 rane, Rear-Admiral Sir Edward Codrington, Captain 
 Kerr ; Royal Oak, 74 guns, Rear- Admiral Malcolm, 
 Captain Wroot ; Norge, 74 guns, Captain Dashford ; 
 Bedford, 74 guns, Captain Walker ; Ramilies, 74 guns, 
 Sir Thomas Hardy ; Asia, 74 guns, Captain Skeens ; 
 Dictator, 56 guns, Captain Crofton ; Diomede, 50 guns, 
 Captain Kippen ; Gorgon (s. s.), 44 guns, Captain R. B. 
 Bowden ; Annide, 33 guns, Sir Thomas Trowbridge ; 
 Seahorse, 35 guns, Captain James Alexander Gordon ; 
 Belle Poule, 38 guns, Captain Baker ; Traave, 38 guns, 
 Captain Money ; "Wever, 38 guns, Captain Sullivan ; 
 Alceste, 38 guns, Captain Lawrence ; Hydra, 38 guns, 
 Captain Dezey ; Fox, 36 guns, Captain Willock ; Cad- 
 mus, 36 guns, Captain Langford; Thames, 32 guns, 
 Captain Hon. C. L. Irby ; Dover, 32 guns, Captain 
 Rogers ; Bucephalus, 32 guns, Captain D'Aith ; Calli- 
 ope, 16 guns, Captain Codd ; Anaconda, 16 guns, West- 
 phall ; Borer, 14 guns, Raulins ; Manly, 14 guns, Loche ; 
 Meteor (bomb), 6 guns, Roberts; Yolcano (bomb), 6 
 guns, Price ; JEtna (bomb), 16 guns, Gardner ; Pigmy, 
 schooner, 6 guns, Jackson ; Jane (cutter), Speedwell, 
 schooner.
 
 THE BRITISH REVIEW AND EMBARKATION. 91 
 
 There were also the following transports : Norfolk, 
 Golden Fleece, Thames, Diana, Woodman, Active, 
 Cyrus, Elizabeth, Kah, Daniel Woodruffe, and George. 
 Such was the squadron which, by great diligence, Sir 
 Alexander Cochrane had collected to desolate the shores 
 of America. It consisted of at least fifty sail, carrying 
 more than a thousand guns. The officers of the squad- 
 rons were the very elite of the British navy. Associated 
 with the silver-haired veterans, Yice- Admiral Cochrane, 
 and Rear- Admiral Malcolm, were several officers who 
 had achieved world-wide reputations. Among these 
 was Sir Thomas Hardy, in whose arms Nelson died at 
 Trafalgar, and to whom he addressed those remarkable 
 words " Kiss me, Hardy ; I die content ;" Sir Thomas 
 Trowbridge, an officer who had displayed great ability 
 and gallantry in many brilliant actions ; Captain (after- 
 wards Sir) James Alexander Gordon, a cork-leg, sturdy 
 sailor, who, with his famous frigate, the Sea-horse, is 
 even now remembered with awe and terror on the banks 
 of the Potomac, for his daring and skill. Rear- Admiral 
 Codrington, then regarded as the most promising officer 
 in the British navy, who, though in the meridian of life, 
 had reached the high post of Rear- Admiral, and after- 
 wards became famous as the commander of the allied 
 fleet at Navarino an affair too inglorious in its aims 
 and motives to reflect any distinction upon those engaged 
 in it. 
 
 But as, after all, the chief duty and responsibility of 
 the expedition devolved upon the army, we must en- 
 deavor to be as exact as possible in the enumeration of 
 its force. 
 
 The following returns, as published in the English 
 and Jamaica journals of the day, and, in some cases,
 
 92 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 obtained from the muster-rolls, exhibit in round numbers 
 the strength of the British army in this enterprise. 
 The army of the Chesapeake counted as follows : 
 
 4th Rc^'ment Foot, Colonel Brook, 600 
 
 21st Eoyal North British Fusiliers, Lieut. Colonel Patterson, 800 
 
 85th Buck Volunteers, Light Infantry, Col. Wm. Thornton, 600 
 
 44th East Essex Foot, Lieut. Colonel Hon. Thos. Mullens, 600 
 
 Artillery, Sappers and Miners, &o. 500 
 
 Total, 3,100 
 
 The reinforcements brought by Gen. Keane were as 
 follows : 
 
 93d Highlanders, Lieut. Colonel Dale, 1,000 
 
 6 Companies of 95th Rifles, Major Mitchell, 600 
 
 1st "West India Regiment, Lieut. Colonel Whitby, 800 
 
 6th "West India Regiment, Lieut. Colonel Hamilton, 800 
 
 14th Duchess of York's Light Dragoons, Colonel Baker, 390 
 
 Artillery, Rocket Brigade, Sappers, Engineers, &c. 800 
 
 Total, 4,350 
 
 Grand total of Keane's army, 7,450 
 
 To this considerable force the squadron were able to 
 contribute at least fifteen hundred marines and sailors, 
 who could do good service on land. 
 
 On the 26th of November, 1814, the squadron, having 
 on board this large and well-appointed army, sailed out 
 of Negril Bay, and directed its course towards the Gulf 
 of Mexico. 
 
 The news of the gathering of ships and troops at 
 Negril Bay had reached the United States shortly after 
 the departure of the fleet. Its destination was generally 
 believed to be the Gulf of Mexico. The intelligence
 
 THE BRITISH EEVIEW AND EMBARKATION. 93 
 
 furnished by Lafitte was the chief reliance for this belief. 
 That the design had been kept very quiet and secret is 
 satisfactorily shown by the brief period of time elapsing 
 between the departure of Cochrane's squadron and the 
 commencement of Gen. Jackson's defensive prepara- 
 tions. \V hen Jackson reached New Orleans, the British 
 fleet had completed half of the voyage to the Gulf 
 coast, and only four days thereafter the Tonnant, the 
 Yice Admiral's flag-ship, was reported off the coast of 
 Florida. 
 
 Never did a fleet and army proceed towards their 
 destination with higher hopes and in better spirits than 
 the British expedition for New Orleans. So confident 
 were they of success that a full set of civil officers to 
 conduct the government -of the Territory accompanied 
 the army. There was also a government editor and 
 printing press, to expound the policy and publish the 
 orders and proceedings of the new government. There 
 were many merchant ships in the squadron, which had 
 been chartered expressly to bear away the rich spoil 
 that was expected to reward their capture and occupa- 
 tion of the city. It was indeed regarded an expedition 
 to occupy, rather than invade a defenceless country, as 
 a pleasure party and speculative adventure more than a 
 serious warlike enterprise. Hence the festivity and 
 high-hearted jollity which enlivened the crowded decks 
 of the British war vessels and transports, as they moved 
 majestically over the calm water of the Gulf. 
 
 Music, dancing, and even dramatic entertainments, 
 aided by the wives of the officers, who in considerable 
 numbers accompanied the expedition, varied the mo- 
 notony of the voyage, whose termination was looked 
 forward to as an appropriate conclusion of the prevail-
 
 94: JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 ing gaiety, as a grand national jubilee when the banner 
 of old England would be planted on the soil which 
 France, Spain, and the United States had been unable 
 to hold and defend, and when her gallant soldiers, the 
 hardy and scarred veterans of the Peninsula, might rest 
 from their long fatigues and perils, and revel in the 
 wealth, luxury, and abundance of the Queen City of 
 " the sunny South." 
 
 Among the fair participants in these festivities and 
 hopes was the noble and accomplished lady of an officer 
 commanding a veteran and distinguished regiment in 
 the expedition, the Hon. Mrs. Mullens, who abandoned 
 the luxuries and comforts of an aristocratic home to 
 share the glory and trials of her husband. The object 
 of such devotion will surely prove worthy of it, and 
 bear his part nobly in the coming struggle. There, too, 
 in that gay and hopeful crowd were the buxom daugh- 
 ters, five in number, of one of the civil officials of the 
 conquered colony, who had vacated a profitable' office in 
 Bermuda to try his fortunes in a new country, where 
 his daughters might display their charms in a new 
 sphere, in which females of the Saxon style of beauty 
 and accomplishments were too rare not to be highly 
 admired and appreciated. 
 
 Such were some of the hopes of that gay and sanguine* 
 expedition.
 
 95 
 
 BATTLE OF LAKE BORGNE. 
 
 A FIERCE storm on the 9th of December, 1814, greeted 
 the first appearance of the British fleet off the coast of 
 the Gulf of Mexico. To minds less buoyant and confi- 
 dent, than those of the sanguine and hitherto irresistible 
 veterans of that gallant array of naval and military 
 power, this occurrence might have appeared as an evil 
 augury. Soon, however, the storrn lulled, the clouds 
 passed quickly away, and the bright sun came forth to 
 cheer the hearts of the crowded crews. A favorable 
 wind bears the squadron rapidly onward, in the direc- 
 tion of the entrance of Lake Borgne. The huge Ton- 
 nant, the same which was captured at Abouquir in 
 Nelson's great fight, after the gallant Dupetit Thouars 
 had flooded her decks with his noble blood, flowing from 
 a dozen wounds,* now commanded by the white-haired 
 British Yice- Admiral, and the gallant Sea-horse, with 
 her cork-legged Captain, lead the van. Behind follow 
 the long train of every variety of sailing craft, from the 
 
 * Lamartlne has an appalling description of this tragedy, he says ; ' Captain Dupe- 
 til Thouars commanding the Tonnant never slackened his flre for a moment at sight 
 of this disaster (the burning of L'Orient.) He no longer fought for glory or life, but 
 for immortality. One arm carried off by a cannon shot, both legs broken by grape, he 
 called upon his crew to swear never to strike his flags and to throw his body overboard, 
 that even hi* remain* might not become captive to the British."
 
 96 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 great ships of war, with their frowning batteries, to the 
 little trim sloops and schooners of fifteen or twenty tons, 
 designed to penetrate the bays and inlets of the coast. 
 The pilots, who have accompanied the fleets from the 
 West Indies, have announced that land is not far off, 
 and all parties are on deck, eagerly straining their eyes 
 for a view of the desired shore. There, in the distance, 
 they soon discover a long,. shining, white line, which 
 sparkles in the sun like an island of fire. Presently it 
 becomes more distinct and substantial, and the man at 
 the look-out proclaims " land ahead." The leading 
 ships approach as near as is prudent, and their crews, 
 especially the land troops, experience no little disap- 
 pointment at the bleak and forbidding aspect of Dau- 
 phiue island, with its long, sandy beach, its dreary, 
 stunted pines, and the entire absence of any vestige of 
 settlement or cultivation. Turning to the west, the fleet 
 avoids the island, and proceeds towards a favorable an- 
 chorage in the direction of the Chandeleur islands, the 
 wind in the meantime having chopped around, and 
 blowing too strong from the shore to justify an attempt 
 to enter the lake at night. 
 
 As the Tonnant and Sea-horse pass near to Dauphine 
 Island, the attention of the Yice- Admiral is called to 
 two small vessels, lying within the island, near the 
 shore. They are neat little craft, sloop-rigged, and 
 evidently armed. They appear to be watching the 
 movements of the British ships, and when the latter take 
 a western course, they weigh anchor and follow in the 
 same direction. At night-fall the signal " to anchor" is 
 made from the Tonnant, and the order is quickly obeyed 
 by all the vessels in the squadron. 
 
 The suspicious little sloops, as if in apprehension of a
 
 BATTLE OF LAKE BORGNE. 97 
 
 night attack of boats, then press all sail and proceed in 
 the direction of Biloxi Bay. They prove to be the 
 United States gun-boats No. 23, Lieutenant McKeever, 
 (now Commodore McKeever), No. 163, Sailing- Master 
 Ulrick, which had been detached from the squadron of 
 Lieutenant T. Ap Catesby Jones (now Commodore 
 Jones), who had been sent by Commodore Patterson, 
 with six gun-boats, one tender, and a dispatch-boat, to 
 watch and report the approach of the British. In case 
 their fleet succeeded in entering the lake, he was to be 
 prepared to cut off their barges and prevent the landing 
 of troops. If hard pressed by a superior force, his 
 orders were to fall back upon a mud fort, the Petites 
 Coquilles, near the mouth of the Rigolets, and shelter 
 his vessels under its guns. 
 
 The two boats which had attracted the notice of the 
 British Vice- Admiral, joined the others of the squadr T. 
 that night near Biloxi. The next day, the 10th 
 December, at dawn, as soon as the fog cleared off, Jones 
 was amazed to observe the deep water between Ship and 
 Cat Islands, where the current flows, crowded with ships 
 and vessels of every calibre and description. The Ton- 
 nant having anchored off the Chandeleurs, the Sea-horse 
 was now the foremost ship. Jones immediately made 
 for Pass Christian with his little fleet, where he anchor- 
 ed, and -quietly awaited the approach of the British 
 vessels. 
 
 In compact and regular order, the fleet moved slowly 
 through the passage between Cat and Ship Islands, and 
 along the east coast of the former island, presenting, 
 under a bright sun and cloudless sky, a most impressive 
 marine panorama. Soon, however, the soundings warn- 
 ed the British that they were getting into shallow water, 
 
 6
 
 98 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 and the line-of-battle ships came to anchor. They were 
 now, however, safe within American waters, in Lake 
 Borgne ; and preparations were actively commenced to 
 relieve the ships of the impatient and restless mass of 
 belligerent mortality with which they were crowded. 
 The troops were therefore embarked on the transports 
 and smaller vessels. Before, however, the landing could 
 be attempted, it was necessary to clear the lake of the 
 agile and well-managed little boats, which hovered in 
 their front, and appeared ready to pounce down on any 
 smaller craft that might trust themselves too far from 
 the shelter of the batteries of the ships of the line. 
 
 Vice- Admiral Cochrane, who directed all the move- 
 ments relating to the landing of the troops, proceeded 
 to organize an expedition of barges to attack and destroy 
 the gun-boats. The command of this enterprise was 
 confided to Capt. Lockyer, who was presumed to be 
 better acquainted with the coast than any other officer, 
 and is the same person, with whom Lafitte had an inter- 
 view on the second of September, 1814. Captain Lock- 
 ver had also commanded one of the sloops in the attack 
 of Fort Bowyer, and, no doubt, panted for an opportu- 
 nity of wiping from the escutcheon of the British Navy 
 the disgrace of that defeat. All the launches, barges 
 and pinnaces of the fleet were collected together. The 
 barges had been made expressly for this expedition, and 
 were nearly as large as Jones' gun-boats, each carrying 
 eighty men. To these were added the gigs of the Ton- 
 nant and Sea-horse. There were forty launches, mount- 
 ing each one carronade 12, 18 or 24 calibre ; one launch, 
 with one long brass pounder ; another with a brass nine- 
 pounder ; and three gigs, with small arms. There were, 
 therefore, in all, forty-five boats and forty-two cannon,
 
 BATTLE OF LAKE BORGNE. VV 
 
 manned by a thousand sailors and marines, picked from 
 the crews of the ships. 
 
 Captain Lockyer was ably seconded in the organiza- 
 tion and direction of this formidable fleet by his subor- 
 dinates, Montressor, of the Manly, and Roberts, of the 
 Meteor, both veteran and experienced officers. 
 
 On the evening of the 12th the flotilla moved in beau- 
 tiful order, from the anchorage of the squadron near 
 Ship Island, in the direction of Pass Christian. It con- 
 sisted of three divisions under the three officers named. 
 Gallantly, and in perfect line, these divisions advanced 
 along the white shores of the Mississippi territory for a 
 distance of thirty-six miles, the boats being rowed by 
 the hardy sailors, without resting. 
 
 "When morning broke on the 13th, the flotilla had 
 arrived near the Bay of St. Louis, whither three of the 
 barges were detached, to capture the small schooner 
 Sea-horse, which Jones had sent into the bay, for the 
 purpose of removing some stores deposited there. 
 
 As soon as the barges came within range of her guns, 
 the Sea-horse opened upon them a well-directed and 
 effective fire. At the same time two six pounders, 
 placed in battery on the shore, followed up the discharge 
 of the Sea-horse, and striking the barges, wounded sev- 
 eral of the men. The barges then drew off towards the 
 main body of the flotilla, when, thinking they had retired 
 for reinforcements, and apprehending a renewal of the 
 attack by the whole force of Lockyer, the captain of 
 the Sea-horse blew her up, and set fire to the stores on 
 shore, which were entirely destroyed. 
 
 But the British commander had no idea of diverting 
 his energies from the serious task before him. The
 
 J.OO JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 staunch little gun-boats lay just ahead in battle array, 
 as if inviting rather than avoiding the combat. 
 
 It is due, however, to Jones' reputation as a good 
 officer, to add, that he had attempted to obey Patterson's 
 order, and fall back to the fort at Petit Coquilles. In 
 vain he tried to beat into the Rigolets, against the strong 
 current of that strait. Finally, his vessels were carried 
 into the narrow channel between Malheureux Island 
 and Point Clear on the main land. 
 
 There they became unmanageable, several of the ves- 
 sels sticking fast in the mud. Then Jones resolved to 
 bide the issue of a fight. 
 
 At daylight on the 14rth, the flotilla could be seen at 
 anchor nine miles off'. The men were refreshing them- 
 selves after their severe rowing. Jones called aboard 
 of his flag-ship, a little sloop of eighty tons, all the offi- 
 cers of his Lilliputian squadron, and addressing them in 
 the style of a blunt, sturdy sailor, gave them their seve- 
 ral commands, and prepared for a vigorous resistance. 
 His officers were all young men, full of courage, vigor, 
 and activity. His orders were to form with their boats 
 a close line abreast across the channel, anchored by the 
 stern, with springs on their cables. At a given signal 
 they were to open upon the enemy with their long guns, 
 and when the barges closed upon them, they were to 
 ply their musketry with all their activity. 
 
 The squadron consisted of the following gun-boats : 
 !N\>. 5, with five guns and thirty-six men, commanded 
 by sailing-master, John D. Ferris ; gun-boat No, 23, 
 with five guns and thirty-nine men, under Lieutenant 
 (now commodore) Isaac McKeever ; gun-boat, 'No. 156, 
 with five guns and forty-one men, under Lieutenant
 
 BATTLE OF LAKE BORGNE. 101 
 
 commanding T. Ap Catesby Jones; gun- boat No. 162, 
 with five guns and thirty-five men, under Lieutenant 
 Robert Spedden; gun-boat No. 163, with three guns 
 and thirty-one men, under Sailing-Master Ulrick total, 
 five gun-boats, twenty-three guns, and one hundred and 
 eighty-two men. This was certainly a small force to 
 repel the powerful flotilla which was bearing down upon 
 them. 
 
 The morning was bright, cool and bracing. There 
 was not a breath of air to stir the surface of the placid 
 lake. The men in the British flotilla took their break- 
 fast as gaily and pleasantly as if it were a sportive occa- 
 sion, and then stood to their arms. The flotilla ap- 
 proached with all the precision of soldiers in line ; 
 Jones' gunners fixed their eyes steadily upon the im- 
 posing array of bristling barges, measuring coolly the 
 distance, in order to ascertain when they might come in 
 range of their long guns. Just as the Americans are 
 about to level their pieces, the flotilla comes to a grap- 
 nel, and appears to be deliberating on the expediency 
 of attacking so determined a little squadron. A division 
 of the barges is now detached from the main line of the 
 flotilla, and bears towards the west. The object of this 
 movement is understood in Jones' fleet, when a little 
 white speck is discerned in the distance, which soon 
 assumes the shape of a small fishing-smack. This proves 
 to be the Alligator, a little tender, armed with a four- 
 pounder and eight men, under sailing-master, Richard 
 S. Sheppard. 
 
 The Alligator was making every effort to join Jones' 
 squadron, to take part in the approaching combat, but 
 the wind had lulled and she could make no progress.
 
 102 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Lockyer detached four boats, with nearly two hundred 
 men, under Captain Roberts, to capture this formidable 
 ship-of-war, with her eight sailors and toy-gun. It is 
 due to the British Navy to state that they succeeded in 
 effecting this object without much loss. Roberts re- 
 turned to the flotilla in triumph with his splendid prize, 
 and was received with three loud cheers. The stout 
 sailor could not, however, suppress a smile when he 
 boarded his capture, and ascertained her force and 
 metal. Perhaps, under all the circumstances, Captain 
 Lockyer may be excused for the slight exaggeration, in 
 his description of this little cockle-shell " as an armed 
 sloop." But it is due to history to state, that this high- 
 sounding designation has been conferred on Commodore 
 Porter's old gig ! 
 
 Somewhat animated by this little achievement, Lock- 
 yer ordered his men to refresh themselves with a hearty 
 meal, adding an extra allowance of Jamaica rum, to 
 increase their appetite for the .feast and the fray which 
 was to follow. At half-past ten the flotilla weighed 
 anchor, and bore down upon Jones' squadron in open 
 order, forming a line abreast, extending nearly from the 
 main land to the Malheureux Island. The appearance 
 of the flotilla, as the barges with unbroken front swept 
 rapidly and boldly forward the six oars on each side 
 dipping in the water with the regularity of clock-work, 
 and glittering in the sunbeams as they rose and fell the 
 red shirts of the sailors, the shining muskets of the ma- 
 rines, and the formidable carronades which protruded so 
 threateningly from the bows of the barges, constituted 
 an impressive spectacle, one well calculated to try the 
 nerves of that heroic band which stood on the decks of
 
 BATTLE OF LAKE BORGNE. 103 
 
 those little sloops, with lighted matches and muskets 
 cocked, ready to meet quadruple their numbers in deadly 
 combat. 
 
 So cairn and quiet was the aspect of Jones' fleet, that 
 the British believed they were about to surrender with- 
 out essaying so vain a resistance against an overpowering 
 force. But they were soon aroused from this delusion 
 by the booming of McKeever's thirty-two pounder, and 
 a shower of grape-shot that carried destruction among 
 the flotilla, and seriously disturbed their line. With 
 amazing rapidity this gun continued her fire, and pres- 
 ently the other guns of Jones' fleet joined in. The 
 barges, though evidently crippled and damaged by this 
 heavy fire, pushed steadily forward, and began a lively 
 response with their carronades. A brisk firing was con- 
 tinued for some time ; but Lockyer soon perceived that 
 in such a contest the gun-boats had the advantage, and, 
 accordingly, he ordered the barges to close in and board. 
 
 Owing to the force of the current and the unmanage- 
 able state of the boats, Jones' and Ulrick's vessels (156 
 and 163) had been borne out of line one hundred yards 
 in advance of the others Jones' boat was a little ahead. 
 Captain Lockyer seeing this, determined to attack tho 
 boats in detail. Breaking his flotilla into three divisions, 
 he pressed forward with the advance, composed of four 
 barges and two gigs, against the flag-boat. He was met 
 by a most destructive volley of grape and musketry. 
 Every shot appeared to take effect. Two of the barges 
 were capsized, and the men were barely saved from 
 drowning by clinging to their sides until others could 
 come up and rescue them. Nearly all the men on board 
 these barges were killed or wounded. Undismayed by 
 this awful scene of destruction, four other barges pushed
 
 104 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 forward and renewed the attack, and getting near Jones' 
 boat, poured upon her decks an incessant fire of mus- 
 ketry. 
 
 Jones, standing on the deck exposed to this fire, deter- 
 mined to sell his life as. dearly as possible, and singling 
 out the officer who in the captain's gig appeared to be 
 the most active in inciting the British sailors and marines 
 discharged his pistol at him, and the Briton fell mortally 
 wounded in the arms of the sailors. This officer was 
 Lieutenant Pratt, the first of the Sea-horse, the same 
 who under the orders of Admiral Cockburn, burnt the 
 Capitol and other buildings, at Washington, in the 
 summer of 1814:. 
 
 The British sought immediate revenge for the fall of 
 their gallant young officer, and a dozen muskets were 
 brought to bear upon Jones at once, several balls passed 
 through his clothes and cap, but one struck him in 
 the shoulder, where it has remained ever since. 
 
 The wound was so painful that he could not stand up 
 under it, and he was dragged below by his men, crying 
 out, however, to Parker, his second in command, " Keep 
 up the fight, keep up the fight, keep up the fight." 
 Parker shouted, " Aye ! aye !" but the words had hardly 
 escaped his lips, when he was shot down, and the Brit- 
 ish now closing upon the little boat, clambered up her 
 sides, and appeared on her deck in such overwhelming 
 force as to render further resistance vain. In accom- 
 plishing this feat, however, they had suffered most griev- 
 ously. Lockyer had received three wounds, all severe ; 
 and poor Lieutenant George Pratt, was fairly riddled 
 with balls, yet he continued to fight to the last. The 
 fighting on No. 156 was now over ; but, strange to say, 
 the stars and stripes still continued to wave at her mast-
 
 BATTLE OF LAKE BOEGNE. 105 
 
 head, and so remained until the fighting was over in the 
 other boats. Perhaps, considering the heavy loss they 
 had sustained for so small a capture, the British did not 
 think they were entitled to lower the American flag. 
 Indeed, their commander was too sorely wounded, and 
 in too great pain, to think of any further action after he 
 had gained the decks of the flag-boat, upon reaching 
 which he fainted from loss of blood, and was taken be- 
 low and laid by the side of his gallant antagonist. 
 
 Meantime, the guns of Jones' boats were turned upon 
 the others, under the direction of Lieutenant Tatnall, a 
 gallant and enterprising officer the same who had been 
 captured by the French in a bloody naval contest a few 
 years before who, escaping from a French prison in 
 the guise of a monk, reached the sea-shore of France, 
 and, in a small open boat, joined the English fleet in 
 the channel. 
 
 At the same time, Captain Montressor, with his divi- 
 sion of barges, closed upon Ulrick's boat. They were 
 held at bay for some time, but being reinforced by the 
 other division under Roberts, soon succeeded in over- 
 powering the little vessel. The guns of these two boats 
 were then concentrated upon the other gun-boats, and 
 particularly upon the nearest one, under Lieutenant 
 Robert Spedden; but that gallant young officer un- 
 daunted by the disasters, which had overtaken his com- 
 panions, returned this fire with an alacrity and vigor, 
 which drove the barges to take shelter behind the two 
 boats that had been captured. Here, combining and 
 arranging their forces into one powerful division, Mon- 
 tressor and Roberts again threw themselves upon Sped- 
 den's little craft, with more than a dozen barges, filled 
 with several hundred sailors and marines. Though sur 
 
 5*
 
 106 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 rounded, the little gun -boat did not yield, but showered 
 her iron hail upon the crowded barges with most des- 
 tructive vigor. A grape-shot had shattered Spedden's 
 left arm at the elbow. Regardless of his wounds, the 
 brave young sailor held his post, giving orders to his 
 men, and cheering them with his words, and with a 
 countenance in which gallantry and heroism conquered 
 the agony of a painful wound. Occupying an exposed 
 and conspicuous position on the deck of the boat, Spedden 
 became the target of the British marines for their mus- 
 ket exercise. He noted particularly one fellow in the 
 bow of the nearest barge, aiming at him with the cool- 
 ness and precision of a sportsman shooting a pigeon. 
 He was a good marksman, and lodged a musket-ball in 
 Spedden's shoulder which deprived him of the use of 
 his right arm. 
 
 He was thus left without the use of either arm. Muti- 
 lated and covered with blood, his men rapidly falling 
 around him (the other boats being in the hands of the 
 enemy), this gallant young man did not yield until, 
 overpowered by numbers, he was forced below by the 
 British, who rushed upon deck and took possession of 
 the boat. The guns of the captured boats were next 
 turned upon Ferris's boat, No. 5, with such effect as to 
 dismount her most effective weapon, a twenty-four 
 pounder; and, after this, the barges encountered but 
 little difficulty in boarding and capturing her. Mean- 
 time, McKeever, on ~No. 23, kept up a brisk fire on the 
 barges with his thirty-two pounders. But the guns of 
 the other boats were all turned upon, him, and further 
 resistance became vain so he surrendered at half-past 
 twelve P.M. 
 
 Thus closed this very remarkable and gallant action.
 
 BATTLE OF LAKE BORGNE. 107 
 
 It was maintained by both parties for three hours, with 
 great courage and activity. Both did their duty faith- 
 fully. The British, though numerically and in metal 
 vastly superior to the Americans, were in open boats, 
 exposed to a heavy fire for some time, without the abil- 
 ity to return it with effect. They certainly displayed 
 great gallantry and determination in advancing against 
 such a fire as Jones opened upon them. But the 
 Americans, too, labored under great disadvantages. 
 Owing to the state of the tide and wind, Jones's boat 
 having become detached from the others, the British 
 were able to concentrate upon it a powerful force, and 
 its capture rendered that of the others inevitable. The 
 gun-boats could thus be attacked in detail. It was, 
 therefore, really, when the close fighting commenced, 
 a combat between one or two gun-boats of ten guns and 
 less than a hundred men, and some twenty-five or thirty 
 barges, with more than six hundred men. The other 
 boats, in the meantime, could not take part in the fight 
 when the, barges closed upon their companions, as they 
 could not use their guns. Having captured two of the 
 gun-boats, the British could turn their own guns on the 
 remaining ones, which lay entirely at their mercy. 
 
 The results will show how severe and gallant an ac- 
 tion it was. The Americans lost, in killed and wounded, 
 about one-third their number. Among the wounded 
 were Jones, Spedden, McKeever and Parker. The 
 British loss was much more severe. Thirteen British 
 ships of war were represented in the ghastly heap of 
 killed and wounded that were strewn upon the decks of 
 the gun-boats, after this severe action. Of these, three 
 midshipmen, thirteen seamen, and one marine were 
 reported dead ; and one captain, four lieutenants, one
 
 108 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 lieutenant of marines, three master-mates, seven mid- 
 shipmen, fifty seamen, and eleven marines were wound- 
 ed. Many of the wounded died before they got to the 
 squadron, and not a few were killed and wounded who 
 did not figure in the returns. 
 
 It would not be extravagant to estimate the number 
 of those in the British flotilla, placed hors de combat 
 in this action, as fully equal to the whole number of 
 A mericans engaged. Of "the officers, Captain Lockyer 
 was very badly wounded in several places not, as has 
 been frequently stated, in a hand-to-hand fight, on the 
 deck of Jones' flag-boat, but in attempting to bring his 
 barge alongside. Lieutenant George Pratt, second of 
 the frigate Sea-horse, who was in the same boat with 
 Lockyer, was shot down by his side several times, in 
 attempting to board the gun-boat. Lieutenant Tatnall, 
 of the Tonnant, had his boat sunk, and, rescuing him- 
 self and his men, succeeded in getting into another 
 barge. Lieutenant Roberts, also of the Tonnant, was 
 wounded in closing with the -gun-boats. Besides these, 
 there were ten midshipmen killed and wounded. These 
 results show that the victory of the British was a costly 
 one. There was not much rejoicing and exultation over 
 it. The groans and cries of the wounded were the pre- 
 valent notes in that melancholy squadron, as it returned 
 to the anchorage of the British fleet. 
 
 And yet their victory was one of great value and im- 
 portance. It not only cleared the Lake of all enemies, 
 but "Supplied Sir Alexander Cochrane, with a very im- 
 portant addition to his fleet of smaller vessels, so much 
 needed in effecting a landing of the a'rmy. It was late 
 in the afternoon when the barges and gun-boats returned 
 to Ship Island. On their appearance they were loudly
 
 BATTLE OP LAKE BORGNB. 109 
 
 clieered by the sailors and soldiers on the ships ; but 
 they were too much wearied and oppressed by the sever- 
 ity of their loss, to give more than a feeble and faint 
 response. It was more like a wail than a cheer. The 
 wounded were removed to a large store-ship, the Gor- 
 gon, where the Americans were attended by the same 
 surgeons who ministered to the British. Jones and Sped- 
 den being very severely wounded, were confined in the 
 cabin for many weary days. Though all that skill and 
 kindness could accomplish was done for them, their con- 
 dition was one of nervous anxiety and painful apprehen- 
 sion for the fate of the city, for whose defence they had 
 so gallantly fought. From the port-holes of the hospital 
 ship they could perceive the movements going on in the 
 fleet around them, the arrival and dispatch of troops, 
 the hum and buzz of preparations for the disembark- 
 ation. The agony of their wounds was dreadfully in- 
 creased by the reflection that the city had no means of 
 defence that it must inevitably fall into the hands of 
 their powerful foe. They had not heard of the arrival 
 of any troops there. Jackson had not reached the city 
 when their little fleet left the port to watch the entrance 
 of the Lake. Nothing, it seemed to them, but a miracle 
 could save New Orleans. 
 
 The officers of the British fleet were kind and con- 
 siderate to their unfortunate and gallant foes, but even 
 they could not conceal their exultation, their confidence 
 in the complete success of the expedition, and of the 
 measures referring to their comfort and enjoyment, 
 which were to follow that event. 
 
 Among other incidents, illustrative of the confidence 
 of the British, and full of painful interest to the wounded 
 prisoners, was the introduction to them of the future
 
 110 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 collector of the revenue of his Britannic Majesty in the 
 Port of New Orleans, in the person of a tall and gentle- 
 manly individual, who conversed freely with the Amer- 
 icans respecting his future arrangements for the dis- 
 charge of his duties. How these painful feelings of the 
 young American sailors fluctuated and varied with 
 every indication of the occurrences, which, unknown to 
 them, were transpiring on the main land how eagerly 
 they hearkened to the distant roar of artillery, kept up 
 continuously for fourteen days with what agonizing 
 suspense they observed boats returning to the fleet with 
 wounded men, arid reloading with fresh recruits from 
 the ships, including the greater part even of the com- 
 mon sailors, and with large cannon taken from the decks 
 of the ships of war how they were struck with the 
 silent and changed expression of the British officers, 
 who gave their orders in sharp, angry, anxious tones ; 
 and how, at last, their pains grew lighter, their wounds 
 were forgotten, the groans and dying sighs of those 
 around them were unheeded, when the gloomy portents 
 and signs in the English fleet began to proclaim more 
 emphatically than words could, the astounding and glo- 
 rious result ; and how, despite wounds, debility, and the 
 presence of their enemies, these gallant sailors could 
 not, even in that awful place, surrounded by the dead 
 and dying, suppress the involuntary cheer of joyful 
 exultation over these proofs of the triumph of American 
 valor ; and how, then, with a smile on his face, the gal- 
 lant Spedden submitted cheerfully to the terrible opera- 
 tion of amputation of his arm ; and the heroic Jones 
 could regard with pride, rather than sorrow, the mutila- 
 tion of the same member, are transitions, whose intensity 
 can be better imagined than described, which have been
 
 THE BATTLE OP LAKE BOBGNE. Ill 
 
 rarely equalled in dramatic effect, by any of the realities 
 of history, or the creations of poetry. 
 
 As soon as intelligence of the capture of the gallant 
 tars was received in New Orleans, Mr. Shields, a purser 
 in the Navy, and Dr. Morrell, were dispatched by Com- 
 modore Patterson, with a flag of truce to the British 
 fleet at Cat Island, for the purpose of affording to the 
 wounded prisoners such comforts and necessaries as their 
 situation might demand. On their arrival off Cat 
 Island, they were received by Vice- Admiral Cochrane, 
 and were told that their visit was a very inopportune 
 one, and he should be compelled to detain them. They 
 protested against such conduct, as contrary to the laws 
 of nations ; as they came under a flag of truce, and 
 merely to relieve the sufferings of their unfortunate 
 lellow-citizens, who had been wounded. Their protest 
 was disregarded, and they were assigned a room in the 
 cabin of the flag-ship, where they were closely guarded. 
 Suspecting from the interrogatories of the British Com- 
 mander, that every word which fell from them would be 
 eagerly caught up and reported to the Vice-Admiral, 
 Shields and Morrell in their conversations never failed 
 to dwell on the powerful force which Jackson had col- 
 lected to defend the city, or the myriads of Western 
 riflemen that were flocking to his standard, and the 
 severe chastisement which awaited the British, if they 
 dared to advance upon the city. These artful statements 
 produced the desired effect on the minds of the British 
 commanders, and contributed to that deliberation and 
 slowness of movement which marked their subsequent 
 course. 
 
 The capture of the gun-boats gave the British com- 
 mand of the lake, and enabled them to land at any
 
 112 JACKSON A.N1) NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 point they desired, without the fear of disturbance, or 
 even detection. 
 
 The troops were now all moved forward through Pass 
 Christian, in the smaller transports and vessels until they 
 arrived at that bleak and desolate Island, one of the 
 Malheureux, called He des Poix, lying at the mouth of 
 Pearl River. Save a very scant vegetation, which grows 
 around the lake or pond in the centre of this island, it 
 consists of little more than a circle of white sand. Here 
 the British succeeded in effecting a landing on the 16th 
 of December. Without tents or any shelter, the condi- 
 tion of the troops was exceedingly uncomfortable, espe- 
 cially when a heavy rain came on and threatened the 
 submersion of the whole island. Then a severe frost 
 followed, freezing the wet clothes on the bodies of the 
 men and causing many deaths, especially among the 
 black troops, brought from the West Indies. From the 
 16th to the 20th the boats were actively employed in 
 landing the troops. On the 20th, General Keane re- 
 viewed his army. It was a bright, frosty morning, and 
 though the men were greatly fatigued by their incessant 
 labors, exposure and deprivations, their appearance, 
 drawn up on that lonely and desolate beach, was quite 
 formidable and impressive. Despite their trials, the 
 soldiers preserved their health and vigor to a remarkable 
 degree. Their gallant young General, with his hand- 
 some, genial countenance, and noble bearing, inspired 
 all around him with hope, confidence and energy. 
 
 He immediately entered upon the formation of his 
 army. The Light Brigade, which had been so effective 
 in the operations on the Chesapeake coast, was broken 
 up, and in its place three battalions were formed into 
 an advanced guard. These battalions were the 4th ; the
 
 THE BATTLE ^ LAKE BOKGNE. 113 
 
 5th, and 95th, all tried Peninsular troops, the two first 
 of which had been engaged in the attacks on Washing- 
 ton and Baltimore. Attached to this corps were a party 
 of rocket men, two light three-pounders, with a few 
 light artillerists. The advance was placed under the 
 command of Colonel Thornton of the 85th, the most ac- 
 tive and enterprising officer in the division, who was 
 presumed to be familiar with the habits and modes of 
 lighting of the Americans, having scarcely yet recov- 
 ered from a bad wound received at the battle of Bladens- 
 burg. The rest of the troops were arranged into two 
 brigades. The first, composed of the 21st Fusileers and 
 one black regiment, was entrusted to Colonel Brook of 
 the 4th, who had succeeded General Ross, in the opera- 
 tions against Baltimore, in the command of the army of 
 the Chesapeake, and the second under Colonel Hamil- 
 ton, of the 7th West India regiment, consisted of the 
 93d Highlanders and the other black corps. The 14th 
 Dragoons, about 300 in number, were attached to the 
 general, as an escort, for special duty. Having thus dis- 
 posed of his army, Keane hastened his preparations to 
 effect a landing. 
 
 In a consultation with certain Spaniards, formerly 
 residents of New Orleans, and with some fishermen, who 
 were familiar with the coast, Sir Alexander Cochrane 
 had ascertained that about fifty miles due west from 
 Pea Island there was a bayou, which approached within 
 a few miles of New Orleans, and was navigable for 
 barges of a large size. This was the Bayou Bienvenu. 
 It was formerly called the St. Francis River, and is an 
 important stream, being the principal drain of the basin 
 below the Bayou St. John. Commencing behind the 
 Faubourg Marigny, it flows southeasterly, receiving the
 
 114: JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 waters of several other bayous and of numerous canals. 
 It is navigable for vessels of one hundred tons, as far ss 
 Pienas Canal, twelve miles from its mouth. Its width 
 is one hundred and ten yards. Its principal branch 
 is Bayou Mazent, which receives the waters from the 
 plantations below the city. This bayou, like all the 
 scenery of the events which we narrate, remains now 
 but little changed since 1814. Though presenting great 
 advantages for commerce, it has not been much used 
 for this purpose, and is chiefly resorted to by fishermen 
 and hunters. 
 
 To satisfy himself of the feasibility of approaching the 
 city, through this stream, Sir Alexander Cochrane dis- 
 patched a boat, in the charge of the Hon. Captain Spencer 
 of the Carron, son of the Earl of Spencer, and Lieute- 
 nant Peddie of the Quartermaster's Department. They 
 arrived safely at the Fishermen's Village, a collection of 
 miserable huts on the left bank of the bayou, inhabited 
 by certain Spaniards and Portuguese, who supported 
 themselves by sending fish through the canal to the city 
 for sale. These men had been bought over by the Brit- 
 ish, and were engaged in bringing them information of 
 the state of affairs in the city. 
 
 On the 20th of December, Spencer and Peddie ar- 
 rived at the village, and, procuring a pirogue, employed 
 two of the fishermen to row them up the bayou. Dis- 
 guised in the blue shirts and old tarpaulins of the fisher- 
 men, these officers succeeded in passing up the bayou 
 and through Yillere's Canal, from the head of which, 
 they walked to the banks of the Mississippi, and after 
 slaking their thirst with draughts of the cool and sweet 
 water of " the Big Drink," they proceeded to survey the 
 country around, and to gather such information as was
 
 BATTLE OF LAK.E BOKGNE. 115 
 
 obtainable from the negro slaves, whom they encounter- 
 ed. They were not entirely unobserved, and indeed 
 narrowly escaped detection and arrest. Having accom- 
 plished their object, these officers returned to lie des 
 Poix, and reported that the proposed route was quite 
 practicable.
 
 116 JACKSON AND NEW OBLEAJTS. 
 
 vn 
 
 THE BRITISH LANDING AND BIVOUAC. 
 
 WHILST encamped on Pea Island, Gen. Keane was 
 persuaded to send an embassy to the formidable tribe 
 of Choctaws, who hovered around Apalachicola, Florida, 
 where they were supported and protected by the Span- 
 iards, with a view of rendering them hostile and annoy- 
 ing to the United States. Nichols, whose intrigues 
 with the Indians have already been referred to, was 
 placed at the head of this embassy. To give the mis- 
 sion eclat, and produce a favorable impression on the 
 untutored savages, some of the most stalwart and com- 
 manding looking officers of the army were selected to 
 accompany Nichols. Dressed in full uniform, and pre- 
 ceded by a trumpeter, who made the forests ring with 
 his blasts, frightening the poor savages in their lairs, the 
 embassy made its appearance in the Choctaw village, 
 bearing a friendly flag, with outstretched hands, and 
 every demonstration of cordial amity. A talk was held. 
 The wary Choctaw was more than a match for the en- 
 lightened Briton. The chiefs greatly admired the gay 
 uniforms, the large cocked hats and nodding plumes, 
 the golden epaulets and highly-finished swords and scab- 
 bards of their new friends. They examined with curi-
 
 THE BKITISII LAUDING AND BIVOUAC. 117 
 
 osity, and with frequent grunts, the symbols and quar- 
 terings on a stand of colors. 
 
 But arnid all their admiration and awe for their friends 
 from across the " Big Lake," they did not forget the 
 remorseless energy and ferocity of "Sharp Knife," 
 which were written in such bloody characters on the 
 memories of the aboriginal tribes at Emuckfaw and 
 Tchopeka. Their respect for and confidence in the 
 British had been somewhat weakened by the inglorious 
 defeat before Fort Bowyer. Hence they were timid, 
 cautious, and wily. The British plied them withjum. 
 They got drunk, as Choctaws always have done since 
 their knowledge of alcohol, and as they ever will do, 
 until the last of the tribe, now nearly extinct, shall dis- 
 appear before the greatest of the foes of the poor Indian, 
 and of too many of his pale-faced enemies. All that the 
 British could obtain from the Choctaws was a pledge to 
 aid their army, which pledge would be kept as long as 
 the supply of rum was continued. As hostages of their 
 good faith, two of the chiefs consented to accompany 
 the mission back to the camp. 
 
 This was certainly a small result of so imposing an 
 embassy, though it must be confessed that the warriors 
 in their scarlet jackets and old-fashioned steel-clasped 
 cocked hats, with heavy shoes and no other covering for 
 their legs than a girdle, tied around their loins, with 
 their tomahawks and scalping knives stuck in their em- 
 broidered and bead-figured buckskin belts, their long 
 hair braided and bound up with pieces of burnished 
 metal, and decorated with plumes, purchased from the 
 Spaniards, presented quite a novel and startling appear- 
 ance among the neat and trim soldiers in the camp on 
 Pea Island. Their candor was quite as novel and
 
 118 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 refreshing as the simplicity of their taste and attire. 
 They assured the British that they would join them, 
 because they believed that they were stronger than the 
 Americans, and they expected to get " rum plenty " 
 when New Orleans was taken. 
 
 Such confessions might have provoked in the minds 
 of the more conscientious of the British army, the in- 
 quiry whether their motives were a whit more honor- 
 able, whilst their candor was not so open and explicit 
 as that of these simple children of the forest. Certainly 
 the conduct of these poor Indians will be viewed with 
 indulgence and forgiveness, when contrasted with that 
 of other parties who visited the British camp. These 
 were deserters, traitors and refugees from New Orleans, 
 who left the city in full confidence that it would not and 
 could not be defended. They represented that Jackson 
 was an ignorant militia general, a tyrant, who was 
 detested by the inhabitants, and who had no means of 
 defending the city. In justice to Louisiana, be it said 
 that these individuals were ex-officials of the old Spanish 
 Government in Louisiana and Florida, who had never 
 acquiesced in the transfer of the country to the United 
 States, and were deluded with the hope of regaining the 
 lost provinces, and by the interposition of their power- 
 ful allies, the British, restoring Spanish rule in this fine 
 country. No American name can be found in the list 
 of these refugees, nor despite the gross errors and false- 
 hoods which have crept into the histories of these trans- 
 actions, can any such base conduct be traced to a single 
 citizen of New Orleans, or French Creole of Louisiana. 
 
 The representations of these persons produced the 
 most joyful enthusiasm and confidence in Keane's army. 
 Officers and men were all impatient to land and hurry
 
 THE BRITISH LANDING AND BIVOUAC. 119 
 
 up to the city, where they would terminate their troubles 
 and fatigues, and console themselves with untold wealth 
 and unrestrained enjoyment. With cheerful alacrity 
 they entered upon the preparations for the landing. All 
 the launches and boats in the squadron were collected 
 in front of the island. All the tenders and small craft, 
 many of which had done good service in the Chesa- 
 peake, under that ruthless and indefatigable Yandal, 
 Rear-Admiral Cockburn, were also held in requisition. 
 A few of the launches were armed with carronades in 
 the bows. The gun-boats taken from the Americans 
 were also pressed into service. After all these exertions 
 and preparations, it was discovered that there were only 
 boats enough to transport one- third of the army. 
 Keane's impatience would brook no further delay. He 
 knew that every hour would add to the strength of his 
 antagonist ; so he determined to push forward with one- 
 third of the army, and take a position on the main land. 
 
 Accordingly, at nine o'clock on the 22d of December, 
 the advance of the army, under Lieutenant Colonel 
 William Thornton, entered the boats. The advance 
 consisted of eighteen hundred men. It was accompa- 
 nied by General Keane and staff, by the Chiefs of the 
 Engineers and of the Commissariat Department, and by 
 the Choctaw Chiefs, and two of the " Traitors," of the 
 Fisherman's Tillage. The morning was dark, chilly, 
 and cloudy. But no " skyey influence " could damp 
 the ardor of the excited and enthusiastic Britons, intent 
 on so grand a design, the conquest of so rich a city. 
 
 At a signal from the indefatigable and almost omni- 
 present Sir Alexander Cochrane, the boats pushed boldly 
 off, the sturdy sailors pulled vigorously at the oars, and 
 the flotilla glided rapidly over the smooth surface o
 
 120 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 lake. It was soon discovered by the soldiers that their 
 voyage was not to be a pleasant one. They were 
 crowded together so closely that they could not change 
 their positions or stretch their limbs. To add to their 
 discomfort, the clouds blackened and soon burst into a 
 terrific rain, which drenched the men to the skin. But 
 there was no pause. The flotilla pushed on in perfect 
 order, as gallantly as if all around were bright and com- 
 fortable. Not a sound was heard during the whole voy- 
 age, save the splash of the oars and a few half- whispered 
 orders of the naval officers who were conducting the 
 flotilla. The boats moved in sections ten abreast. Two 
 light cutters led the van, a little ahead of the first sec- 
 tion. A like number protected the flanks, and three 
 others covered the rear of the flotilla. All the precision 
 and regularity of an advance in presence of an enemy, 
 were observed by the cautious veteran, who directed the 
 whole movement. Each division of boats had its ap- 
 pointed commander, who in a light gig flew backward 
 and forward, as occasion required, whilst the veteran 
 Yice- Admiral, in a small schooner, kept just far enough 
 off to see at a glance everything that transpired in the 
 flotilla, and prevent any confusion or disarrangement of 
 his plan of debarkation. The flotilla, moving with such 
 mechanical precision and* order, was a striking illustra- 
 tion of the efficiency of the British navy. Though ex- 
 posed to so many discomforts, the soldiers could not but 
 regard the spectacle with elation and pride. 
 
 Finally, towards the afternoon, the rain ceased, the 
 clouds cleared off, and a cold, biting wind blew up. 
 The men in their wet clothes, with their feet resting in 
 the pools of water in the bottoms of the boats, required 
 all their fortitude and philosophy to preserve their man-
 
 THE BRITISH LANDING AND BIVOUAC. 121 
 
 nood under the discomforts of their positions. To afford 
 some relief and rest, the order at last passed along tho 
 lines to cease rowing and come to a grapnel. It was 
 cheerfully obeyed by the nearly exhausted sailors. Fires 
 of charcoal in tin pans were then kindled, with which 
 the soldiers sought to warm their benumbed limbs. 
 The shades of evening were gathering around them, 
 when an hour having been allowed for rest, the boats 
 were ordered to get under way. 
 
 The flotilla was again in motion. The sailors were 
 kept steadily at their oars all night. Just as the coming 
 day, destined to be a memorable one in the history of 
 Louisiana, began to prelude its march with a few dim 
 streaks on the distant Mississippi shore, the low, dark, 
 flat coast of Louisiana loomed up before the advanced 
 boats. As they approached nearer, the repulsive fea- 
 tures of the coast became manifest. There was nothing 
 to be seen but a wide, flat expanse of swamp, covered 
 with reeds. Not a vestige of human settlement or cul- 
 tivation was perceptible. Save a few melancholy cranes 
 and frightened gulls, no living object could be discerned 
 in the whole landscape. And this was Louisiana El 
 Dorado of the Peninsular warriors ! 
 
 Wheeling down the coast in a southern direction, the 
 flotilla proceeded in search of the mouth of the bayou 
 through which the boats were to pass. They reached it 
 in safety about daybreak, without encountering a single 
 enemy. Never was an invading army more favored by 
 secrecy. Keanc was now within twelve miles of Jack- 
 eon's headquarters, and no one in New Orleans had the 
 slightest suspicion of his approach. It was a complete 
 surprise, which only required rapidity, boldness, and 
 energy, to be converted into an overwhelming victory. 
 
 6
 
 122 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Let it not be imagined that this success of the British 
 was due to any want of vigilance or care on the part of 
 Jackson. The bayou Bienvenu had early attracted 
 Jackson's attention, and Major Yillere, whose father's 
 plantation was situated at the head of the bayou, had 
 been ordered to send a picket to the Fisherman's Village, 
 to watch the entrance of this inlet. 
 
 The picket consisted of a sergeant, eight white men, 
 and three mulattoes. Closely following the tracks of 
 Spencer and Peddie on their return to the British camp, 
 they arrived at the village on the night of the 21st, and 
 found there but one man, who pretended to be sick ; the 
 other inhabitants, under pretence of fishing, had gone 
 to the British camp to hire their boats and their labor to 
 the British, to aid the debarkation. 
 
 The detachment occupied the huts of the fishermen. 
 Sentinels were posted, and boats sent out to reconnoitre 
 in various directions. There is too much reason, how- 
 ever, to apprehend that the vigilance of these sentinels, 
 and their dispositions, were not such as might have been 
 expected from regular soldiers. Instead of housing 
 themselves in the village, which was a quarter of a mile 
 from the mouth of the bayou, they should have been 
 stationed on the lake-shore to watch out for the enemy. 
 Nothing occurred to attract the notice of this picket, 
 until about midnight on the 22d, when the sentinel on 
 duty in the village called his comrade, and informed 
 him that some boats were coming up the bayou. It was 
 no false alarm. These boats composed the advanced 
 party of the British, which had been sent forward from 
 the main body of the flotilla, under Captain Spencer, to 
 reconnoitre and secure the village. 
 
 The Americans, perceiving the hopelessness of defend-
 
 THE BRITISH LANDING AND BIVOUAC. 123 
 
 ing themselves against so superior a force, retired for 
 concealment behind the cabin, where they remained 
 until the barges had passed them. They then ran out 
 and endeavored to reach a boat by which they might 
 escape. But they were observed by the British, who 
 advanced towards them, seized the boat before it could 
 be dragged into the water, and captured four of the 
 picket. Four others were afterwards taken on land. 
 Of the four remaining, three ran into the cane-brake, 
 thence into the prairie, where they wandered about all 
 day until worn down with fatigue and suffering, they 
 returned to the village, happy to surrender themselves 
 prisoners. One only escaped, and after three days of 
 terrible hardships and constant perils, wandering over 
 trembling prairies, through almost impervious cane- 
 brakes, swimming bayous and lagoons, and living on 
 reptiles and roots, got safely into the American camp. 
 
 The prisoners were shut up in one of the huts and 
 closely guarded. One of them, a native Louisianian 
 (Mr. Ducros), was separated from his companions and 
 placed in a boat, in which were Captain Spencer and 
 other British officers. The boat returned to the lake 
 and near the mouth of the bayou was met by the main 
 body of the British flotilla, when Captain Spencer intro- 
 duced his prisoner to a tall, black-whiskered, youthful 
 man in military undress, as General Keane, and to 
 another rough and stern-looking, white-haired old gen- 
 tleman, in plain and much worn clothes, as Sir Alexan- 
 der Cochrane. These two distinguished officers then 
 proceeded to interrogate Mr. Ducros very closely. But 
 with the prompt Irish wit of the one, and the deep 
 Scotch calculation of the other, they did not succeed in
 
 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 extracting any very valuable or pleasing intelligence 
 from the shrewd Creole. 
 
 Valuable the information was not to the British, but 
 as the sequel will show, invaluable to the Americans, 
 was one item of news which Mr. Ducros succeeded in 
 passing off upon the inquisitive British. It was the 
 statement that Jackson had from twelve to fifteen thous- 
 and armed men to defend the city, and four thousand at 
 the English Turn. By a preconcert the other prisoners 
 confirmed this estimate. It greatly surprised the Gene- 
 ral and Admiral, and led them to doubt the character 
 and veracity of the fiishermen, who had made so light 
 of the defences of the city, and rendered it necessary 
 that the greatest caution and prudence should be ob- 
 served in their movements. Thus it is that traitors and 
 renegades are distrusted, even when they have truth on 
 their side. The timely fiction of the prisoners proved a 
 shield for the city. So deeply was it impressed on the 
 minds of the British that it has been embodied in all 
 their histories. That prejudiced, though graphic writer, 
 Alison, has eagerly adopted for the protection of British 
 fame, an intention which served as a protection of an 
 American city. He estimates Jackson's force at twelve 
 thousand, when the British landed, which was more than 
 the whole male population of New Orleans at that time. 
 
 Cochranewent ash ore at the village to remain and hurry 
 up the other divisions. The boats which had entered 
 the bayou were ordered to push forward with all speed. 
 The sailors stood to their oars, and the boats swept 
 rapidly up the stream, the banks on either hand closing 
 in upon them as they advanced, and gradually contract- 
 ing their front, until at last there was only space suffi-
 
 THE BRITISH LANDING AND BIVOUAC. 125 
 
 cient for one boat at a time. Passing into Bayou Maz- 
 ent, the southern branch of the Bienvenu, the stream 
 became so narrow that oars could not be used, and the 
 boats had to be propelled by punting. Finally the front 
 boats took the ground. The sailors were then ordered 
 to jump out, and see if a road could be found on the 
 banks of the bayou, which was practicable for the 
 troops. They reported that there was a narrow slip of 
 solid land along the bank of the stream, where a path 
 was discernible. The troops were then marched ashore 
 in single file, and the whole brigade stood at rest for 
 half an hour until General Keane and Rear-Admiral 
 Malcolm (who had remained in the rear to see that there 
 were no stragglers), could come up. On their arrival 
 at the head of the column, a brief consultation was held, 
 the men were hurriedly inspected, the column was 
 formed with the deserters and guides in front, and the 
 engineers sent ahead to cut away the trees and other 
 obstacles, and bridge the numerous narrow and deep 
 streams that run into the bayou. 
 
 The order to march was then given, and the active 
 Thornton led his column briskly forward in the narrow 
 path along the bayou, from which it would be danger- 
 ous to stray on account of the quagmire. Some -delay 
 was occasioned by the severe labors imposed upon the 
 engineers in clearing the rank vegetation, which fre- 
 quently obstructed the path, and in constructing rude 
 bridges across the ditches. The scenery for some dis- 
 tance continued to present the same dreary monotony. 
 Soon, however, the ground began to grow firmer and 
 the path more distinct. The files were now widened, 
 and the men were ordered to quicken their steps. With 
 the greatest alacrity they obeyed their orders, and* pushed
 
 126 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 rapidly through, the low, stunted cypress woods which 
 had succeeded to the cane-brake. Suddenly the leading 
 files found themselves emerging into open and cultivated 
 fields. Extending their front, they advanced rapidly 
 and joyfully in the direction of an orange grove, through 
 which several houses could be discerned. Forming his 
 front into companies, so as to make as wide a sweep as 
 possible, Thornton, with one company, stole rapidly 
 along Yillere's Canal, and succeeded, under cover of 
 the grove, in surrounding the principal house. 
 
 Major Gabriel Yillere, son of the General, had been 
 directed to guard the approach from the Bienvenu, and 
 in the execution of his orders, had dispatched the picket 
 which fared so badly at the Fisherman's Tillage. 
 Secure in his outposts, the Major was sitting on the 
 front gallery of the house, looking towards the river, and 
 quietly enjoying his cigar, whilst his brother Celestin was 
 engaged in cleaning a fowling-piece. Suddenly the 
 Major observed some men in red coats running towards 
 the river. Immediately he leaped frpm his chair and 
 rushed into the hall, with a view of escaping by the rear 
 of the house. "What were his horror and dismay to 
 encounter at the back door several armed men. One 
 of these was Colonel Thornton, who with drawn sword, 
 called to the Major to surrender. There were no braver 
 men than the Villeres ; their heritage was one of daunt- 
 less courage and chivalry but resistance under such 
 circumstances would have been madness. "With infinite 
 mortification the young Creole surrendered. Celestin 
 had already been arrested in the yard. The two 
 young men were then confined in one of the rooms, 
 closely guarded, until General Keane could come tip. 
 These events occurred at half-past ten o'clock, on the
 
 T11E BRITISH LANDING AND BIVOUAC. 127 
 
 morning of the 23d of December. Surrounded and 
 vigilantly guarded by his captors, Major Villere watched 
 eagerly for an opportunity to escape. He felt that if 
 he should remain imprisoned, the calumniators of his 
 race would find, in the circumstance, some color for the 
 aspersions of the patriotism and fidelity of the Creoles 
 of Louisiana. To repel so base an inference, he deter- 
 mined to incur every peril. Springing suddenly from 
 the group of soldiers, he leaped through the window of 
 the room in which he was confined, and throwing down 
 several of the British, who stood in his way, ran towards 
 a high picket fence which enclosed the yard ; clearing 
 this at a bound, in the presence of some fifty British 
 soldiers, several of whom discharged their arms at him, 
 he made for the woods with that celerity and agility 
 for which the young Creole hunter is so distinguished. 
 The British immediately started in hot pursuit, scatter- 
 ing themselves over the field so as to surround the fugi- 
 tive. " Catch or kill him," was Thornton's order. 
 
 Traversing the field behind the house, Yillere plunged 
 into the cypress forest which girts the swamp, and ran 
 until the boggy nature of the soil began to impede his 
 progress. He could distinctly hear the voices of his 
 pursuers rallying one another and pointing out the 
 course which he had taken. His re-captufe now seemed 
 inevitable, when it occurred to him to climb a large 
 live-oak and conceal himself in its thick evergreen 
 branches. As he was about to execute this design, his 
 attention was attracted by a low whine or cry at his 
 feet. He looked down and beheld his favorite setter 
 crouched piteously on the ground, by her mournful look 
 and action, expressing more strongly than could the 
 human face or form, her sympathy for the perils of her
 
 128 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 master, and her desire to share his fato. The faithful 
 creature had followed her master in his flight. What 
 could Villere do with the poor animal ? Her presence 
 near the tree would inevitably betray him. There was 
 no other hope of escape. His own life might not be of 
 so much value, but then the honor of his family, of a 
 proud lineage, the safety of the city of his birth, with 
 whose fortunes those of his family had been so conspicu- 
 ously associated, the imminent peril in which Jackson 
 and his soldiers would be placed by the surprise of the 
 city, these, and other considerations, such as should in- 
 fluence and control a gallant and honorable man, sup- 
 pressed and overwhelmed all tender emotions of pity 
 and affection. The sacrifice had to be made. With a 
 deep sigh and eyes full of tears, the young creole seized 
 a large stick and striking the poor, fawning, faithful 
 dog, as she cowered at his feet, soon dispatched her. 
 Concealing the dead body, he ascended the tree, where 
 he remained until the British had returned to their 
 camp, and the pursuit was relinquished. He then slip- 
 ped stealthily down, and stealing along the edge of the 
 woods, hurried to a plantation below, where he found 
 his neighbor, Colonel de la Ronde, who hearing of the 
 approach of the British, was hurrying up from Terre 
 aux Boaufs to join Jackson. Obtaining a boat, Viltere 
 and De la Eonde rowed across the river and reached 
 in safety the plantation, on the right bank of the Miss- 
 issippi; of P. S. Dussau de la Croix, one of the Commit- 
 tee of Public Safety of New Orleans. Horses were 
 quickly saddled, and Villere, De la Ronde, and De la 
 Croix, leaping upon them, put spurs to their animals 
 and rode towards the city as rapidly as the swift little 
 creole ponies could bear them.
 
 THE BRITISH LANDING AND BIVOUAC. 129 
 
 Thirty-seven years had passed, and the gallant young 
 Creole hero of this adventure, emaciated by long sick- 
 ness, and prematurely old, surrounded by a family of 
 gallant sons and lovely daughters, sat in that very gal- 
 lery, and on the very spot on which he was surprised 
 by the British, and related with graphic distinctness, 
 with kindling eye and voice, hoarse with emotion, the 
 painful sensation, the agonizing remorse which agitated 
 his soul, when compelled to sacrifice his faithful dog to 
 prevent the surprise of his native city and save his own 
 honor. A few weeks after, his worn frame was con- 
 signed to the mausoleum, which encloses the mortal 
 remains of many other members of a family, whose name 
 is so highly honored in the annals of Louisiana. 
 
 Finding all his precautions thwarted having, in fact, 
 observed the fugitives galloping towards the city on 
 the opposite bank of the river, General Keane, who had 
 now reached the head of the column, ordered the troops 
 to be formed in battalion. He then marched $em by 
 Villere^s house, and right- wheeled into the road, which, 
 at a distance of about a hundred yards from the river, 
 proceeds directly to the city. Having arrived- at the 
 upper line of Yillere's plantation, at a point where the 
 levee suddenly diverges almost at a right angle to the 
 road, he ordered the three regiments, composing the 
 advance, to take position. They were accordingly form- 
 ed in three close columns in the field, within musket 
 shot of the river. In front, where the advanced posts 
 were stationed, were a fence and ditch. The Rocket 
 company was stationed on the bank of the river to defend 
 the rear of the camp. Outposts and pickets were posted 
 far out in the field, and a strong advance was thrown, 
 forward up the river towards the city. Keane and 
 
 6*
 
 130 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Thornton established their headquarters at Villere's 
 house. The three small cannon brought up with the 
 advance, were placed in battery in the yard. 
 
 It was afternoon before these dispositions were com- 
 pleted. Strong parties had been, in the meantime, sent 
 in every direction to see if any enemy was near. They 
 all reported that there was no sign of a foe. The farm- 
 houses had been abandoned by the whites, and the 
 negroes were unable to give any information of what 
 was going on. Under these circumstances, Colonel 
 Thornton warmly urged General Keane to advance and 
 march into the city, which lay in a defenceless state, 
 about eight miles off, without an obstacle between it 
 and the British army. The troops, this sagacious and 
 enterprising officer declared, were fresh and in excellent 
 spirits, and full of confidence and ardor. But General 
 Keane had been seriously impressed by the represen- 
 tations of the prisoners taken at the Fisherman's Tillage, 
 as to Jagkson's force. He was apprehensive that his 
 communications with the fleet might be cut off, and his 
 little army be surrounded by overwhelming numbers. 
 He did not perceive that he was already separated by a 
 wide chasm from his supplies, and the main body of his 
 command, which lay at a distance of forty or fifty miles 
 off. 
 
 He, therefore, concluded to delay his advance until 
 the other divisions came up. Fatal error for the Bri- 
 tish ! Thornton was vastly Keane's superior in sagacity 
 and military skill. 
 
 Arriving at Villere's at eleven o'clock, if Keane had 
 pushed forward, he might have been the first to an- 
 nounce his arrival to the surprised garrison and people 
 of New Orleans. It would be rash to conclude that the
 
 THE BRITISH LANDING AND BIVOUAC. 131 
 
 bold genius, the inexhaustible resources and dauntless 
 energy of Jackson, would not have supplied some 
 defence, against even a column of regular soldiers, of 
 experienced warriors, equal in number to his own com- 
 mand of raw militia, separated in detached parties, oc- 
 cupying an area of seven or eight miles ; but there can 
 be no doubt in the mind of any person, who views the 
 condition of affairs in the city at this juncture, that it 
 would have required a miraculous intervention to have 
 saved it from capture or destruction, if Colonel Thorn- 
 ton's counsel had prevailed. Without walls or available 
 forts, scattered over so wide a space, the city could only 
 have been defended by a system of street guerrillaism, 
 the consequences of which would have been deplorable 
 and heart-sickening. 
 
 It is essential to a clear and correct comprehension 
 of subsequent events, that we should describe the char- 
 acter and situation of the country in which General 
 Keane now found himself established. The position 
 occupied by his army was eight miles below the city, 
 following the road near the levee. The Mississippi 
 River at this period of the year is higher than the plains 
 on either side, which gently decline from its banks. To 
 prevent its overflow, levees are* constructed,' usually 
 about seven or eight feet high, varying with the eleva- 
 tion of the plain, which is greater in some places than 
 in others. The land on both sides of the river is of allu- 
 vial formation, and runs off into low swamps, which are 
 covered with cypress and other trees. The swamps are 
 relieved by numerous bayous, which find their way to 
 the lake. The lake being lower than the river, tha 
 plantations are drained into it through the swamp. The 
 culture of sugar, the only extensive product of South
 
 132 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Louisiana, demands a very thorough drainage, and the 
 alluvion is subject to a constant infusion from seepage 
 or transpiration water. To draw off this, and prevent 
 the injurious effects of moisture on the cane, the planters 
 cut numerous ditches in every direction, so as to enclose 
 spaces of one or two acres, it being an established fact 
 in cane culture, that the labor and expense of ditching 
 and drainage are the best investments of the planter. 
 
 The plantation establishment, at the time of which 
 we are now writing, was simple and cheap, compared 
 with the present grand and expensive arrangements and 
 constructions. Instead of large brick sugar-houses, with 
 powerful machinery, propelled by steam, at a cost of 
 many thousand dollars for fuel, with a complete and 
 intricate apparatus, embracing many ingenious inven- 
 tions of modern science, with long brick wings extended 
 on each side of the sugar-house, forming a huge T, 
 called the purgeries, in which the hogsheads of green 
 sugar are deposited on rafters over a large cement cis- 
 tern, so that the syrup (sirop) may drain from the sugar, 
 and leaving the crystallized particles and solid matter 
 dry, form in the cistern^ that article so much desiderated 
 by juveniles, called molasses. These, with many other 
 expensive improvements, which it would not be appro- 
 priate to describe in this place, render the sugar planta- 
 tions of Louisiana, objects of great interest to strangers 
 and others, who are curious about the application of 
 science and art to the production of one of the great 
 comforts of life. 
 
 How different were the arrangements of the sugar 
 planters thirty-nine years ago ! Then an ordinary mill 
 of circular shape, made of cypress plank, set in motion 
 by the labor of mules, served by a very simple, though
 
 THE BRITISH LANDING AND BIVOUAC. 133 
 
 awkward and uncertain mechanism, to press the juice 
 from the cane. This was collected in kettles and boiled 
 in the open air over rude fires, until crystallization was 
 obtained, when the kettles would be emptied into 
 troughs and put out to cool. In this process, the labor- 
 ers employed were exclusively African slaves, the only 
 species of labor adapted to the cultivation of sugar in 
 Louisiana, which requires that the planter should have 
 absolute control over the labor thus employed. A delay 
 or interruption of taking off his crop, such as would 
 frequently occur under any -system of free labor, would 
 be fatal to the prospects and interests of the planter. 
 These negroes were then, as they are now, treated with 
 great kindness and indulgence, though of late years 
 great improvements have been made in their condition 
 and comforts. It is always the interest of the planter 
 to promote the comfort, health and vigor of those upon 
 whose labor he is dependent. 
 
 This motive, aside from the ordinary feelings of human- 
 ity, which prompt all civilized beings to desire to see their 
 fellows happy, contented and comfortable, will always 
 secure kind treatment for the negroes employed on the 
 plantations of the South. There are, no doubt, excep- 
 tions to the remark, but they are not more numerous 
 than the exceptions to the proposition, that parents 
 desire the happiness of their children, or husbands that 
 of their wives. Wife-killing, and the cruel treatment 
 of children by their parents, in some of the very central 
 districts of civilization and Christianity, are more com- 
 mon than the instances of brutality and cruelty to slaves 
 in the Southern States. 
 
 At the period to which our sketches refer, the negroes 
 on the plantations lived in small huts, constructed of
 
 134 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 light wooden frames, filled in with adhesive mud, taken 
 from the batture of the Mississippi. Now, however, 
 their dwellings consist of neat cottages of wood or brick, 
 built some feet from the ground, with windows, chim- 
 neys, doors, and all the essentials for comfortable lodg- 
 ing, with a small patch of ground in the rear of each 
 cabin, for a garden. The cabins are usually built in 
 two rows, with the main road of the plantation passing 
 between the rows. We are thus minute, because a very 
 common error prevails, and has been repeated by many 
 writers and speakers in England and the United States, 
 that the negroes employed in the sugar culture of Louisi- 
 ana are subjected to very severe toils and hard treatment. 
 It is susceptible of satisfactory demonstration, that the 
 condition of these negroes is greatly superior to that of 
 any of the agricultural laborers, white or black, of other 
 countries. The happiness, health, and especially the 
 great fecundity of the negroes in Louisiana, as well as 
 their own enthusiastic testimony, will establish this 
 fact. 
 
 The planters' dwelling-houses in 1814 were usually 
 neat wooden edifices, either in the cottage style, like 
 General Yillere''s, the first headquarters of the British 
 army, the whole building being on one floor, with wide 
 galleries in front and rear ; or in the chateau style, like 
 .Bienvenu's and Macarte's, in front of the British camp, 
 which consisted of two stories and an attic, the ground- 
 floor being usually paved with brick or marble, and the 
 galleries supported by brick pillars, circling the whole 
 building. These houses were surrounded by trees and 
 shrubbery, so that, at a short distance, they could 
 scarcely be seen. They looked to the river, and were 
 built usually at a distance of a few hundred yards from
 
 THE BRITISH LANDING AND BIVOUAC. 135 
 
 
 
 its bank, with cultivated gardens, or neatly trimmed 
 lawns, shaded by spreading live oaks and pecan trees, 
 and hedged around with a thick growth of orange and 
 lemon trees, extending in front to the road, which fol- 
 lows the levee. The plantations were divided by slight 
 but durable fences of cypress pickets, with ditches on 
 both sides. Their fronts usually averaged a mile or 
 three-quarters on the river, with about the same depth, 
 terminating in the cypress swamp, which extends the 
 whole distance frofn the mouth of the Mississippi to the 
 highlands, a distance of over two hundred miles, leaving 
 between it and the river, a narrow neck of solid and 
 cultivable land. 
 
 It was this neck which General Keane now occupied. 
 His camp was entirely within Yillere's plantation, and 
 stretched from the head of the canal, near the mansion, 
 to the upper line of the plantation. There were some 
 .twelve or fifteen plantations, large and small, over which 
 he must pass to reach the city. A two hours' march 
 would have accomplished the task. After leaving Yil- 
 lere's, he would have passed into Lacoste's, from La- 
 coste's to De la Rondo's, from De la Ronde's to Bien- 
 venu's, from Bienvenu's to Chalmette's. We need not 
 go further, as these five plantations embrace the full 
 extent of the British advance, and of the operations 
 which we are about to describe. The upper line of 
 Chalmette's is marked by a small canal or ditch, called 
 Rodriguez' Canal, which was dry the greater part of 
 the year, and only contained a small qmmtity of water 
 when the river was high. This canal was never passed 
 by a hostile Englishman who did not perish in the act. 
 
 The plantations between the Canal Rodriguez and the 
 British camp were under good culture. The crops had
 
 136 JACKSON. AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 just been gathered, and the families had been residing 
 on them a few days before the British arrived. The 
 rolling season, as it is called, was just over, and the sugar 
 safely stored in the barns and warehouses on the planta- 
 tions. That portion of the cane, which is retained to 
 be planted for the next crop, was left in the fields, 
 having been cut and piled into mattresses, covered with 
 a slight layer of fodder and dirt, to protect it from the 
 frost a process called by the planters matlaying. It is 
 a notable coincidence, that the three plantations first 
 named in the preceding enumeration, where most of 
 the events to be described occurred, were owned by 
 gentlemen, who, at the time of the arrival of the British, 
 were actively and efficiently engaged in aiding Jackson 
 to defend the city. 
 
 General Yillere was in command of the first division 
 of Louisiana militia, employing his influence and talents 
 in rallying the people of the rural districts to the defence 
 of the city, and in organizing various bodies of troops. 
 The services of Colonel De la Ronde were similarly 
 employed, and Major Lacoste, aided by his son (now 
 General Lacoste, Paymaster-General of the State, and 
 long a member of the State Senate), was engaged in 
 forming and disciplining that efficient battalion of free 
 men of color, to which frequent allusion will be made 
 hereafter. 
 
 The front view from the British camp was interrupted 
 by the turn in the river, which, at Lacoste's, declines to 
 the west. The position of Keane was well adapted for 
 defensive, but too narrow and circumscribed for offen- 
 sive operations. The swamp afforded a secure protection 
 for his right, and for his line of communications with 
 the squadron in the lake. The river protected his left
 
 THE BRITISH LANDING AND BIVOUAC. 137 
 
 flank from attack by land troops, but not against any 
 armed vessel that might drop down the stream, nor from 
 batteries on the opposite bank. There was the weak- 
 ness of his position. Had the vessels of war succeeded 
 in coming up the river, and anchored in rear of the 
 camp, this deficiency would have been remedied. But 
 as it was, having determined not to advance until he 
 was joined by the remainder of his troops, it is quite 
 evident, to even an unmilitary eye, that General Keane 
 had placed his army in a position of great peril and 
 embarrassment.
 
 138 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Yin. 
 
 THE ALAEM THE KALLY THE MARCH. 
 
 THE first intelligence which greeted Jackson on his 
 return from his tour below the city and in the neighbor- 
 hood, was of the disastrous and alarming capture of the 
 gun-boats. By and by the details of the combat of 
 the heroic defence the bloody and destructive resist- 
 ance against an overwhelming force, reached head- 
 quarters, and produced the most lively emotions of pride 
 and courage in the breast of Jackson.* This result, the 
 
 * General Plauche, in a brief review written by him, relates the following facts : 
 On reaching the position which he had been ordered by Jackson to occupy with his 
 battalion at the Bayou Bridge after the review of the 18th, Major Plauche proceeded to 
 make a survey and reconnoissance of the adjacent country, and particularly of the 
 bayous by which the rear of the city could be approached. In the discharge of this 
 duty he proceeded to Fort St. John at the mouth of the bayou, where he held a confer- 
 ence with Major Hughes, who commanded this post. Shortly after hig arrival at the 
 fort, two small schooners arrived from the direction of the Rigolets, having on board a 
 white man of the name of Brown, and a passenger named Michaud, who were strongly 
 suspected of being spies. Brown, when closely interrogated by Major Hughes, said 
 that he had seen and counted three hundred and forty-eight barges', carrying each 
 forty or fifty men, infantry, cavalry, and two regiments of negroes, that had disem- 
 barked at' Ile-aux-Poix; and that they were accompanied by twenty or twenty-five 
 armed ships. The negro Michaud, when questioned by Major Plauche, said that he 
 had served as pilot for Brown, by whom he was paid. He confirmed his statement as 
 to the number of British barges, and said that they had endeavored to secure his ser- 
 Tices and those of Brown to pilot them. These men were immediately sent to Head- 
 quarters at New Orleans to be examined by the General. It was from them the first 
 positive intelligence was received of the landing of the British at Ile-aux-Poix. On 
 the person of Michaud a billet was found, signed " Labat," dated Pass Christian, 10
 
 TIIE ALARM. 139 
 
 near approach of that powerful army, instead of shock- 
 ing or astounding the soul, gave more fire and vigor to 
 the energies of this heroic chief. In calm and resolute 
 terms he communicated the intelligence to the Legisla- 
 ture, eulogizing " the valor and firmness with which our 
 gallant tars maintained the unequal combat, leaving no 
 doubt that, although compelled ultimately to strike, 
 their conduct had been such as to reflect honor upon 
 the American name and navy." He added, "the 
 ascendency which the enemy had now acquired on the 
 coast of the lake, increases the necessity for enlarging 
 our measures for defence." 
 
 Look at the map of New Orleans, and you will ob- 
 serve a small bayou, called the Chef Menteur, which 
 approaches very near the rear of the city, and from tHe 
 head of which starts a fine road on high land, running 
 into the city, called the Gentilly road. The bayou com- 
 municates with Lake Borgne, and the road commands 
 the bayou. Nothing was easier than for the British to 
 reach the city through the Chef Menteur, as they had 
 entire command of the lake, provided the road was not 
 defended by strong works and a large force. Jackson's 
 first act was to protect this point. Lacoste's free men 
 of color, with two pieces of cannon, were stationed 
 here ; these were afterwards reinforced by the dragoons 
 
 Decembre, 1S14, addressed to his sister in New Orleans. From this letter we translate 
 the following extract : 
 
 " I write you these few lines to give yon the news. At the same time I wish you to 
 learn that on this side of Pass Christian some sixty English barges are visible; that 
 they have attacked the gun-boats and captured them, with forty barges containing 
 thirty men each. They give no quarter, but in four, days will enter the city. Hasten 
 to leave, for they will burn everything that comes in their way. They have burnt the 
 Btahouse and a storehouse at Chopitoula, belonging to us ; they hold no parleys, but 
 proceed steadily forward to their object. Of the sixty sails visible, forty are brigs and 
 corvettes. I beg of you in any event to retire to the swamp, for there are too many 
 risks to run. It ig the city they are aiming for."
 
 140 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 of Feliciana, a volunteer corps, one of the first from the 
 country to reach Jackson's camp. Many other precau- 
 tions were taken, which it would be tedious and unin- 
 teresting to describe in full. Dispatches were sent to 
 Coffee, Carroll and Thomas, informing them of the de- 
 struction of the gun-boats, and urging them to use all 
 dispatch in hastening to the city. 
 
 The Government at Washington was also informed 
 of the condition of affairs, of the great need of all the 
 munitions of war, of the non-arrival of arms, for which 
 a requisition had been made as far back as the summer 
 months, but which did not reach New Orleans until the 
 middle of January, 1815. By special agreement the 
 contractor who brought these arms in flat-boats, was 
 allowed the privilege of trading, as he descended the 
 river, a privilege which he largely used. There was 
 certainly no Carnot at Washington to support and aid 
 the Militia General, who had been sent to cope with the 
 conquerors of ISTapoleon. 
 
 All classes of a population, which but a few days be- 
 fore was sunk in despondency and gloom, now became 
 inspired with the heroism and valor of the intrepid 
 chief. The free men of color formed a second battalion, 
 which was drilled and organized by Savary, a veteran 
 of the St. Domingo revolution, and commanded by 
 Major Daquin. This battalion was composed almost en- 
 tirely of fugitives from St. Domingo. Sailors were 
 scarce, and, on the recommendation of Governor Clai- 
 borne, bounties were offered by the Legislature for their 
 enlistment. Thus Patterson was enabled to augment 
 his forces, and to equip and man the schooner Carolina 
 and the ship Louisiana, a merchant vessel, which had 
 been purchased and fitted up for warlike uses. These
 
 THE BALLY. 141 
 
 would be eminently useful in case of the advance of the 
 enemy along the river banks. Among other judicious 
 acts adapted to the emergency, the Legislature passed a 
 bill suspending the collection of debts for three months. 
 The eighteenth of December, eighteen hundred and 
 fourteen, was a stirring and glorious day in New 
 Orleans. It was the day fixed by Jackson for the 
 review of the militia of the city. At an early hour the 
 citizens were aroused by the roll of drums, and the 
 clangor of trumpets, calling the people from their peace- 
 ful pursuits to the Place d'Armes. Promptly they as- 
 sembled with arms, accoutrements, and that invariable 
 badge of the Creole soldier, the bouquet of mother, sis- 
 ter, or lady-love. They gathered on classic ground, too, 
 when they stood on the greensward, and beneath the 
 venerable trees of that honored spot, where all the great 
 events in the history of the city had been duly celebra- 
 ted. In front, the old Cathedral of St. Louis reared its 
 quaint and time-stained towers, an object well calculated 
 to kindle the love of country of the Creoles, and incite 
 them to deeds of noble daring and patriotic sacrifices. 
 It was in that sacred edifice, beneath that vaulted roof, 
 they had received, by Christian baptism, the names 
 which they were pledged to preserve unsullied it was 
 there they had so long performed those religious duties 
 and devotions which the faith of their fathers taught 
 and enjoined it was through those large doors, open 
 alike to all, as the house of God should be, they had led 
 their blushing brides it was- within those massive walls, 
 and under that solemn dome, that the delicate charms 
 of Creole beauty produced their deepest and warmest 
 influence, and where many a tender passion had its 
 birth ripened Mnto lasting affection, and conducted to
 
 142 JACKSON AND NEW OKLEAN8. 
 
 connubial bliss.' Alas ! that rude, dingy, and venerable 
 relic of Spanish power and piety, around which clus- 
 tered so many dear associations and fond remembrances 
 has disappeared before the remorseless spirit of modern 
 innovation (miscalled improvement), to make way for a 
 far less impressive, though, perhaps, more architectural 
 edifice. 
 
 And, beside that venerable Cathedral, the Principal 
 and the Calaboose, the old Square, too, had its proud 
 associations. We have said it was a classical, we might 
 add, a sacred spot, to all Louisianians. It was the stage, 
 on which had been enacted, all the prominent events 
 in the stirring drama of the city of Bienville. 
 
 Here all public transactions were authenticated. 
 Here Ulloa had received the surrender of the colony of 
 Louisiana from the hands of the French officials, amid 
 the universal grief of the colonists. Here had been 
 exhibited that exciting spectacle of the second surren- 
 der of the city to that fierce Irish adventurer, whom the 
 Spanish Government sent over to reclaim the almost 
 revolutionized colony, Don Alexander O'Reilly, whose 
 grim battalions of twenty-five hundred men, drawn up 
 in perfect military order, glared fiercely upon the small 
 command of French troops in front under Aubry, who 
 bore the keys of the city and of the ports, and at the 
 waving of whose hand the artillery sent forth its thun- 
 der, the shouts of the multitude arose to heaven, and 
 the white banner of France, sinking from the head of 
 the staff where it had long waved in pride and glory, 
 was quickly succeeded by the gorgeous standard of 
 proud old Spain. Here, too, Spain had redelivered the 
 colony to its ancient founder, with equal pomp and dis- 
 play ; and here, last and happiest cession of all, the French
 
 THE RALLY. 143 
 
 tri-color, after a brief triumph , had descended amid 
 loud huzzas and with other manifestations less gorgeous 
 and showy, but more real and sincere than those which 
 had attended the previous ceremonies of cession, and 
 in its place slowly and grandly arose that starry banner 
 of the great Republic, which has ever since waved over 
 that historic spot. Here all distinguished characters 
 have received the salutations and hospitalities of the 
 city ; and here all notable events and anniversaries have 
 been celebrated by the customary tokens of popular 
 feeling. Though time and events have produced great 
 changes in the aspect of the place, so that now it could 
 scarcely be recognized by those of the ancient population 
 whom fortune has long detained from their native city, 
 and though the name of " Jackson " has appropri- 
 ately and justly supplanted its ancient designation, still 
 its historical associations are warmly cherished by all the 
 natives and old residents of New Orleans. 
 
 Here assembled the scant force which New Orleans 
 could contribute for its defence out of its small and 
 mixed population. This force consisted of two weak 
 and badly equipped regiments of militia ; of Planche's 
 fine battalion of uniformed volunteers ; and of one bat- 
 talion of free men of color. These troops were poorly 
 armed many of them having only ordinary fowling- 
 pieces, and many being without flints. They were, 
 however, animated by the greatest ardor and impatience 
 to meet the foe. Jackson's eye brightened, the care- 
 worn expression of his face cleared up, before that proud 
 smile of confidence, a smile once seen and never forgot- 
 ten, as his Aid, Edward Livingston, read, in the centre 
 of the square, that impassioned address, whose sentences 
 even now, when pronounced aloud, stir the heart and
 
 14A JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 excite the senses like strains of martial music, remind- 
 ing those gallant young warriors " that though the sails 
 of the enemy covered the Lake, to the brave, united in 
 patriotism, and in a noble enthusiasm to protect their 
 homes, their altars, their firesides, the honor of their 
 wives, sisters, daughters, and mothers, there was naught 
 that was terrible'in their aspect, and that the only rivalry 
 among Americans, resisting a brutal and insolent invader, 
 should be for the prize of valor and of fame." 
 
 This address was received with loud acclaims, and 
 the flashing eyes and resolute expression, the erect and 
 manly bearing of the young soldiers, assured Jackson 
 that he was surrounded by troops who would brave 
 every peril to save their city and the honor of their flag ; 
 who would follow whithersoever he might lead. After 
 allowing them a short time to visit their families, Jack- 
 son directed the various corps of this small force to take 
 positions at various points in the suburbs of the city, 
 which were assailable. 
 
 Jackson next proceeded to relieve himself of the 
 embarrassments of the divided and contentious, though 
 probably well-disposed State officials, by declaring mar- 
 tial law, and suspending the writ of habeas corpus. 
 Though no doubt there was much calumny and exag- 
 geration in the reports, diligently circulated by scandal- 
 mongering and mischief-making persons, respecting the 
 fidelity of certain public officials and citizens and per- 
 haps among no other people, situated as they were, would 
 there have been more union and patriotism ; yet from 
 the insidious nature of the printed and circulated appeals 
 of the British to the French and Spanish races, and 
 from the fact that several former citizens of New Or- 
 leans, connected with families resident in the city, were
 
 THE KALLY. 145 
 
 reported to be in the British camp, but, more than all, 
 from a consideration of the injurious and indecent parti- 
 san contests that were going on in the Legislature and 
 among the State officials, Jackson deemed it prudent, 
 and he was so advised fry the highest judicial and other 
 authority, to assume the entire police of the city in order 
 to produce that unity of action, which was so necessary 
 in this emergency. 
 
 The wisdom and necessity of this act have been so 
 ably vindicated by the first intellects of the country, 
 that it would be quite inappropriate and supererogatory 
 to discuss it in this place. The results of this measure 
 were conspicuously beneficial. Thenceforward every 
 thing proceeded with the utmost order and regularity. 
 Every individual had his particular duty and post. The 
 prisons were opened, and those of the occupants who 
 could be trusted, were allowed an opportunity of redeem- 
 ing their characters and expiating their offences against 
 society, by serving their country on the battle-field. 
 All able-bodied men, of every age, color, and nation- 
 ality, except the British, were pressed into service. 
 Suspicious strangers and neutral foreigners were ordered 
 out of the city. All persons entering the city were 
 required immediately to report themselves to the Adju- 
 tant General, and on failing to do so were to be arrested 
 and detained for examination. No one could depart 
 from the city or beyond the chains of sentinels, but by 
 permission from the commander, nor any vessel or craft 
 sail on the lake or river. The lamps were to be ex- 
 tinguished at nine o'clock, and all persons found in the 
 streets after that hour were to be arrested and detained 
 for examination. The aged and infirm constituted them- 
 selves into a veteran guard to maintain the police of 
 
 7
 
 14:6 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 the city and occupy the forts. One of this band was 
 the Historian of Louisiana, and late its Chief Justice for 
 thirty years, whose deficiency of sight rendered him in- 
 competent for military duty. We refer to the venerable 
 Francis Xavier Martin. 
 
 At this juncture Jean Lafitte, true to his pledges, 
 came forward arid offered to organize his late associates 
 into efficient corps to aid in the defence of the city. 
 There were still a number of the Baratarians in prison, 
 others were lurking in the swamps. Jackson was solic- 
 ited by a committee of the Legislature, at the head of 
 which was Mr. Bernard Marigny, who still survives a 
 remarkable representative of the three nationalities, 
 which in turn have possessed Louisiana, under all of 
 which he has held offices of honor and trust, to enroll 
 the Baratarians under the American flag. At first the 
 General was not favorable to the proposition, but at the 
 suggestion of Judge Hal], before whom the Baratarians 
 had been arraigned, and by a unanimous recommen- 
 dation of the Legislature, the District- Attorney acqui- 
 esced in the release of these men from prison, and Jack- 
 son consenting, these experienced sailors and mariners, 
 who had seen much service in various parts of the world, 
 were released and organized into two artillery detach- 
 ments under Dominique You and Bluche. The first 
 was a Frenchman, a very wiry, agile, bright-eyed man, 
 of indomitable will and great skill in the use of all wea- 
 pons of warfare. The epitaph, on a tomb of showy and 
 quaint form and structure now to be seen in the ceme- 
 tery of St. Louis, describes Dominique Tou as a warrior 
 who had signalized his valor in a hundred combats on 
 sea and land, wlio was a modem Bayard sans pew et 
 sans r&proche^ who could calmly face the destruction of
 
 THE RALLY. 
 
 the world, was not more hyperbolical than epitaphs 
 usually are.* You was a warrior by nature, by taste, 
 and habit. He was no more a pirate than Paul Jones. 
 He abhorred cruelty, meanness and cowardice. Long 
 after the events we are now describing, he continued to 
 reside in the city which he had aided to save, respected 
 by all who knew him, and when he died, his remains 
 were followed to the grave by one of the largest and 
 most impressive funeral processions ever witnessed in 
 Iliew Orleans. If we needed further testimonials of his 
 merit, of the grossness of the calumny, which seeks to 
 identify him with deeds of piracy, robbery and cruelty, 
 it may be found in the fact that when, some years after 
 the war, the illustrious Jackson visited this scene of his 
 glory, almost his first inquiry was for his " old friend 
 Dominique." And that on no occasion did that great 
 and good man seem better pleased than when sitting 
 at the hospitable breakfast table of his famous artillerist, 
 misnamed the " Pirate Dominique." 
 
 Bluche, the other commander of the Baratarians, was 
 a Creole by birth. He is now a commodore in the 
 Yenezuelian Navy. Bluche was a tall, imposing look- 
 ing man, full of valor, enterprise and fond of adventure. 
 Such men could not have been pirates in the ordinary 
 and proper sense of the word. 
 
 They organized out of the Baratarians two excellent 
 artillery companies, whose services will appear here- 
 after. Other Baratarians enlisted in other corps, or 
 were stationed in the various forts guarding the ap- 
 proaches of the city. 
 
 * " Intrpide guerrler ur la terre et snr 1'onde, 
 II sut dans cents combats signaler sa valeur. 
 Et ce nouveau Bayard, sans reproche et sans peur, 
 Aurait pu gang trembler voir n'ccouler le mondc."
 
 14:8 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 New Orleans was now a camp. All day and night 
 the streets resounded with martial airs with the war- 
 songs of the young Creole soldiers many of them sons 
 of the old Republicans of '89 and '93 with all the notes 
 of warlike preparation, indicating the thoroughly aroused 
 spirit and enthusiasm of the people, and their firm deter- 
 mination to resist to the last the invader who was ad- 
 vancing so rapidly and resolutely upon the city. In- 
 stead of gloom, anxiety and fear, no other expression 
 could be observed in the countenances of all classes of 
 citizens, but that of confidence, courage, and heroic 
 resolve. The old and young, male and female, bond 
 and free, all shared the universal enthusiasm and war- 
 like spirit. The bright smiles of beauty fell in rosy 
 showers upon the gallant volunteers, as with measured 
 tread they paraded the streets. Mothers regarded with 
 proud joy their beardless sons, who, with scarce the 
 strength to bear up under the weight of fowling-pieces, 
 were sturdily and bravely fulfilling the duties of regular 
 soldiers and of full-grown men. Wives hugged closer 
 their little ones to their throbbing bosoms, as peeping 
 forth with mingled pride and anxiety from half-closed 
 windows, they beheld their husbands not so intent on 
 their military duties that they could not cast fond 
 glances at those dear pledges of affection, of devotion, 
 and patriotism. 
 
 The venerable priests and ministers of God stretched 
 forth their hands and blessed the servants in a good 
 cause, imploring for them the aid and protection of the 
 Almighty in maintaining the honor, the rights and liber- 
 ties of a free people. Little boys, catching the prevail- 
 ing enthusiasm, formed themselves into companies, mim- 
 icking their fathers and grown brothers, and marched
 
 THE RALLY. 149 
 
 the streets in military array, to the music of toy drums, 
 and charging numerous imaginary bands of capotes 
 rouges, performed prodigies of valor to the great delight 
 of admiring fathers and the discomfort of anxious 
 mothers. With equal ardor the African slaves, appre- 
 ciating the kind and paternal authority under which 
 they lived, in so much comfort and happiness, entered 
 into the spirit of the occasion and labored incessantly 
 on the various works ordered by Jackson, and in burn- 
 ishing the arms, and preparing the munitions of their 
 masters. 
 
 Such was the frame of mind into which one man, 
 and he a stranger, could -in a few days mould a large 
 and discordant population. Such are the electric effects 
 of true genius and heroism ! Such results alone would 
 proclaim Jackson a chief and leader among men. The 
 blaze of a victory, won by a powerful effort of courage, 
 skill and prowess must pale before the greater splendor 
 of such achievements as these, by which weakness is 
 converted into strength, harmony is educed from discord, 
 order from chaos, and even the errors and weaknesses of 
 men are made subservient to a great and glorious end. 
 It was for such deeds the sagacious Komans assigned a 
 crown of far more lustre and value than the laurel 
 chaplet of the triumphant warrior. And yet during all 
 these exciting events, Jackson had barely the strength 
 to stand erect without support ; his body was sustained 
 alone by the spirit within. Ordinary men would have 
 shrunk into feeble imbeciles, or useless invalids under 
 such a pressure. The disease contracted in the swamps 
 of Alabama still clung to him. Reduced to a mere 
 skeleton, unable to digest his food, and unrefreshed by 
 sleep, his life seemed to be preserved by some miracii*
 
 150 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Ions agency. There, in the parlor of his headquarters 
 on Royal street, surrounded by his faithful and efficient 
 aids, he worked day and night, organizing his forces, 
 dispatching orders, receiving reports, and making all 
 the necessary arrangements for the defence of the 
 city. 
 
 Jackson was thus engaged at half-past one o'clock 
 P.M. on the 23d of December, 1814, when his attention 
 was drawn from certain documents he was carefully 
 reading, by the sound of horses galloping down the 
 streets with more rapidity than comported with the 
 order of a city under martial law. The sounds ceased 
 at the door of his headquarters and the sentinel on duty 
 announced the arrival of three gentlemen who desired 
 to see the General immediately, having important intel- 
 ligence to communicate. " Show them in," ordered the 
 General. The visitors proved to be Mr. Dussau De la 
 Croix, Major Gabriel Yillere and Colonel de la Ronde. 
 They were stained with mud and nearly breathless with 
 the rapidity of their ride. 
 
 "TV hat news do you bring, gentlemen ?" eagerly asked 
 the General. 
 
 " Important ! highly important !" responded Mr. De 
 la Croix. " The British have arrived at Yillere's plan- 
 tation, nine miles below the city, and are there encamped. 
 Here is Major Yillere, who was captured by them, has 
 escaped, and will now relate his story." The Major 
 accordingly detailed in a clear and perspicuous manner 
 the occurrences we have related in the preceding chap- 
 ter, employing his mother tongue, the French language, 
 which De la Croix translated to the General. At the 
 close of Major Yillere's narrative, the General drew up 
 his figure, bowed with disease and weakness, to its full
 
 THE 'RALLY. 161 
 
 height, and with an eye of fire and an emphatic blow 
 upon the table with his clenched fist, exclaimed, 
 
 " By the Eternal, they shall not sleep on our soil !" 
 Then courteously inviting his visitors to refresh them- 
 selves, and sipping a glass of wine in compliment to 
 them, he turned to his Secretary and aids and remark- 
 ed : " Gentlemen, the British are below, we must fight 
 them to-night."* 
 
 * A controversy arose some three or four years ago, at the time of General Gabrtel 
 Viller6's death, as to the correctness of the general belief that the first announcement 
 of the arrival of the British was made by Major (afterwards) General VlUerS. The 
 following card, which was published in one of the city papers, sets up a new claim to 
 tliis merit. 
 
 [Communicated.'] 
 
 To th Editor .'Having seen an error committed by Mr. Marigny, the author of the 
 obituary notice of William G. VilleriS, I request you to insert in the Louisiana Courier 
 the following details touching the arrival of the English at New Orleans. 
 
 The English came to Mr. VUlerS's plantation on the 23d December, 1814, between 
 twelve and one o'clock. As well aa I can recollect, some officers who preceded the 
 army, took Major Villeru prisoner. As I was passing along at the time, I made all haste 
 to give information to Mr. Ducros, who was posted on Mr. Jumonville's plantation. 
 Captain Ducros said to me. " As you are on horseback, go to the city and let General 
 Jackson know that the English are on Viller6's plantation." I set out immediately, 
 and passed, in spite of the efforts of the English to stop me. I reached Mr. Bien- 
 venu's plantation ; my horse being unable to go any further, Mr. Bienvenu, 
 sen., procured for me the horse of a dragoon who was sick in bed at his house, and I 
 went to General Jackson's quarters in the city and gaTe him the news. A few minutes 
 afterwards, three discharges of cannon gave the alarm, and drums beat to arms 
 through the streets. I remained in the city one or two hours, hunting for a musket, so 
 that I might join one or other of the companies; but no gun could be had. Then, be- 
 lieving that my company had crossed the river in a flat belonging to Mr. Danois, I re- 
 solved to descend along the right bank of the river. While on my way, I met Major 
 Viller6 about two miles below, opposite the widow Blenvenu's plantation. Mr. Villerd 
 related in what way he had escaped from the English, and said he had left my com- 
 pany on Mr. Caselard's plantation. We then parted ; he pursued his way to town, 
 and I went on to Mr. Caselard's plantation, where I found my company. Mr. Caselard 
 crossed us over in a flat-boat, and we arrived at the left bank as the army was march- 
 ing along to attack the English. 
 
 This does not In the least take from the hardihood and heroism of Major Viller6' 
 escape from a band of armed men. 
 
 Any one doubting the truth of this satement, may call upon Messrs. Casimir, Lacosta, 
 Marcel, Tierville, Bienvenu, and Mr. Jules Viller6, who all were members of Captain 
 Ducroa' company. AUGPSTIN Koussatu. 
 
 P. S. In 1840, in presence of Mr. James W. Breedlove, General Jackson recognised 
 me as the volunteer who first brought to him information that the English were on Mr. 
 Villertj's plantation. ACQUSTIN ROUSSBAO.
 
 152 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Never was there a bolder conception ! Never was 
 there one which indicated greater courage and resolu- 
 tion. Here was the practised, professional, and experi- 
 enced soldier, who had fought under Abercrombie, 
 Moore and Wellington, against the renowned veterans 
 of Napoleon, receiving a reproof and lesson of inesti- 
 mable value from a farmer lawyer General, who had 
 never commanded a regiment of regular soldiers in his 
 life. Here was the master stroke of a native military 
 genius. Had Keane been a Jackson, he would not have 
 waited for the attack, which the latter now prepared to 
 make upon his camp. Had Jackson been a Keane, or 
 almost any other man, he would as soon have thought 
 of attempting to scale the heavens, as of instantaneously 
 marching with his raw and weak levies against the heroes 
 of Vittoria, of Badajoz, and Salamanca. 
 
 "What were his resources for so daring an enterprise ? 
 On the 18th we have seen that he had in the city only 
 the Louisiana militia and the regulars, the latter num- 
 bering eight hundred and eighty-four men, including 
 Col. McRea's artillery. The regulars were the 44th, 
 under Col. Ross, and the fall, under Major Peire. 
 
 From the 18th he had received daily accessions. First 
 came a fine troop of horse from Mississippi, organized 
 in the southern part of the Territory, including many 
 
 The truth of the latter part of this statement, Is supported by Colonel James W. 
 Breedlove, formerly collector for the port of New Orleans, who declares that he was 
 present in 1840, when Mr. Rousseau was recognized by General Jackson, as the person 
 who brought him the first information that a portion of the British army had landed 
 and was then at Viller6's plantation. General Casimir Lacosta, Paymaster General of 
 the State, also certifies to the truth of Mr. Rousseau's statement. 
 
 On the other hand, Mr. Jules Viller6 and Mr. Dussau De la Croix published counter- 
 statements, declaring their non-recollection of the facts stated by Mr. Rousseau, and 
 vouching for the truth of the statement which we have adopted, without, however, 
 assuming to determine which of the two parties gave the first information of tht 
 Arrival of the British.
 
 THE BALLY. - 153 
 
 Louisianians as well as Mississippians. It was com- 
 manded by that impetuous and gallant officer, Major 
 Hinds. This reinforcement was closely followed by the 
 greater part of Coffee's brigade, which had performed 
 the remarkable and tedious march from Fort Jackson, 
 on the Alabama, around the lake, to the Mississippi 
 river, which they reached by the old Spanish road, at 
 Sandy creek, a few miles above Baton Rouge. Hasten- 
 ing to this town, Coffee found there a messenger from 
 Jackson, acquainting him with the capture of the gun- 
 boats, and directing him to push forward with all rapid- 
 ity, leaving his sick and baggage at Baton Rouge. 
 Coffee immediately selected all his strong men and 
 horses, and with them started for New Orleans in a 
 brisk trot. In two days he reached the suburbs of the 
 city, having, in that time, marched one hundred and 
 fifty miles, with men and animals who had just per- 
 formed a wearisome journey of eight hundred miles 
 through a wilderness. There is no march to equal this 
 in the history of modern warfare. Encamping on the 
 Avart plantation, just above the city, Coffee rode to 
 town to report to Jackson. 
 
 It was a warm meeting between these two gallant 
 soldiers, who had shared so many perils and hardships, 
 and passed through so many eventful scenes together. 
 Coffee was in the meridian of life, not having reached 
 his fortieth year. A native of North Carolina, he had 
 settled, in early youth, in Tennessee, where he formed a 
 friendship for Jackson, which lasted during their lives, 
 and may now be read in a beautiful epitaph, written by 
 Jackson on the tomb in which the remains of his gallant 
 associate, the " right arm " of his army, were deposited 
 
 7*
 
 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 in the year 1836, in a family burying-ground near the 
 pretty village of Florence, Alabama.* 
 
 Coffee was a- man of noble aspect, tall and herculean 
 in frame, yet not destitute of a certain natural dignity 
 and ease of manner. Though of great height and 
 weight, his appearance on horseback, mounted on a fine 
 Tennessee thorough-bred, was striking and impressive. 
 Coffee brought with him less than eight hundred men. 
 They were, however, admirable soldiers, who had been 
 hardened by long service, possessed remarkable endu- 
 rance, and that useful quality of soldiers, of taking care 
 of themselves in any emergency. They were all prac- 
 ticed marksmen, who thought nothing of bringing down 
 a squirrel from the top of the loftiest tree with their 
 rifles. Their appearance, however, was not very mili- 
 tary. In their woollen hunting-shirts, of dark or dingy 
 color, and copperas-dyed pantaloons, made, both cloth 
 and garments, at home, by their wives, mothers and sis- 
 ters, with slouching wool hats, some composed of the 
 skins of raccoons and foxes, the spoils of the chase, to 
 which they were addicted almost from infancy with 
 belts of un tanned deer-skin, in which were stuck hunt- 
 ing-knives and tomahawks with their long unkempt 
 hair and unshorn faces, Coffee's men were not calculated 
 
 * The epitaph on the tomb of the late General John Coffee, written by Gen. Andrew 
 Jackson : 
 
 Sacred to the memory of Gen. John Coffee, who departed this life on the 7th day of 
 July, A. D. 1883, aged 61 years. As a husband, parent and friend, he was affectionate, 
 tender and sincere. He was a brave, prompt and skillful general, a disinterested and 
 sagacious patriot, an unpretending, just and honest man. To complete his character, 
 religion mingled with these virtues her serene and holy influence, and gave him that 
 solid distinction among his fellow-men, which detraction cannot sully, nor the grave 
 conceal. Death could do no more than remove so excellent a being from the theatre he 
 BO much adorned, in this world, to the bosom of the God who created him, and who 
 alone haa the power to reward the immortal spirit with exhaustless bliss.
 
 THE BALLY. 155 
 
 to please the eyes of the martinet, of one accustomed 
 to regard neatness and primness, as essential virtues of 
 the good soldier. The British were not far wrong when 
 they spoke of them as " a posse comitatus, wearing 
 broad beavers, armed with long duck guns." But the 
 sagacious judge of human nature could not fail to per- 
 ceive beneath their rude exterior those qualities, which, 
 in defensive warfare at least, are far more formidable 
 than the practised skill and discipline of regulars. 
 
 Coffee's men were hardly established in camp, before 
 Carroll, another of Jackson's favorite officers, arrived 
 at the levee before the city, with a number of barges 
 and flat-boats full of men. These were the Tennessee 
 militia, for whom Jackson had made requisition in Sep- 
 tember preceding. Carroll had used the greatest activ- 
 ity and diligence, but was unable to procure a sufficient 
 number of boats to transport his troops, who assembled 
 in a few days after the call was published to march fif- 
 teen hundred miles from their homes to defend a distant 
 point of the [Republic. He was, therefore, subjected to 
 the most vexatious delays. Even when he had suc- 
 ceeded in collecting a goodly number of rude barges, 
 flats and rafts, many of his men were without arms and 
 equipments. Carroll's Division left Nashville on the 
 19th of November. It appears like an interposition of 
 Divine Providence, that just before Carroll embarked 
 on the Cumberland, that river, which is seldom boata- 
 ble at that season of the year, was suddenly swelled by 
 unexpected rains and torrents. Another fortunate event 
 happened to the great relief of the gallant Tennesseeans. 
 On their passage down the Mississippi, they intercepted 
 certain boats having on board arms and munitions, 
 which were leisurely proceeding down the Mississippi
 
 166 JACKSON AND NEW OBLEANS. 
 
 from Pittsburg, In charge of Government employes, 
 of which the Tennesseeans took possession. But for this 
 accident, Carroll would have reached the city with an 
 unarmed crowd of men, brave and devoted, but utterly 
 inefficient and useless for the want of the most ordinary 
 weapons of war. As it was, however, he brought into 
 camp on the evening of the 22d of December, a regi- 
 ment of young and inexperienced soldiers, but skillful 
 marksmen, who were eager for any service however try- 
 ing and perilous. They were fortunate in their com- 
 mander. 
 
 Carroll, though quite a young man, had, by the force 
 of his character, his decided military qualities, and 
 many popular traits, attained high distinction and influ- 
 ence at Nashville, to which place he had emigrated 
 some years before, an industrious and skillful artisan 
 from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He was in the prime 
 of manhood, and had seen much hard service under his 
 devoted friend and companion in arms, Andrew Jack- 
 son. In person, Carroll was of the ordinary height, of 
 stout, compact, muscular form, upright and soldierly in 
 his bearing and carriage. The same inflexible devotion 
 and friendship continued through life to mark the rela- 
 tions of Jackson and Carroll. More than once did they 
 risk their lives for one another. Even at the time of 
 which we write, Jackson was suffering from a cruel 
 wound received in a personal rencontre which grew out 
 of a quarrel in which Carroll was one of the principals. 
 
 This was Jackson's whole force when it was announced 
 to him that the British were but nine miles off. At the 
 very moment when Yillere communicated the startling 
 intelligence, to wit, at half-past one o'clock, p. M., on 
 the twenty-third of December, this small force was scat-
 
 THE BALLY. 157 
 
 tered as follows : Plauche's battalion was at the Bayou 
 St. John, two miles from the headquarters ; Coffee was 
 at Avart, five miles off ; the Louisiana militia and half 
 of the free colored battalion were on Gentilly road, three 
 miles off, the Kegulars were at Fort St. Charles and in the 
 barracks in the city. These various posts embraced remote 
 points in an area of eight or nine miles. Apprehending 
 that the British might creep up through the upper 
 branch of the Bienvenu, Jackson's first act was to dis- 
 patch Carroll to that point, to command the head of the 
 stream. Further up on the Gentilly road, Governor 
 Claiborne was stationed with the State militia. He next 
 ordered Coffee's brigade, Plauche's and Daquin's bat- 
 talions, Hind's dragoons, and the Orleans rifles to break 
 up their camps and proceed to Montreuil's, plantation 
 below the city, where they would be joined by the reg- 
 ulars, and march against the enemy. Commodore Pat- 
 terson, who was at Fort St. John, was ordered to hurry 
 up to the city and get the Caroline under weigh, with 
 a view of co-operating in the attack. 
 
 In issuing these orders, the General used no unneces- 
 sary words, even of incitement or encouragement ; the 
 time was past for such stimulants ; they were not now 
 necessary. The promptitude and daring of his conduct, 
 the unbounded confidence which he manifested in their 
 valor and devotion, were eloquent enough to strengthen 
 the hearts and nerve the courage of his men. 
 
 Completing these arrangements, and resolving upon 
 his plan of attack, Jackson took a hasty repast, and then 
 reclining his exhausted frame upon a sofa, sought a few 
 moments' rest. 
 
 The Cathedral clock had struck three o'clock, p. M., 
 when, from every quarter of the city and suburbs, troops
 
 158 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 were seen hurrying to the Fort St. Charles the lower 
 fort of the city, now the site of the United States Branch 
 Mint. This was the general rendezvous, or point of de- 
 parture for all the troops. Jackson was early on the 
 ground to observe and animate the various corps. His 
 position was in front of the gates of the fort. Near 
 him, drawn up with admirable precision, were the com- 
 pact lines of the Mth Regulars, a fine regiment of 
 newly raised but highly-disciplined men, commanded 
 by Capt. Baker, a young but efficient officer, and num- 
 bering 331 muskets. Peire, with the 7th infantry (465 
 muskets), a detachment of marines, 60 strong, two six- 
 pounders, and twenty-two artillerists, under Col. McRea 
 and Lieut. Spotts of the artillery, had already been sent 
 forward to occupy the road below the city. They were 
 preceded in their march by a company of sharpshooters, 
 with long rifles, blue hunting-shirts, and citizen's hats, 
 who advanced with unusual vivacity and rapidity, eager 
 to be the first on the field to meet the foe. 
 
 This was the famous corps of Beale's Rifles. It was 
 composed of picked men, leading merchants and pro- 
 fessional characters of the city, who had formed them- 
 selves into a volunteer corps, and solicited the post of 
 danger in the coming contest. One of the officers of 
 this corps was Judge Joshua Lewis, of the First District 
 Court of New Orleans, who laid aside the judicial robes 
 to fulfill the duties of the patriot and soldier. The mem- 
 bers of this gallant corps were in the flower of youth. 
 The neatness of their equipments, the intelligence of 
 their countenances, and the ready promptitude of their 
 movements, showed that they were no ordinary soldiers. 
 They were all expert in the use of the rifle. 
 
 Between the Rifles and the Tennessee mounted men
 
 THE RALLY. 159 
 
 of Coffee's command, there grew up quite a warm 
 rivalry, relative to their comparative skill in the use of 
 that fatal and favorite weapon of the American citizen 
 soldier, the rifle. It is due to history to say, that when 
 the war was over, and there were no other contests to 
 engage in but those of honorable rivalry among friends 
 and brothers, this controversy was brought to a satisfac- 
 tory test and conclusion by a trial of skill, which resulted 
 in favor of "the crack shot" of Beale's Rifles. 
 
 Presently, a heavy cloud of dust on the levee, and 
 the rumbling sound of many feet striking the earth, 
 announced the approach of a considerable cavalry force 
 from the upper limit of the city. Emerging from this 
 dust, and dashing up at a hand gallop, Hind's dragoons 
 announced their presence, and delighted the eye of the 
 General by their gallant, dare-devil bearing. 
 
 Then followed, moving in a rapid trot, the long line 
 of Coffee's mounted gunmen, who, from their careless 
 carriage, outre dress, and singular equipments, presented 
 more the aspect of backwoodsmen, going out on a " deer 
 drive " or bear hunt, than of soldiers marching against 
 the veteran warriors of Wellington. At their head rode 
 their gallant leader, who, halting his column when it 
 arrived in front of Jackson's position, advanced to the 
 general-in-chief and held a brief conversation with him. 
 Then quickly resuming his position in front of the col- 
 umn, in a loud voice he gave the order to "forward at a 
 gallop ;" and, setting the example himself, started off at 
 a brisk pace, which, being followed by his command, 
 soon carried them out of sight. 
 
 These corps had hardly disappeared, before a dark 
 and varie-colored mass of men was seen moving rapidly 
 down one of the cross-streets, towards the left of the
 
 160 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 44th. " Ah ! there come the brave Creoles," exclaimed 
 Jackson to one of his Aids, whose handsome countenance 
 lit up with a proud and joyful expression at this com- 
 pliment to his own race, of whose noble traits the gal- 
 lant and enthusiastic Devezac was a fine embodiment. 
 This was Plauche's battalion, which had run the whole 
 distance from the Bayou St. John to join the column of 
 attack. Many of the battalion were delicate young 
 Creoles, mere boys in age and strength ; and yet they 
 bore their heavy muskets and knapsacks with as much 
 alacrity as practiced veterans. With their gay and 
 various uniforms, characterized by that good taste and 
 regard for proportion and effect, which distinguish the 
 French race with their bold, handsome countenances, 
 and uniform size, the Orleans Battalion was certainly a 
 corps of which any commander might be justly proud. 
 
 In the rear of this battalion was the corps df freemen 
 of color, under the command of Major Daquin, a gal- 
 lant and effective force, well officered, and capable of 
 any service. 
 
 Jackson had now seen his whole disposable force 
 march by. "We must not forget, however, to add that 
 there was a small band of Choctaw Indians, under 
 Captain Jugeat, attached to the column. 
 
 The simple order to the troops was to hurry as rapidly 
 as possible to Canal Rodriguez, six miles below the city, 
 and there take up position and prepare to advance upon 
 the enemy. With vivacity, but without noise or parade, 
 the troops moved forward. As they advanced along 
 the levee hundreds of snowy handkerchiefs were waved 
 towards them, and bright eyes from every window and 
 balcony cheered their hearts and warmed their courage. 
 Unlike the females in most beleaguered cities, the
 
 THE BALLY. 161 
 
 women of New Orleans, instead of flying into the 
 country for protection and safety against an approaching 
 army of invaders, whose shameful excesses on the Pen- 
 insula, and the shores of the Chesapeake, gave but little 
 hope that they would be restrained within any bounds 
 of decency and humanity, remained at home to share 
 the perils and sufferings of their husbands, sons and 
 brothers, and to give their aid, their cheering presence, 
 and their gentle consolations in the great emergency. 
 
 On that very day, a number of the ladies of the city 
 met at the residence of Mrs. Cenas, at present the con- 
 sort of Colonel William Christy, himself a veteran of 
 1814-'15, for the purpose of plying their needles in the 
 noble task of preparing clothing for the soldiers of Jack- 
 son's army, many of whom arrived on tho levee in a 
 very ragged and destitute condition. Whilst they were 
 thus busily engaged, the news was brought into the 
 room that the enemy had just landed, and were march- 
 ing on the city. Of course the ladies were a little ner- 
 vous at first, when the alarming intelligence was com- 
 municated, but Mrs. Cenas remarked that they need be 
 under no fear as long as they had Jackson to defend 
 them. At the suggestion, however, of one of the party, 
 a message was dispatched by the ladies to the General, 
 inquiring " what they were to do, in case the city was 
 attacked ?" " Say to the ladies," Jackson promptly re- 
 plied, " not to be uneasy. No British soldier shall enter 
 the' city as an enemy, unless over my dead body." 
 Never was pledge more faithfully or literally kept. 
 British soldiers did enter the city, but it was in such a 
 plight as gave full employment for the noble charity of 
 these ladies, who nursed and comforted them, with the
 
 162 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 same care and kindness which they extended to their 
 own wounded countrymen. 
 
 We should not forget to add, that many of these 
 ladies, on hearing of the approach of the British, pro- 
 vided themselves with daggers, which they wore in the 
 same belt to which their needle cases were attached. 
 The rumored war-cry of the British "Beauty and 
 Booty " had nerved their hearts to a desperate resolve, 
 which, in case the brutal threat had been attempted, 
 would have rendered this city as illustrious for female 
 devotion and heroism, as Saragossa, or old Home in her 
 palmy days. 
 
 The soldiers had all moved out of sight, still Jackson 
 maintained his position on the levee. It was evident 
 that his programme was not complete. The anxious 
 glances which he threw across the river betrayed some 
 solicitude. At last, however, the frown faded from his 
 brow, as he observed a small, dark schooner cast off 
 from the opposite bank of the river, and begin to float 
 slowly down with the current. This was the Carolina, 
 with Commodore Patterson, Captainllenly, and a gal- 
 lant band of seamen on board. Then Jackson put 
 spurs to his charger, and, accompanied by his aids, 
 Captains Butler, Reid, Chotard, and Messrs. Livingston, 
 Duplessis and Davezac, galloped rapidly down the road 
 which had been followed by his little army. 
 
 Jackson's plan of attack was simple, judicious and 
 practical. The Carolina was ordered to drop down in 
 front of the British camp, and, anchoring at musket- 
 shot, to open her batteries upon them at half-past seven 
 o'clock. At this signal, the right, under Jackson, con- 
 sisting of the regulars, Plauche and Daquin's battalions, 
 McRea's artillery and the Marines, was to push forward,
 
 TIIE ATTACK. 163 
 
 being guided by Major Villere, who volunteered for the 
 occasion, and attack the enemy's camp near the river. 
 Whilst they were thus engaged, Coffee, under the 
 guidance of Colonel De la Ronde, was ordered with his 
 Brigade, with Hind's Dragoons and Beale's Rifles, to 
 scout the edge of the swamp, and advancing as far as 
 was safe, to endeavor to cut off the communications of 
 the enemy with the Lake, and thus hem in, and, if pos- 
 sible, capture or destroy them. 
 
 Such was the simple plan of the battle of the 23d of 
 December, 1814.
 
 164 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 IX. 
 
 BATTLE OP THE TWENTY-THIRD OF DECEMBER, 1814, 
 
 FOR some hours after the British were encamped on 
 the levee, all was well with them. Scouting parties, 
 which had been sent in every direction, reported that no 
 enemy could be seen or heard of. After posting a strong 
 advance of the 95th Rifles far up the road, and pickets 
 at every approach to the camp, Keane felt tolerably 
 comfortable, and determined to wait patiently for the 
 arrival of the other two brigades, for which the boats 
 had hurried back immediately after the advance had 
 stepped ashore. Thornton did not feel so confident. 
 He feared greatly that before morning broke they 
 should have serious cause to lament the folly of the 
 General in halting. In earnest discussion the two offi- 
 cers walked the gallery of General Villere's house, ever 
 and anon casting anxious looks in the direction of the 
 swamp and of the road to the city. Meantime the men 
 proceeded to make themselves comfortable for the night. 
 Bivouacked in the open field, about two hundred yards 
 from the river, and extended for a half a mile along its 
 banks, they began to light their fires and cook their 
 suppers. The cypress pickets made good firewood, and 
 camp-kettles were soon brought into requisition. Not
 
 BATTLE OF DECEMBER 23, 1814. 165 
 
 content with the salt meat and rum allotted to them 
 by the Commissary, small parties were permitted to go 
 out in pursuit of more desirable delicacies. Spreading 
 themselves over the country, as far as was prudent, they 
 penetrated every house, every dairy and negro cabin, 
 pig-sty and poultry-yard, seized everything that was 
 eatable or drinkable and bore it into camp. The officers 
 were allotted the first choice of these luxuries, which 
 consisted of ham, cheese, poultry, wine, brandy, and 
 other delicacies with which the houses of the planters 
 are always abundantly supplied. It may be imagined 
 with what zest these wearied soldiers, who had been for 
 weeks crowded in ships on a long voyage, and whose 
 appetites had been greatly sharpened by the fatigues of 
 the march, partook of these rare comestibles. 
 
 After satisfying their appetites, the soldiers generally 
 lay on the ground to snatch a few moments of sleep. 
 It was now about half-past four in the afternoon, and 
 the most profound quiet and security reigned in the 
 British camp, when suddenly some excitement was per- 
 ceived in front, at the furthest outpost on the road. This 
 was produced by the alarm of a sentinel, who observed 
 some suspicious horsemen approaching the post by the 
 main road. The guard immediately mustered, and con- 
 cealing themselves behind the levee, waited until the 
 horsemen had approached within musket range, when 
 they delivered a well-directed volley, which killed one 
 of the horses and wounded two of the men of the party. 
 They then wheeled and retired down the road. This 
 detachment proved to be a scouting party, composed of 
 the Feliciana Dragoons, who had been sent forward to 
 reconnoitre ; and one of the wounded men was the late
 
 166 JACKSON A.ND NEW OKLEAN8. 
 
 Thomas Scott, of East Feliciana, long a highly esteemed 
 citizen of that parish, who had the misfortune to be the 
 first man of Jackson's army, who received a wound at 
 the hands of the British. 
 
 An hour more passed, and no other event had occur- 
 red to disturb the British, who were now wide awake, 
 on the look-out for their foes. Just as the sun was sink- 
 ing behind the dark forests on the opposite bank of the 
 river, the outposts were again aroused by a still more 
 formidable demonstration in front. A squadron of 
 horse, at least one hundred in number, were seen trot- 
 ting boldly down the road. On reaching a certain point 
 they suddenly widened their front, and scattering over 
 the field, charged boldly and fearlessly towards the out- 
 posts. The daring and impetuosity of these horsemen 
 excited the astonishment of the British. They said to 
 one another, that they would no longer have to com- 
 plain that they had to hunt up the Americans to beat 
 them. They had found an enemy who knew what the 
 offensive in warfare meant. Their new foes charged 
 their pickets as boldly as if they had been on the Penin- 
 sula, and had crossed swords with Napoleon's Cuiras- 
 siers. Driving in the sentinels, they came down in a 
 brisk trot to a ditch, in which a number of the Rifles 
 had been posted, and halting at a distance of one hun- 
 dred yards, the officer in command coolly surveyed the 
 British position ; and then wheeling his squadron, gal- 
 loped back towards the city, not heeding a heavy 
 volley which the Rifles sent after them. This was 
 Hind's troop of Horse which had been sent as a recon- 
 noitering escort to Colonel Hayne, the Inspector-General 
 of Jackson's army, for the purpose of ascertaining the 
 force and position of the enemy.
 
 BATTLE OF DECEMBER 23, 1814. 167 
 
 These intruders ^appeared from view, and solitude 
 again resumed its sway over the broad fields in which 
 the British were bivouacked. The soldiers repaired to 
 their agreeable repasts and slumbers. Darkness began 
 to gather over their camp. The sentinels were doubled, 
 and the officers walked the rounds with restless anxiety. 
 But the thoughtless and careless men, intent only on 
 present comfort and enjoyment, trimmed their fires, so 
 as to give cheerfulness to the scene, and reproducing 
 the remnants of their midday feast, began to make good 
 use of their kettles and pans in preparation for a com- 
 fortable supper. Many, too exhausted to eat, lay down 
 to sleep. They were not, however, entirely without 
 anxiety, and for better security their arms were kept 
 within reach, ready for instant use. About seven 
 o'clock, the attention of several officers was drawn to a 
 vessel which was stealing slowly down the river. From 
 the bold and careless manner in which she approached 
 their camp, many of the British thought that she was 
 one of their own cruisers, which had passed the Fort, 
 and after proceeding a short distance up stream to 
 observe the enemy ; had now arrived most opportunely 
 to cover their left flank in their advance upon the city. 
 They hailed her no answer was returned. Several 
 muskets were fired, of which she took not the slightest 
 heed. With amazing audacity the men on board were 
 seen quietly fastening the sails, and the vessel continued 
 to sheer in close ashore, swinging her starboard broad- 
 side right abreast of the camp. Then her anchor was 
 let loose a slight movement was observed on board 
 lighted matches were discerned through the darkness, 
 and in the stillness of the night, and of a spectacle, 
 which by its mysterious character had made the British
 
 168 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 speechless with astonishment, a loud voice was heard 
 from the ship, exclaiming, " Give this for the honor of 
 America." The words were followed by a simultaneous 
 flash from a score of cannon and firearms, and a perfect 
 tornado of grape-shot and musket-balls, which swept 
 the levee and the camps in the field, killing and wound- 
 ing many men, some of whom were asleep when struck, 
 and scattering their fires and camp utensils in every 
 direction. The havoc was the more terrible from its 
 suddenness. For some minutes the British were struck 
 with consternation. Disorder prevailed through the 
 camp. One of the officers says, " they were driven into 
 the most dire confusion, which caused a tenfold panic. 
 The scene beggared all description. No mob could be 
 in a more utter state of disorganization." They were 
 mowed down by the fire of an unseen and unknown 
 enemy. Nor did the Carolina for it was that vessel, 
 with Commodore Patterson, Captain Henley, and an 
 efficient crew, which had dropped down so inoppor- 
 tunely on the British camp give them much time to 
 collect their senses. She continued her fire with amaz- 
 ing rapidity and accuracy, embracing in its range the 
 whole area of the field, in which the British soldiers ran 
 wildly to and fro, in pursuit of shelter. The rocketers 
 on the levee made a feeble effort to bring their weapons 
 to bear upon the schooner, but they produced no effect, 
 and only elicited the jeering laughter of the sailors of 
 the Carolina. Finally, the intrepid Thornton came to 
 the rescue of his affrighted men, and ordered them to 
 leave the open fields, and shelter themselves under the 
 levee. Never was an order more quickly obeyed. 
 Reaching the levee, the men lay down at full length, 
 listening in painful silence to the pattering of grape-shot
 
 BATTLE OF DECEMBER 23, 1814:. 169 
 
 in their camp, and the shrieks of the wounded in the 
 field, who, unable to gain the cover, were knocked and 
 tossed about like logs of wood, by the remorseless shot 
 of the schooner. 
 
 It was now so dark that the men could not discover 
 an object of any size, more than a few feet off. The 
 Carolina slackened her fire, and the prostrate British 
 began to breathe freer, when a new cause of alarm 
 arose. It was a firing at their outposts. First, there 
 were a few isolated reports, evidently of the sentinels. 
 Then came volleys of the pickets. These increased 
 every second, and came from every part of the field. 
 Finally, a blaze of fire seemed to encircle the camp. 
 It was evident they were surrounded. Here was appar- 
 ent confirmation of the wisdom of Keaue's conduct. 
 There must be at least twelve thousand men to justify 
 such an attack on a camp of Peninsular veterans, and 
 to cover and out-flank so large a front. But there 
 was no time for reflection or speculation. They were 
 surrounded, and must fight or yield. The latter was 
 never thought of. 
 
 With his usual boldness, Thornton ordered the 85th 
 and 95th to rush from under the levee, and fly to the 
 support of the pickets, whilst the 4th, stealing under 
 cover of the levee, formed on the right bank of Villere's 
 Canal, in front of the headquarters, so as to act as a 
 reserve and protect their communications with the Lake, 
 Major Gubbins led the 85th on the right, and Major 
 Mitchell the 95th on the left, whilst Colonel Thornton 
 directed the movements of the whole force. They were 
 Boon engaged in one of the fiercest, most severely, and 
 evenly-contested night combats that ever occurred. To 
 
 .8
 
 170 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 comprehend the order of the battle, we must follow the 
 movements of the attacking party. 
 
 Marching his men to Rodriguez Canal, about two 
 miles from the British camp, Jackson made this ditch, 
 running perpendicularly from the river to the swamp, 
 the base of his operations. Coffee with eight hundred 
 men, including his mounted gunmen. Hind's Dragoons, 
 and Beale's rifles, was dispatched towards the left, with 
 orders to advance along the edge of the swamp, until 
 he reached the boundary line between Lacoste's and 
 Laronde's ; and dismounting his men there to leave his 
 horses, and push boldly forward, so as to gain the ene- 
 my's right, turn his position, break up his communica- 
 tions, and destroy him. Waiting for a few minutes,, 
 until he could hear the broadside of the Carolina, whicb 
 was to be the signal for the commencement of the battle, 
 and when those joyful notes, a little before the appointed 
 hour, fell upon his ear, delaying for a few minutes 
 longer, until they could produce their full effect upon 
 the enemy, Jackson gave the order to advance. 
 
 The right division, consisting of the regulars, the two 
 battalions of volunteers, the artillery and the marines 
 in all 1,147 muskets and two six pounders, and led by 
 Jackson himself, advanced by heads of companies as 
 near the river as possible. The battle was opened by a 
 company of the 7th, under Lieutenant McClelland, 
 which, however, was led by that gallant staff officer, 
 Colonel Piatt. This company, being on the extreme 
 right, filing through the gate of Laronde's plantation, 
 advanced as far as the boundary of Lacoste's, when it 
 was received with a brisk discharge from one of the out- 
 posts of the enemy, established near the road, and lying
 
 BATTLE OF DECEMBER 23, 1814. 171 
 
 under cover of a fence. This outpost consisted of eighty 
 men of the 95th, commanded by Captain Hallem. 
 Their resistance to a single company of the 7th Infantry, 
 has been exaggerated by one of the British historians, 
 into " an achievement to which neither ancient or 
 modern history can produce a parallel, as Captain Hal- 
 lem," says this veracious writer, " was opposed to Jack- 
 son's whole army, three thousand strong." The truth is, 
 the gallant Captain Hallem and his eighty men were 
 posted in a ditch and behind a fence, when he was at- 
 tacked by the right company of the 7th. 
 
 Calling to them to come out and fight like men in 
 open ground, Piatt attacked them with great vigor, and 
 forced them to retire, occupying the ground they had 
 abandoned. The British, however, being reinforced, 
 returned to regain their lost position, and opened a 
 heavy fire upon Piatt's detachment, who as briskly 
 replied. For some minutes the firing was very severe 
 and destructive, the combatants being but a few yards 
 apart. Piatt received a ball in the leg, McClelland and 
 a sergeant were killed, and several of the men were 
 wounded. Meantime, the artillery advanced up the 
 road, covered by the marines under Lieutenant Belle- 
 vue, and began to blaze away at the enemy's outposts 
 with great vigor. Collecting a strong force, the British 
 made a bold push for the guns. Their heavy tire caused 
 a recoil of the marines, and some of the horses being 
 wounded, one of the pieces was upset in the ditch. 
 Jackson and his staff being near, rode swiftly to the 
 point of danger, and, indifferent to the shower of bul- 
 lets which whistled around him, Jackson called out 
 " Save the guns, my boys, at every sacrifice ! " Aided 
 by Captain Butler and Captain Chotard, of his staff,
 
 172 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 lie succeeded in repairing the momentary disorder, and 
 rallying the marines and a company of the 7th, soon 
 had the guns safely protected.* 
 
 These events all transpired in a few minutes. Mean- 
 time the other companies of the 7th advanced briskly, 
 and forming in battalion a/ppuye on the river, opened a 
 brisk fire on the British, who in a like manner had 
 strengthened their lines. The 44th, forming on the left 
 of the 7th, soon joined in the fire. The engagement 
 now became general, and the fire was kept up on both 
 sides with great steadiness. Both lines extended per- 
 pendicular from the river some distance out, being em- 
 braced within an old levee and the new levee. In such 
 a state of affairs both became liable to be outflanked, 
 and turned, the British on the right and the Americans 
 on the left. The British line was rapidly extending 
 beyond that of the Americans, and a strong force had 
 began to file ofi 7 behind the old levee, towards the rear 
 of the left of the 44th, and that regiment was compelled 
 to oblique to the left, being forced back, when Plauche 
 and D'Aquin fortunately came into line, and forming 
 under a severe fire at pistol shot, advanced in close 
 column. 
 
 Just as Plauche's battalion was wheeling into line on 
 the left of the 44th, some of his platoons on the right, 
 lapping those of the 44th, mistook them for the enemy 
 and fired a volley at them, which wounded several men. 
 Plauche quickly repaired the unfortunate error, and led 
 his battalion into the very face of the enemy, who gave 
 
 * Jackson used to say, familiarly, when complimented on the gracefulness of hiu 
 bow, that he learned the art on the night of the twenty-third, when though the British 
 thought differently, he never wasted so much politeness in his life in bowing to thelf 
 bullets as they whistle] around his head.
 
 BATTLE OF DECEMBER 23, 1814. 173 
 
 way rapidly. D'Aquin's battalions followed Plauche', 
 and the two very soon reinstated the 44th in its recti 
 linear position, and then opened a heavy fire upon the 
 enemy, which caused them to give way still more. See- 
 ing the effect of his fire, the men called out to charge 
 bayonets, and Plauche was about fo give the order for 
 the charge, when Colonel Ross, who had command of 
 the volunteer battalions, countermanded the order, and 
 directed him to hold his position. This was for the 
 Americans the most unfortunate event of the affair, as 
 was shown afterwards when the situation of the British 
 became known. If the charge had been made, a large 
 portion of the British army, including a whole regiment, 
 would have been cut off from the rest, and compelled 
 to surrender. Finally, however, the British being so 
 vigorously pressed, deemed it prudent to retire and 
 resume their original position on the boundary line of 
 Lacoste and Villere's. In this movement they 'were 
 favored by a heavy fog, which arose about half past 
 eight o'clock. 
 
 So much for the operation on the right. Meantime 
 Coffee was not idle. Dismounting his men at the ditch, 
 which forms the boundary line of Laronde and Lacoste, 
 and leaving one hundred men in charge of the horses, 
 he advanced rapidly with Beale'e rifles on his left in 
 extended order, skirting the swamp. When he had 
 reached the boundary line of Villere's, and believed 
 that he had gained the enemy's right, he wheeled his 
 column to the right, and advanced with front face to 
 the river. The Rifles on his left spread themselves over 
 Villere"s, and penetrated the very centre of the British 
 camp, killing many of the enemy and taking several 
 prisoners.
 
 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Whilst advancing, Coffee ordered Iris men to be sure 
 of their mark in firing, not to lose a shot, and to fire at 
 short distance. They were soon engaged with the out- 
 posts, and the quick-sighted Tennesseeans had picked off 
 several sentinels before their approach was known, so 
 noiseless and wily did they move. Soon, however, the 
 British 85th rushed forward to meet them, and the two 
 lines became warmly engaged. Both sides were remark- 
 able for their sharp-shooting. The 85th were light 
 infantry, and had long enjoyed a high reputation for the 
 efficient manner in which they handled their guns. 
 But the Tennesseeans were more than a match for them. 
 They fired faster and with greater accuracy. The Brit- 
 ish suffered severely, losing several officers, among 
 others Major Harris, the Brigade Major. 
 
 For some time the battle raged fiercely in this part 
 of the field, but without much order or system. It was 
 a war of detachments and duels. The officers would 
 hastily collect small bodies of men, as they could find 
 them, and 'starting out in pursuit of a hostile detach- 
 ment, would rush at them, and soon be mingled in a 
 hand-to-hand fight. Owing to the darkness, friends 
 could not be distinguished from foes, and not a few fell 
 by the bullets of their companions and fellow-soldiers. 
 Approaching within a few yards of one another, thej 
 would shout some vague name or call, beating, as it were, 
 around the bush, to ascertain who their neighbors wen 
 before delivering their fire. In these raanosuvres, as 
 each party could disguise his character to get nearer his 
 enemy, many lamentable mistakes were made on both 
 sides, by which several brave men lost their lives. 
 
 Among Lacoste's negro cabins several parties of the 
 British Eifles were posted, who kept up a running fire
 
 BATTLE OF DECEMBER 23, 1814. 175 
 
 on Coffee's right companies. The Tennesseeans, how 
 ever, recognizing the sharp crack of the rifle, gave these 
 parties the preference, and directed their particular 
 attention to them. It required severe fighting to dis- 
 lodge the Rifles ; but they were soon beaten with their 
 own weapons. The short rifle of the English service 
 was not equal to the long and deadly instrument of the 
 western hunter and Indian fighter. For many years 
 after, the huts of Lacoste bore striking proofs of the 
 accuracy of the aim of the Tennesseeans, and of the 
 severity of the combat in this part of the field. Con- 
 cealing themselves behind the huts, the British waited 
 until the Tennesseeans got into the midst of them. Then 
 they rushed forward and engaged with them hand to 
 hand. Neither party having bayonets they were forced 
 to club their guns, and thus many fine rifles were ruined. 
 But the more cautious of the Tennesseeans preferred their 
 long knives and tomahawks to thus endangering that 
 arm which is their chief reliance in war, their insepara- 
 ble companion in peace and war. Many a British sol- 
 dier who was found dead on the field, with heavy gashes 
 on his forehead, or deep stabs in his bosom, and who 
 was buried under the conviction that he came to his 
 death by that military and chivalric weapon, the sword, 
 fell, in fact, beneath those more barbarous instruments 
 which the Tennesseeans had learned from the savages to 
 wield with deadly skill the tomahawk and hunting- 
 knife. After being driven from the grove at Lacoste's, 
 the Rifles fell back before Coffee's steady advance, ral- 
 lying, however, as they were joined by fresh reinforce- 
 ments, and keeping up a continuous fire on the Tennes- 
 seeans. At last they gained the old levee, not far from 
 th road, and preferring for the time the peril of the
 
 176 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Carolina's broadsides to the unerring rifles of the Ten* 
 nesseeans, they took post behind the levee on the river 
 side. This position was deemed too strong l>y Coffee to 
 be carried. Besides he did not wish to expose his men 
 to the unceasing fire of the Carolina. Accordingly, he 
 sent a dispatch to Jackson acquainting him with his 
 position, and received in return an order to join the 
 right division. 
 
 If the design of Plauche of charging the already 
 retiring line of the British had not been prevented by 
 Colonel Boss, the two divisions would have united, and 
 thus the British left would have been inevitably cut off. 
 But in the meantime the right column of Jackson, find- 
 ing the fog too thick, had fallen back to its original 
 position, and Coffee following it, at last took up position 
 near the old levee, where the battle had commenced, 
 from which he kept up an irregular fire on the British 
 stragglers and outposts. It was while moving in this 
 direction, that Major Mitchell, commanding the British 
 95th (an officer who had won great distinction in leading 
 the storming party at Cieudad Rodrigo, and in other 
 actions in the Peninsular war), advanced towards the 
 British right for the purpose of ascertaining the charac- 
 ter of the men who were approaching. As the 93d 
 Highlanders were expected every moment to reach the 
 camp, Major Mitchell was strongly impressed with the 
 belief that Coffee's men, who wore hunting-shirts, 
 which, in the dark, were not unlike the Highland frock, 
 were the men of the 93d, and greatly needing their aid, 
 he eagerly advanced, calling out, " Are those the 93d ?" 
 " Of course," shouted the Tennesseeans, who had no par* 
 ticular number. Mitchell thereupon pushed boldly for- 
 ward within a few feet of the men, when Captain Don-
 
 BATTLE OF DECEMBEE 23, 1814. 177 
 
 aldson stepped in front, and slapping the astounded 
 Briton on the shoulder, called out, " You are my pris- 
 oner," and requested the Major's sword. This request 
 was enforced by half a dozen long rifles which covered 
 his body at every assailable point.* 
 
 With infinite mortification the gallant Major surren- 
 dered, and with several other prisoners was borne off by 
 the Tennesseeans. Though at the moment of his capture, 
 and subsequently, Major Mitchell was treated with the 
 kindness and generosity due to a gallant foe, he never 
 recovered his good humor, and embraced every oppor- 
 tunity of exhibiting his spleen and disgust. The oblique 
 movement of Coffee's brigade to the right produced 
 some disasters which were sorely lamented by the 
 Americans. 
 
 In the last charge of Coffee, just before he received 
 the order to retire, the left of his line, including two 
 hundred Tennesseeans and Beale's Rifles, under Colonels 
 Dyer and Gibson, got separated from that portion which 
 moved under Coffee's immediate command. The British 
 perceived the gap, and immediately rushed into it, 
 forming a strong line of troops between Coffee and Dyer. 
 To this line Dyer hastened, trusting it was Coffee's. On 
 approaching, they were hailed by the British, ordered 
 to stop and report who they were. Dyer and Gibson 
 advanced and called out that they were the Second 
 Division of Tennesseear.s. Observing that his answer 
 was not understood, h: ordered his men to wheel and 
 retire towards the swa;r p. As they were retiring, the 
 
 * It was rather an apochryphal additon to this story which was no doubt provoked 
 by the haughty demeanor of Mitchell, that when captured, seeing a tomahawk in the 
 hands of one of his swarthy foes, he cried out with an expression of great terror, 
 " Oh ! Mr. Indian don't scalp-me ! don't scalp me !" 
 
 8*
 
 173 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 British opened a heavy fire upon them, and then charged. 
 In the retreat Gibson stumbled and fell, and a British 
 soldier, more active than his companions, reached him 
 before he could rise and pinned him to the ground with 
 his bayonet. Fortunately the bayonet only pierced his 
 flesh, and Gibson, who was an active and powerful man, 
 seized the musket, and forcing it from his assailant, 
 knocked him down and then escaped to his companions. 
 Col. Dyer had retreated but fifty yards when his horse 
 was shot, himself wounded, and entangled with the 
 dying animal, which lay upon his legs. At this moment, 
 when his capture or death seemed inevitable, he had 
 the presence of mind to order his men to halt and 
 return the enemy's fire ; they did so, and the British 
 were checked, and the Colonel was enabled, with the 
 aid of some of his men, to release himself. Finally, the 
 whole party of Tennesseeans succeeded in reaching 
 Coffee. There was a portion of Dyer's command which 
 was not so fortunate. 
 
 On the extreme left of the Tennesseeans were Beale's 
 Rifles, extended in open order for some distance across 
 Lacoste's and into Yillere's field. Fighting singly, or 
 in small squads, they had penetrated the very centre of 
 the British camp, and gave such annoyance to the ene- 
 my as to lead to the belief that they composed a whole 
 regiment. Whilst pressing forward the Rifles became 
 separated into two parties, by the fence and ditch of 
 Lacoste's ; and when Coffee m ^ed towards the right, 
 the party of the Rifles on thf extreme left did not 
 observe the movement and follow it. The consequence 
 was, that they were cut off by the British closing in 
 between them and the first division of the company. 
 Finding themselves thus cut off, the Rifles separated
 
 BATTLE OF DECEMBEB 23, 1814. 179 
 
 and endeavored to escape by starting in different direc- 
 tions. One party of them retreated in the direction of 
 the swamp, and had nearly reached it, when they ob- 
 served a line of men advancing from the swamp towards 
 them. Deceived in the same manner, in which Mitchell 
 had been, they concluded from the dress of the men 
 that they were Coffee's " Hunters," and eagerly pressed 
 forward calling out : 
 
 " Where is the first division ?" 
 
 " Here they are," was the reply, with a broad Scotch 
 accent, and the line closed in upon them at a charge, 
 and the gleaming bayonets produced the sad conviction 
 on the minds of the Rifles that they had been entrapped 
 and must surrender. They were immediately taken in 
 charge by a detachment of the British, and hurried 
 towards the canal, where they arrived just in time to be 
 placed in the boats which had brought their captors, 
 who proved to be the Grenadier company of the 93d 
 Highlanders. These prisoners were taken down the 
 bayou to the fleet. 
 
 Those who were thus captured embraced several of 
 the most respectable citizens of New Orleans. Among 
 them were Benjamin Story, Esq., long one of the most 
 respected, wealthy and prosperous merchants and bankers 
 of the city, and for many years President of the Bank 
 of Louisiana ; William Flower, one of the oldest mer- 
 chants of the city, who now survives at a very advanced 
 age. These two gentlemen had been badly wounded. 
 There was also among the prisoners the late John Lynd, 
 and that wild rollicking citizen, of Irish birth, famous 
 for his wit and valor, Kenny Laverty. Others of the 
 Rifles endeavored to escape by the river, and a few 
 succeeded. Two of them, however, were not so fortu-
 
 180 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS- 
 
 nate. They were Denis Prieur, late Collector of the 
 Port of New Orleans, several times Mayor of the city, 
 and one of the most sagacious, enlightened and intel- 
 ligent public officers whom the city and State have ever 
 employed, and a Scotchman by the name of McGillvray. 
 After remaining together for some time, these two 
 gentlemen agreed to separate. McGillvray was to en- 
 deavor to escape by the river, and Prieur through La- 
 coste's field. Accordingly they parted. Prieur advanced 
 towards the right, keeping under cover of a fence until 
 he thought he was beyond reach, and then started in 
 full run across the field. He had not gone far before 
 coming to a ditch ; he leaped it, and suddenly found 
 himself surrounded by twenty British soldiers, to whom 
 he surrendered. McGillvray was captured after being 
 wounded. These were the last captures of the British. 
 Prieur, who was a Creole, was taken to General Keane's 
 headquarters, where the General held a long conversa- 
 tion with him, and endeavored to impress upon his 
 mind the idea that the British did not come to Louisiana 
 to wage war against the ancient population, but to oust 
 the Yankees, who had no right to the country, and 
 ought not to be tolerated by the Creoles. The General, 
 however, had more than his match in Prieur, than whom 
 there are few more sagacious and astute men. He par- 
 ried the General's interrogatories very adroitly, except 
 the one relative to Jackson's force, which, of course, he 
 was too shrewd not to exaggerate. Satisfied that he 
 had made a very deep impression upon the unsophisti- 
 cated young Creole, Keane ordered him to be released 
 on his parole. Accordingly, early next morning, Prieur 
 had the pleasure to rejoin Jackson's army at Rodriguez 
 Canal.
 
 BATTLE OF DECEMBER 23, 1814. 181 
 
 Keane subsequently complained very savagely of the 
 bad faith of the Creoles, who, not appreciating his kind- 
 ness to them, had been the most active and ferocious 
 enemies of the British, from the commencement to the 
 close of the campaign. He should have remembered 
 that he who endeavors to tamper with the loyalty and 
 patriotism of a free people offers the most serious pro- 
 vocation and insult, and justifies a greater bitterness of 
 hostility and severer punishments than were dealt out 
 to the British on the plains of Villere. 
 
 The other captive " Rifles," did not fare so well. They 
 were taken to the British fleet then lying off Ship Island, 
 and subjected for some time, as prisoners of war, to 
 many hardships. We have mentioned among the names 
 of those prisoners those of John Lynd and Kenny 
 Laverty. Lynd was a notary public, a quaint, sedate 
 and solemn-visaged, but very shrewd and sagacious 
 person. Upon the strength of his profession, having 
 been connected with the administration of law, the 
 British founded the humorous conceit, which has been 
 recorded in several publications, that in the capture of 
 the twenty-two members of Beale's rifles, they had ac- 
 tually taken prisoners all the lawyers and notaries of 
 New Orleans. Such a capture would have deprived 
 Jackson of no less than five aids who were really the 
 leading members of the Bar of the city, to wit : Edward 
 Livingston, John R. Chymes, Abner L. Duncan, Deve- 
 zac and P. L. B. Duplessis. Lynd and Laverty, the 
 latter on account of a most alarmingly treacherous 
 brogue, and the former for his sanctimonious gravity, 
 became frequent butts for the gibes of the British offi- 
 cers. Unfortunately, however, for their reputation as 
 wits, they obtained but few victories in their encounters
 
 182 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 with the dry, solemn and quaint notary and the quick 
 witted Irishman. Many instances of their discomfiture 
 are related by the old people, who cherish with much 
 devotion the stories and the witticisms, however simple, 
 of the times in which they played their parts. On one 
 occasion the prisoners, being taunted with a want of 
 hospitality and generosity towards their visitors, who 
 had been led to believe that they would be received 
 with much pomp, and entertained with dinners and 
 balls," the ready Irishman replied, " and faith we did 
 receive you with balls and as for the dinners, from 
 what we had heard of ye, we thought you could pro- 
 vide for yourselves." This was a delicate allusion to 
 the hen-roost-robbing reputation, which the British 
 brought from the Chesapeake, and probably to the 
 threat of Sir Alexander Cochrane, to eat his Christmas 
 dinner at New Orleans. 
 
 During their detention in the fleet, the prisoners, as 
 well as the sailors, were placed on half rations. This 
 was a sore trial to Americans, Orleanians, who were 
 accustomed to an abundance of the luxuries and com- 
 forts of life. One day, as some of the officers of the 
 fleet were amusing themselves by catching sharks near 
 Cat Island, where they abound, Sir Alexander Cochrane, 
 who was looking on, remarked that he never saw fish 
 bite so greedily. 
 
 " Probably yer honor, they are like meself, prisoners 
 on half rations," respectfully suggested Laverty, with a 
 face an ell long. When it was suggested, in allusion to 
 his " rich Irish brogue," that the British Government 
 might treat him as a deserter, whose allegiance had 
 never been surrendered, Laverty, with an air of great 
 gravity, asseverated that he had " drawn his first breath
 
 BATTLE OF DECEMBER 23, 1814:. 183 
 
 in a pretty little village, in the good old State of Phila- 
 delphia," which declaration he subsequently justified 
 by the ingenious explanation that no man breathed at 
 all before he breathed the air of liberty. Strongly con- 
 trasted with Laverty's light : hearted jollity was the ora- 
 cular solemnity of his sedate companion, who never 
 omitted an opportunity of warning the British of the 
 gloomy fate which awaited them when General Jackson 
 should get fairly aroused. When the British would 
 boast of their achievements on the 23d Decembe'r, 
 they would be awe-stricken by the mysterious and dole- 
 ful expression, the ominous shaking of the head and 
 rolling of the eye-balls, with which the American seer 
 would accompany his invariable and prophetic reply 
 " Oh, the end has not come yet ! the end has not come 
 yet !" The ship in which the prisoners were detained 
 was the Royal Oak. At the time they were taken 
 aboard the captain was absent. On his return to his 
 ship, what was the captain's surprise to recognize, in 
 Mr. Pollock, one of the prisoners, a bosom friend who 
 had officiated as groomsman for him at his marriage, 
 which event had occurred in New York, previous to the 
 war. Of course, the friends forgot they were nationally 
 enemies, and soon became as cordial and happy as if 
 the two nations which they were respectively serving 
 were living on the very best terms. In consequence of 
 this recognition, the captain of the Royal Oak caused 
 a very elegant dinner to be prepared for the prisoners, 
 which was attended by all the officers of the Royal 
 Oak and several of the other ships. The dinner was 
 quite a jovial and protracted one. There was an abun- 
 dance of good old wine, of which the Americans par- 
 took with such gusto as might be expected in men who
 
 184: JACKSON AND NEW OELEANS. 
 
 had been on " short commons " for several days. This 
 indulgence came near destroying the harmony of the 
 occasion, as some political allusions having been drop- 
 ped by some of the British officers, several of the 
 Americans fired up and declared that they could whip 
 the British, man to man, Kenny Laverty offering to 
 take for " his share two of the brawniest chaps in the 
 fleet." But the ill-feeling and exaltation passed with 
 the fumes of the liquor, and thenceforward the relations 
 of the parties were pleasant and amicable. 
 
 Much less sensible, though perhaps more dignified, 
 was the conduct of the principal British officer, who 
 was captured by the Americans on the night of the 23d, 
 Major Samuel Mitchell, of the 95th Rifles, whose mis- 
 fortune has been related above. The Major's disgust and 
 chagrin were visibly increased when he learned the 
 character of his captors. It was while suffering under 
 these feelings, after he had arrived in the rear of the 
 American camp, in charge of a guard of Coffee's men, 
 that Mr. Harrod, of the Quartermaster's Department, 
 (and now a respected merchant of New Orleans) waited 
 upon him at the order of General Jackson, with the 
 compliments of the General, and a request that he would 
 inform Mr. Harrod what he needed in the way of cloth- 
 ing and other comforts, and his wants would be imme- 
 diately attended to. The Major, swelling with pride 
 and chagrin, replied, " Return my compliments to Gene- 
 ral Jackson and say, that as my baggage will reach me 
 in a few days, I shall be able to dispense with nis polite 
 attentions." Had the Major persisted in this rash deter- 
 mination, he would never have been in a condition to 
 partake of the hospitalities which were lavished upon 
 him, during his necessarily disagreeable detention in
 
 BATTLE OF DECEMBER 23, 1814. 185 
 
 New Orleans, and in Natchez, to which place the pri- 
 soners were sent by Jackson. 
 
 It was whilst on the journey to Natchez, that the 
 Major stopped at night at the hospitable mansion of Mr. 
 Sauve, a sugar planter, residing some twelve or fifteen 
 miles above New Orleans, by whom he was invited to 
 take a seat at the family supper table. One of Mr. 
 Sauve'a daughters, now the estimable Mrs. Trudeau, 
 was then in the bloom of her beauty, and the admira- 
 tion of the country around for her many charms and 
 accomplishments. The Major being a gallant and re- 
 fined gentleman, who spoke French fluently, soon be- 
 came engaged in a lively conversation with the beautiful 
 Creole. Allusion having been made, in the course ot 
 this conversation, to Jackson's army, Miss Sauve spoke 
 with great enthusiasm of a party of Tennesseeans, whom 
 her father had entertained a few days before. The cir- 
 cumstances of his capture still preying upon the mind 
 of the haughty Briton, he could not refrain from observ- 
 ing to her " Miss, it astonishes me that one so refined 
 can find pleasure in the society of such rude barba- 
 rians." 
 
 " Major," replied the high-spirited Creole belle, " I 
 had rather be the wife of one of those hardy and coarsely- 
 clad, but brave and honest men, who have marched 
 through a wilderness of two thousand miles to fight for 
 the honor of their country, than to wear an English 
 coronet." 
 
 Let us return to our narrative of the events of the 23d. 
 Jackson, seeing it impossible to effect anything further, 
 owing to the heavy fog which now enveloped the field, 
 had drawn off the men of his division and posted them 
 among Laronde's buildings. Coffee, following this
 
 186 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 movement, had inclined the same direction, and taken 
 up position nearly on Jackson's left. Before, however, 
 all the men of the two divisions could be assembled to- 
 gether at these points many detachments and small 
 parties had wandered off from the main lines and con- 
 tinued the combat in various parts of the field, to the 
 great annoyance of the British, who, with such enemies, 
 never knew when the battle ended. In these detached 
 operations many deeds of personal daring were per- 
 formed, which have no place in history. Swords were 
 crossed and bayonets locked ; pistols were used at a few 
 paces. It was a night of duels. Many men, who had 
 never been engaged in personal combats before, were 
 that night transformed into heroes, and fought like prac- 
 ticed veterans. Many whose whole careers since have 
 been characterized by the greatest gentleness and peace- 
 fulness, were that night as ferocious as tigers and brave 
 as lions. The present generation can scarcely realize the 
 truth of history, when they see in those mild, gentle and 
 amiable old men, who on public anniversaries assemble 
 around the tattered and time-worn banner of the " Vete- 
 rans of 1814 and '15," the survivor? of the terrible scenes 
 of that memorable night-battle. A British officer, who 
 participated in this bloody aciion, bears the following 
 graphic testimony to its severity and sanguinary char- 
 acter : 
 
 "In wandering over the field, the most shocking and disgusting 
 sights everywhere presented themselves. I have frequently beheld 
 a greater number of dead bodies in as small a compass, though these, 
 indeed, were numerous enough; but wounds more disfiguring or 
 more horrible I certainly never witnessed. A man shot through 
 the head or heart, lies as if he were in deep slumber, insomuch that 
 when you gaze upon him, you experience little less than pity. But
 
 BATTLE OF DECEMBER 23, 1814. 187 
 
 tf these, many had met their death from bayonet wounds, sabre 
 cuts, or heavy blows from the butt-ends of musket8, and the con- 
 sequence was, that not only were the wounds themselves exceed- 
 ingly frightful, but the very countenances of the dead exhibited 
 the most savage and ghastly expressions. Friends and foes lay to- 
 gether in small groups of five or six nor was it difficult to tell the 
 very hand by which some of them had fallen. Nay, such had been 
 the deadly closeness of the strife, that, in one or two places, an 
 English and American soldier might be seen with the bayonet of 
 each fastened in the other's body." 
 
 Jackson had accomplished more than he expected by 
 this attack. He had not destroyed the British, but he 
 had impressed them with a proper awe and respect for 
 him. He had given them the first of a series of blows, 
 which he felt satisfied would eventuate in their rout. 
 He had in a few hours made his raw levies veterans. 
 They were now ready and eager for service. They had 
 been under fire. All that indecision and nervousness of 
 fresh troops, when first subjected to this test, had been 
 supplanted by cool courage, confidence and self-reliance. 
 A few hours of real service had supplied months, nay 
 years, of theoretical training. Besides, the enemy were 
 astounded by the vigor of the attack, and erroneously 
 ascribed it to the overwhelming force of Jackson, 
 Keane, in his dispatch, magnifies Jackson's army into 
 five thousand men. Whatever might be its number, it 
 was evident that it was quite a different army so 
 Thornton and the men of the 85th and 4th thought 
 from that which they encountered at Bladensburg. " This 
 boldly attacking us in our camp is a new feature in 
 American warfare," was the general observation of the 
 British officers. Such an attack was well calculated to 
 make the British General pause and determine to delay 
 his advance until his whole force had come up from the
 
 188 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Lake. He never imagined that with the troops which 
 had reached him before the battle was over, he could 
 have outnumbered and overwhelmed Jackson, and 
 marched into the city. Hence the great importance of 
 the battle of the 23d. It was the master-stroke of 
 Jackson's genius. It was entirely his own idea and 
 plan. Many of his officer^ deemed it the height of rash- 
 ness. But all were willing to follow him, and when 
 his spirit animated them fears and doubts disappeared. 
 
 In the execution of his plan, he was ably seconded by 
 his officers. No men conld have behaved better than 
 Coffee, Piatt, Plauche, Peire, D'Aquin, McRea, and 
 others. Coffee appeared to be in every part of his ex- 
 tended line at the same time. Cool and self-possessed, 
 he kept his men well together, and restrained, within 
 the bounds of prudence, the natural impetuosity of the 
 frontier-fighter, which is continually pushing him for- 
 ward to fight " on his own hook." The Tennesseeans 
 fought with great steadiness and gallantry. No body 
 of men could have behaved better than the 7th Infantry, 
 under the gallant Creole officer Major Peire, a native 
 of New Orleans. The 44th, a younger and newer regi- 
 ment, under Captain Baker, had a very severe service 
 and exposed situation, being compelled continually to 
 oblique to the left to prevent the British from outflank- 
 ing them. This duty they performed with great valor 
 and steadiness. Plaudit's Battalion bore itself with 
 the most brilliant courage, and moved with the preci- 
 sion of regulars, forming into battalion under a heavy 
 fire, and charging the enemy until he was forced buck. 
 D'Aquin supported Plauche promptly and efficiently 
 with his Battalion of Free colored men The marines 
 on the river were very efficient in protecting the artil-
 
 BATTLE OF DECEMBEE 23, 18.14. 189 
 
 leiy, which, during the whole action, played with great 
 effect upon the enemy's camp. Owing to the numerous 
 ditches and fences, Hinds' Dragoons were not brought 
 into action, but maintained their position in the centre 
 of Laronde's plantation. Nor did the British bear them- 
 selves with less than their usual valor on this occasion. 
 Though surprised and taken at great disadvantage, the 
 veterans of the Peninsular campaigns sustained the re- 
 putation which they had won in a hundred combats 
 with Napoleon's renowned armies. From the nature of 
 the combat, the officers had to take the lead in fighting, 
 and they were always in their places. Their heavy loss 
 proves the severity of the conflict and the ardor of both 
 officers and men. The British had at least four hundred 
 officers and men placed hors du combat in this affair. 
 Their repQrted loss was three hundred and five killed, 
 wounded and missing.* The number of the latter was 
 eighty-five. The American loss was twenty-four killed, 
 and one hundred and fifteen wounded and seventy-four 
 prisoners in all two hundred and thirteen. 
 
 Among the Americans no loss was more deeply 
 lamented than that of Lieutenant Colonel Lauderdale, 
 of Coffee's Brigade, who fell in the charge on Lacoste's 
 huts, by the ball of one of the 95th Rifles. Lauderdale 
 was an officer of high promise, of undaunted courage, 
 great address, and decided military capacity. He had 
 served with distinction under Coffee in the Indian wars, 
 and enjoyed the warm admiration and confidence of 
 Jackson. Lieutenant McClelland, who, at the head of 
 the 7th, fell whilst leading the charge and opening the 
 action, was esteemed one of the most energetic and 
 
 *The author of the "Campaigns, etc.," states the British loss at five hundred.
 
 190 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 promising officers of that gallant regiment, which, from 
 its origin to the present day, has maintained its reputa- 
 tion unsullied. 
 
 The British, too, lost some of their best officers. In 
 addition to Major Harris, of the 85th, acting as Major 
 of the Brigade, Captain Grey, another excellent officer 
 of the same corps, was also killed by a rifle ball, des- 
 cribed as so small that it scarcely left a mark on the 
 forehead which it had penetrated. The 21st lost an 
 excellent officer, a Captain Corsan, and the 4th a dis- 
 tinguished Peninsular hero in Captain Johnstone. Lieu- 
 tenant John Souther, of the same regiment, was also 
 killed. Of the severely wounded, there were Lieute- 
 nant Colonel Stoven, since Sir Frederick Stoven, Assist- 
 ant Adjutant-General ; Major Hooper, also Assistant 
 Adjutant-General, who lost a leg, and Lieutenant Delacy 
 Evans, of the 3d Dragoons, Deputy Assistant Quarter- 
 Master General, an officer who has since acquired dis- 
 tinction as Sir Delacy Evans, a prominent member of 
 the House of Commons of Great Britain, as General of 
 a Spanish Legion in the Carlist revolution, and late 
 commander of one of the divisions in the British army 
 in the expedition to the Crimea, Lieutenant J. Christie, 
 of the Royal artillery ; Moody, of the 4th ; Captain Knox, 
 Lieutenants Willings, Maunsell and Hickson, of the 
 85th, Captain William, Lieutenants Forbes and Farmer, 
 of the 95th, were all severely wounded, several losing 
 limbs and being incapacitated for further service. Major 
 Mitchell, of the 95th, Lieutenant "VY. Walker, and en- 
 sign Ashlier, of the 85th, were taken prisoners. 
 
 The author of the narrative of British Campaigns at 
 Washington and New Orleans, presents the following 
 harrowing picture of the spectacle, which was exhibited
 
 BATTLE OF DECEMBER 23, 1814. 191 
 
 by the British Hospital, after the battle of the 23d. We 
 should remark that General Keane had vacated Yillere's 
 house, and the hospital had been established there : 
 
 "Every room in the house was crowded with wretches, mangled, 
 and apparently in the most excruciating agonies. Prayers, groans, 
 and, I grieve to add, the most horrid imprecations smote upon the 
 ear, wherever I turned. Some lay at length upon the straw, with 
 eyes half closed and limbs motionless ; some endeavored to start 
 up, shrieking with pain, while the wandering eye and incoherent 
 speech of others, indicated the loss of reason, and usually foretold, 
 the approach of death. But there was one among the rest, whoso 
 appearance was too terrible ever to be forgotten. He had been 
 shot through the windpipe, and the breath making its way between 
 the skin and the flesh, had dilated him to a size absolutely terrific. 
 His head and face were particularly shocking. Every feature was 
 enlarged beyond what can well be imagined, while his eyes were 
 completely hidden by the cheeks and the forehead, as to destroy 
 all resemblance to an human countenance. Passing through the 
 apartments where the private soldiers lay, I next came to those 
 occupied by officers. Of these there were five or six in one small 
 room, to whom little better accommodations could be provided 
 than to their inferiors. It was a sight peculiarly distressing, be- 
 cause all of them chanced to be personal acquaintances of my own. 
 One had been shot in the head and lay gasping and insensible. 
 Another had recived a musket ball in the belly, which had passed 
 through and lodged in the backbone. The former appeared to 
 suffer but little, giving no signs of life, except what a heavy breath- 
 ing produced ; the latter was in the most dreadful agony, scream- 
 ing out and gnawing the covering under which lie lay. There 
 were many others there, some severely and others slightly hurt." 
 
 As to the forces engaged on the 23d, the usual estimates 
 are very erroneous. Jackson marched from the city 
 in the afternoon of the 23d with 2132 men and two 
 cannons. Deducting the men left in charge of Coffee's 
 horses and Hinds' Dragoons, there were not 1800 men
 
 192 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 engaged. This was very near the number of the British 
 advance which had reached the river at noon. "When 
 it is considered that the troops on the one side were 
 entirely new levies, few of the regulars having been in 
 action, the disparity will be very glaring. But during 
 the action the British were reinforced. After the depart- 
 ure of Thornton with the advance from Pea Island, a 
 large portion of the remainder of Keane's army were 
 placed in the small schooners and gun-boats, which fol- 
 lowed the flotilla and arrived near the mouth of the 
 Bienvenu about four o'clock in the afternoon. There 
 they were met by the returning boats and barges, and 
 were speedily disembarked. 
 
 Proceeding up the bayou, these troops, comprising a 
 part of Brook's Brigade, could distinctly hear the firing 
 of the Carolina, which announced the commencement 
 of the battle. Pressing forward with all has$> they 
 reached the field in time to take part in the action. The 
 93d Highlanders were the first to gain the camp, and a 
 detachment of them was met by orders from Keane, to 
 push forward with bayonets against Coffee's line, which 
 was hastening to join the American right. They did 
 not succeed, however, in reaching Coffee, who, after de- 
 livering a heavy fire, continued to oblique towards the 
 position which he afterwards maintained. Four com- 
 panies of the 21st also arrived in time to protect the 
 British right. From these facts, which are admitted in 
 Keane's report of the action of the 23d, it will be seen 
 that besides Thornton's advance of 1800 men, there were 
 four companies of the 21st and several of the 93d, actu- 
 ally engaged, making the whole number of the British 
 army on the night of the 23d, about twenty-five hun- 
 dred men. This estimate is confirmed by the dispatch
 
 BATTLE OF DECEMBER 23, 1814. 
 
 of Sir Alexander Cochrane. This inequality, however, 
 was more than compensated by the efficiency of the 
 batteries of the Carolina, which, during the whole ac- 
 tion, kept up its fire on the British camp, and continued 
 it long after the battle was over. 
 
 The newly arrived troops encamped as they came 
 upon the field, extending from the woods as far towards 
 the river, that the advance, by wheeling up, might 
 complete the line from the river to the swamp. But the 
 advance was still fastened to the levee by that unspar- 
 ing schooner, whose batteries seemed in one continual 
 blaze, and whose grape-shot rained on the field like 
 hail. It was only when all the fires were extinguished 
 and perfect darkness shrouded the field, that the Caro- 
 lina weighed anchor and moved to the other side of the 
 river, keeping, however, a close eye on the British all 
 the while. 
 
 Keane's army passed a miserable night. The men lay 
 on the damp ground without any covering, exposed to 
 a thick fog, which appeared to combine all the discom- 
 forts of rain and frost. Few were allowed to sleep even 
 under these uncomfortable circumstances, a large num- 
 ber being required for outpost duty, and attendance on 
 the wounded. Comfortless as the night was, the British 
 had but little satisfaction in anticipating the break of 
 day, as it would only expose their position to the fire of 
 the schooner, which had already so grievously distressed 
 them. 
 
 And so it proved, though even worse than was appre- 
 hended. On the morning of the 24th, the Louisiana, a 
 merchant ship, fitted up as a war vessel, joined the Ca- 
 rolina, and as soon as light exposed the British camp, 
 both' vessels opened their batteries with most destruc- 
 
 9
 
 194: JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 tive effect All that day was the British advance com- 
 pelled to cling to the protection of the levee, so that 
 even parties that were sent out to collect the wounded 
 and bury the dead, were frequently compelled to aban- 
 don these duties. 
 
 Such was the pitiable condition of the British army 
 from its arrival until the night of the 24th, when the 
 men were ordered to withdraw from the levee and en- 
 camp behind the sugar-house and outbuildings of La- 
 coste. Acccordingly they filed off to the right, com- 
 pany by company, and passing through the village of 
 negro huts, established themselves in the field beyond, 
 interposing the chateau, the out-buildings, sugar-house 
 and negro huts between them and their untiring perse- 
 cutors. A small picket was left to occupy the levee 
 and river bank. This movement secured the British 
 some comfort and peace, of which they immediately 
 commenced to avail themselves by lighting fires and 
 cooking their suppers. Many of them had become so 
 cramped with cold and inaction, during their supine 
 position under the levee, that they found it necessary to 
 rub their limbs with spirits before the circulation of 
 blood could be restored. 
 
 What in the meantime had Jackson done with his 
 little army ? Satisfied, indeed elated with the results 
 of the action of the 23d, Jackson determined to estab- 
 lish his camp right in front of the British. Leaving the 
 7th Infantry and a company of Dragoons at La Ronde's, 
 he fell back nearer the city to Rodriguez' Canal, where 
 the men proceeded to entrench themselves in such rude 
 and inartificial manner as might occur to raw soldiers. 
 The whole of the 24th was thus consumed. Sending to 
 town for all the spades and other instruments suitable
 
 BATTLE OF DECEMBER 23, 1814. 195 
 
 for digging, the men set to work with the greatest viva- 
 city, widening the canal and throwing up the dirt on 
 the bank nearest to the city. Though the great majority 
 of them were unused to manual toil, there was no want of 
 zeal or energy in their work. A rivalry sprung up, which 
 could build the highest mound in front of his position or 
 dig the ditch deepest. Each soldier claimed the mound in 
 his front as his " castle," and such was the value attached 
 to these " castles" that the General was induced to 
 countermand an order he had given for the whole line 
 to incline to the left to make room for a small reinforce- 
 ment, by the strong remonstrance of the soldiers, who 
 placed a higher value on their own than their neighbor's 
 work. The results of this zealous industry were sur- 
 prising. On the 24th the whole front of Jackson's line 
 was pretty well covered by a mound of three or more 
 feet high. On the extreme right the two six pounders, 
 which had been used on the 23d, were placed in battery, 
 so as to command the road. 
 
 On that very day, the 24th December, 1814, the treaty 
 of peace between Great Britain and the United States 
 was completed and duly signed at Ghent by the com- 
 missioners of the two nations. It is a painful reflection 
 that all the scenes of strife and bloodshed which we 
 shall describe occurred after the two countries had, 
 through their representatives, established and agreed 
 upon a firm and lasting peace and friendship. The 
 reproach and responsibility of such unnatural and un- 
 fortunate events must ever attach to that nation which, 
 during the discussion and negotiation of a treaty of 
 peace, secretly fitted out and dispatched a warlike expe- 
 dition against the nation with which it was then holding 
 a parley.
 
 196 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 It was in strengthening these entrenchments and in 
 burnishing their arms, the soldiers of Jackson spent that 
 day which they were wont to devote to social pleasures 
 and festivities, and which was associated in their memo- 
 ries and hearts with the tenderest and most delightful 
 scenes of domestic life and social peace and happiness. 
 A stern sense of duty and an ardent patriotism sustained 
 them under discomforts and deprivations, which were 
 rendered more palpable from contrast with the cus- 
 tomary festivities and light-hearted merriments which, 
 among all Christian people, mark the recurrence of the 
 anniversary of the great founder of Christianity.
 
 SIR EDWARD PACKENHAM. 197 
 
 X. 
 
 SIB EDWARD PACKENHAM. 
 
 IT would be difficult to imagine a gloomier day than 
 the Christmas of eighteen hundred and fourteen, aa 
 passed by the sons of Merrie England, in their damp, 
 miserable, exposed and desolate camp on the plantation 
 of Yillere". The few luxuries, which an extended pre- 
 datory search of the neighboring plantations had enabled 
 them to collect on the first day after their arrival, in the 
 enjoyment of which they had been so disagreeably in- 
 terrupted by their active enemy, were exhausted, and 
 now officers and soldiers were reduced to the very worst 
 kind of salt provisions and weevily biscuit. Such sap- 
 plies for such troops were certainly discreditable to their 
 commissariat. Fortunately, however, they were vete- 
 rans, and could bear up against every hardship and 
 deprivation. 
 
 Under these circumstances, it would have displayed 
 marvelous philosophy and equanimity in the British 
 soldiers, if even the genial associations of Christmas 
 could have imparted a ray of cheerfulness to the gather- 
 ing gloom which hung over the camp and enveloped the 
 minds of officers and men. 
 
 The spirits of the soldiers had been greatly depressed 
 since the action of the 23d. All that remained to sus- 
 tain them was the morale and discipline for which the
 
 198 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 British soldiers, particularly the veterans of the Penin- 
 sula, are so distinguished. Besides, they were slightly 
 encouraged by intimations of expected reinforcements, 
 which would render their entrance into the city certain 
 and glorious. Amid all their disasters and difficulties, 
 the conquerors of Napoleon's veterans could not bring 
 their minds to regard it possible, or within the decree of 
 Providence, that they should be foiled, prostrated, routed 
 and disgraced by raw militia, led by an Indian fighter, 
 who was ignorant of even the first rudiments of military 
 science. 
 
 In all circumstances, and conditions,, too, men of the 
 Saxon and Celtic stock will divide into parties and 
 factions and engage in feuds and controversies. The 
 British camp was not free from these dissensions. They 
 turned chiefly upon the wisdom of General Keane's 
 course in his mode of landing, and in delaying to advance 
 upon the city. Keane's friends and adherents defended 
 liim by hinting that the honor of achieving the great 
 result was reserved for some more distinguished person- 
 age and pet of the ministry. The grade and previous 
 service of General Keane, then quite a young officer, 
 and the fact that he had been sent out as second to Hoss, 
 evinced very clearly that it was not the intention of the 
 British Cabinet to entrust him with so important a com- 
 mand. 
 
 Some greater personage was hourly expected, and 
 there, on the bleak and cheerless plain, the army would 
 be detained until he arrived to lead them into the city. 
 It would be fortunate for the military reputation of 
 General Keane if this suggestion of his friends were 
 founded on fact. It would relieve him of a heavy load 
 of censure, which has always attached to his military
 
 BIB EDWA1O) PACKENHAM. 199 
 
 character, from the apparent want of decision, prompti- 
 tude and military sagacity displayed in his failure to 
 advance, on his arrival on the banks of the Mississippi, 
 and in his inactivity after the battle of the twenty-third. 
 
 These blunders were felt, acknowledged and discussed 
 by every soldier in the British camp, and though excused 
 and palliated by the pretexts alluded to, they produced 
 a want of confidence in the General, and a desire for 
 some more experienced and renowned chief to lead 
 them. 
 
 Such a chief appeared in the British camp quite 
 suddenly on the morning of that gloomy Christmas, and 
 by his presence communicated relief, hope, and even 
 vivacity to the dejected spirits of the army. And well 
 might such a presence produce such effects upon the 
 veterans of Wellington, for among the commanders, 
 whom the brilliant campaigns of Spain had brought 
 into conspicuous notice, there was not one who enjoyed 
 more of the esteem, respect, and admiration of the Bri- 
 tish soldiers, than the Hero of Salamanca, the Hon. Sir 
 Edward M. Packenham, Lieutenant General and Colonel 
 of the 7th Foot (Royal Fusiliers). Sir Edward was a 
 son of the Earl of Longford, of the county of Antrim, 
 L*eland whose daughter had been married to the Duke 
 of "Wellington. The family has always been noted for 
 military ardor and heroism, and has contributed several 
 distinguished commanders to both the army and navy 
 of Great Britain. Quite recently the nephew and 
 namesake of Sir Edward, Lieut. Colonel Edward Pack- 
 enham, of the Grenadier Guards, fell gallantly fighting 
 at the head of his regiment in the bloody battle of 
 Inkermann on the 5th of November, 1854. He had 
 previous!^ won a brevet and the warm praise of his
 
 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 commander by his gallantry at the battle of Alma, 
 where, leading his company, he was the first to leap 
 over the enclosure of the most formidable of the Rus- 
 sian batteries, and was seen quietly scratching the name 
 of his regiment, the number of his company, with the 
 point of his sword on the gun he had taken. 
 
 The Earldom of Longford is of modern creation, one 
 of those which had sprung up in Ireland during the 
 troubles, incident to the subjugation of that island, when 
 England sought to supersede the native aristocracy, by 
 ennobling the successful soldiers, who settled the subject 
 province. Thus originated the Earldom from which 
 that gallant soldier, who was sent to Louisiana, as 
 his ancestor had been sent to Ireland, to reduce a free 
 people into vassalage to a foreign power, derived all the 
 consideration, which was due to rank and family. He 
 possessed, however, a just title to a higher consideration 
 and respect, as a gentleman, a gallant soldier, and kind- 
 hearted man. The title was to be found, in a career of 
 great brilliancy, of constant, severe, painful and perilous 
 service, in the profession in which, when quite a boy, he 
 embarked with all the ardor and ambition characteristic 
 of Irish birth and education. He did not owe his 
 advancement to the influence of family and friends. 
 He fought his way up, round by round, and marked 
 each grade with some honorable wound, so that ere he 
 had reached the meridian of life and of military ad- 
 vancement, his body was scrolled over with such insignia 
 of gallantry and good conduct. Few officers had en- 
 countered more perils and hardships, or suffered from 
 more wounds. Entering the army as lieutenant of 23d 
 Light Dragoons, he soon rose to the rank of Major. In 
 the storming of the fort on the island of St. Lucie, West
 
 SIR EDWARD PACKENHAM. 201 
 
 Indies, in 1796, Major Packenhain volunteered to lead 
 the attacking columns. The charge was a brilliant and 
 successful one, but the young leader was badly wounded, 
 receiving a ball through his neck. In the same neigh- 
 borhood, in the expedition to Martinique, in 1806, having 
 been promoted to the command of that renowned regi- 
 ment, the 7th Fusiliers, he was again badly wounded at 
 the head of the Fusiliers.* 
 
 During the Peninsular war, Packenham was in con- 
 stant service, by the side of Wellington, and as Brigadier 
 of that impetuous Welshman, General Picton. Towards 
 the close of the war he was appointed Adjutant-General, 
 at the request of "Wellington. Throughout the army 
 of the Peninsula, he was admired and beloved by both 
 officers and men. We have not space to describe'all the 
 brilliant actions in which he participated, but a few of 
 the incidents of his career may not be uninteresting to 
 those who have been accustomed to regard him with 
 hostility and prejudice, as the leader of an expedition 
 which wae neither honorable in its design, nor glorious 
 in its conclusion. 
 
 The brilliant courage of Sir Edward Packenham was 
 never more conspicuously displayed than in the horrible 
 and bloody night attack of the British, on the strongly- 
 defended walls and fort of Badajoz. On that occasion 
 the storming party was for sometime mowed down with 
 merciless severity, before any one of the soldiers could 
 reach the walls. At last, however, a few scattered men, 
 who had escaped, succeeding in planting three ladders 
 
 * It is a remarkable fact, recorded by Guthrie in his worV t.n gunshot wounds, lha 
 the last mentioned wound repaired one of the effects of the 'revious wound recei re<\ by 
 Packenham at St. Lucie. On both occasions he was shot u the neck. The first wound 
 when it healed, drew hig head on one side, but the second restored it to its orip inal 
 position. 
 
 9* -
 
 202 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 against the walls. As fast as the men mounted these 
 ladders they would be shot down by the French soldiers 
 on the parapet. In some cases the ladders broke, and 
 many of the British soldiers were precipitated below and 
 impaled upon the bayonets of their companions. Sir 
 Edward Packenham was the second man to mount one 
 of these ladders, being preceded by a gallant High- 
 lander, Lieutenant McPherson, of the 45th. Both 
 arrived unharmed within a few rounds of the top, when 
 McPherson discovered that the ladder was about three 
 feet too short. Still undaunted, the gallant young man 
 called loudly to those below, to raise the ladder more 
 perpendicular. "Whilst he with great exertion parted it 
 from the wall at the top, the men with a loud cheer 
 brought it quickly nearer to the base. This was done 
 so suddenly, that McPherson was on a level with the 
 rampart before he could prepare for defence. He saw 
 a French soldier deliberately point his musket against 
 his body and without power to strike it aside, he had to 
 receive the fire. The ball struck one of th*e Spanish 
 silver buttons on his waistcoat, which it broke in half. 
 This changed its direction and caused it to glance off, 
 not however, before it had broken two ribs, the fractured 
 part of one being pressed in on his lungs so as almost to 
 stop respiration. Still he did not fall, but continued to 
 hold on by the upper round of the ladder, conceiving 
 that he was wounded, but ignorant to what extent. He 
 could not, however, advance. Packenham strove to pass 
 him, but in the effort was also badly wounded, a French 
 soldier firing a musket into his body, at a distance of 
 three or four feet. Almost at the same time, the ladder 
 cracked beneath them. Destruction seemed inevitable. 
 Before them on the ramparts stood a line of French
 
 SIR EDWABD PACKENHAM. 203 
 
 soldiers presenting their muskets ; beneath, their own 
 friends crowded together, formed a C/^uauxde-frise of 
 bayonets. Even at such a perilous and awful moment, 
 the presence of mind of these two brave men did not 
 desert them. Packenham grasping the hand of the 
 wounded McPherson, said " God bless you my dear 
 fellow, we shall meet again." 
 
 They did meet again, but not as Packenham meant, 
 for they marvelously escaped, and recovering from their 
 wounds, were enabled to perform many acts of conspi- 
 cuous gallantry in the events which followed. 
 
 As Brigadier of the " Old Fighting Third," the divi 
 sion of Wellington's army so famous for its daring under 
 the lead of Picton, the sickness of the chief devolved 
 upon Packenham the command of the division on the 
 eve of the battle of Salamanca When Picton heard 
 who was to command his division, he observed, " I am 
 glad he is to lead my brave fellows ; they will have 
 plenty of their favorite sport." In this battle Welling- 
 ton opened the fight by riding up to Packenham at the 
 head of the Third Division ordering him to move for- 
 ward, take the heights in front and drive everything 
 before him. 
 
 " Give me one grasp of that all-conquering hand," 
 exclaimed the enthusiastic Packenham, who entertained 
 for his chief a most chivalric and ardent attachment, 
 " and I WILL." How he redeemed this pledge is thus 
 vigorously and graphically described by Alison : 
 
 " It was five o'clock when Packenham fell on Thormiere, who, 
 BO far from being prepared for such an onset, had just reached an 
 open hill, the last of the ridge over which he had extended, from 
 whence he expected to see the allied army in full retreat to Cieudad 
 Rodrigo, and Closely pursued by Marmont, defiling in the valley
 
 204 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 before him. To effect a change of front in such circumstances, was 
 impossible. All that could be done was to resist instantly, as they 
 stood. The British columns formed into line as they marched, so 
 that the moment they came in sight of the enemy, they were 
 ready to charge. In an instant the French gunners were at their 
 pieces, and a cloud of light troops hastened to the front, and endea- 
 vored by a rapid fire to cover the formation of the troops behind. 
 Vain attempt ! Eight onward through the storms of bullets did the 
 British, led by the heroic Packenham, advance ; the light troops are 
 dispersed before them like chaff before the wind ; the half-formed 
 lines are broken into fragments; Durban's Portuguese Cavalry, 
 supported by Harvey's English Dragoons, and Arentchild's German 
 Horse, turned their right flank, scrambled up the steep sides of a 
 bush-fringed stream, which flowed behind the ridge, yet not at first 
 in confusion, but skillfully, like gallant veterans, seizing every suc- 
 cessive wood and hill which offered the means of arresting the 
 enemy. Gradually, however, the reflux and pressing together of 
 BO large a body, by enemies at once in front and in flank, threw 
 their array into confusion ; their cavalry were routed and driven 
 among the foot. Thormiere himself was killed whilst striving to 
 stem the torrent; the allied cavalry broke like a flood into the 
 openings of the infantry, and his whole division was thrown back, 
 entirely routed, on Clansel's, which was hurrying up to its aid, with 
 the loss of three thousand prisoners." 
 
 Of this brilliant action Packenham was emphatically 
 the hero, and for his service on this occasion was knighted. 
 
 Nor was Sir Edward Packenham less distinguished for 
 his high honor, chivalry, and humanity, than for his 
 courage and daring. As his name has been associated 
 with the imputed design of sacking New Orleans, and 
 perpetrating upon its peaceful population the most 
 brutal and infamous excesses, which design was em- 
 bodied in the alleged war-cry .of the British army 
 "Beauty and booty" a cry not inconsistent with the 
 character which a portion of the army had acquired on
 
 BIB EDWAED PACZENHAM. 205 
 
 the shores of the Chesapeake, and in the Peninsular war, 
 we take pleasure in referring to the antecedents of Pack- 
 enham, to rebut all presumption that he was cognizant 
 of, or would have given the slightest sanction to, such 
 disgraceful purposes. How he would have acted to- 
 wards any of his command, who might have been 
 implicated in such outrages, may be inferred from his 
 conduct in Spain, when entering a town, in which cer- 
 tain French citizens had been outraged by some British 
 soldiers, he caused the latter to be hung on the spot, 
 " thereby," says Napier, " nipping the wickedness in the 
 bud, but at his own risk, for legally he had not the 
 power." Napier has thought proper to add, with the 
 commendable feeling of a soldier defending a brother 
 in arms: "This General, whose generosity, humanity 
 and chivalric spirit excited the admiration of every 
 honorable person who approached him, has been/ foully 
 traduced by American writers. He who was preemi- 
 nently distinguished for his detestation of inhumanity 
 and outrage, has been, with astounding falsehood, repre- 
 sented as instigating his troops to the most infamous 
 excesses." 
 
 Napier evidently errs in assuming for the Commander, 
 a charge against many of his subordinates, who, as may 
 be proved by documents now extant, freely declared the 
 predatory purposes of the expedition. Besides, the cir- 
 cumstances of the enterprise undertaken as it was, 
 whilst the commissioners of both nations were engaged 
 in negotiations, to establish peace between the two 
 countries on a permanent and satisfactory basis will 
 ever give it a questionable character, and lead all im- 
 partial persons to believe that its main purpose was 
 booty the appropriation of the fifteen millions of the
 
 206 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 produce of the peaceful industry of the country, to the 
 enrichment of rude soldiers, whose lives had been 
 devoted to the destruction rather than to the increase 
 of the wealth of the world. Gallant, generous and high- 
 minded, as he personally was, Packenham's name and 
 fame cannot be considered as entirely free from the 
 reproach, which must attach to all those who were asso- 
 ciated in an expedition prompted by such motives. 
 Certainly, Sir William Napier would not deny what the 
 pages of his own incomparable history so abundantly 
 prove, that the British soldiers were not only capable 
 of, but prone to the excesses which, it has so often been 
 charged, were to follow the capture of New Orleans. 
 Frequently, in the towns in the Peninsula, the Spaniards 
 found better protection from their enemies, the French, 
 than from their allies, the British soldiers. The actors 
 in the scenes at Cumberland Island, at Hampton, Alex- 
 andria and "Washington City ; the incendiaries of libra- 
 ries, of printing presses, of private property of every 
 description ; the mutilators of public monuments, could 
 hardly complain, if suspected of too strong an appetite 
 for the rich booty which was heaped up in the great 
 depot of the Yalley of the Mississippi. 
 
 This charge against the originators and projectors of 
 the expedition to New Orleans, as one for plunder and 
 spoils, is too well established now to be questioned. 
 British testimony alone is sufficient to prove the truth 
 of these allegations. This may not be an unappropriate 
 place to quote a few authorities from that source. Major 
 Cook of the British 43d, who was engaged in the ex- 
 pedition to New Orleans, and has written a lively work 
 on this campaign, which has been well received in Eng- 
 land, says : " Notwithstanding all these natural draw-
 
 SIR EDWARD PACKENHAM. 2u7 
 
 backs the city of New Orleans with its valuable booty 
 of merchandise was craved by the British to grasp such 
 a prize, by a coup de main" In another place he 
 remarks, " the warehouses of the city were amply stored 
 with cotton to a vast amount, and also sugar, molasses, 
 tobacco and other products of this prolific soil." 
 
 The author of the campaigns of the British at Wash- 
 ington, Batimore, and New Orleans says: "And it 
 appears that instead of a trifling affair, more likely to fill 
 our pockets than to add to our renown, we had embarked 
 in an undertaking, which presented difficulties not to be 
 surmounted without patience and determination." A let- 
 ter from Colonel Malcolm, at Cumberland Island, to his 
 brother the Bear Admiral in the fleet, under Cochrane, 
 which was intercepted by an American cruiser, express- 
 ing the hope that the writer would soon hear of the 
 capture of New Orleans, adds : ' It will repay the troops 
 for all their trouble and fatigue.' Mr. Glover, a British 
 employee, in a letter found in the same package, to 
 Oaptain Westphall, mingles prescience and avarice in 
 the following apprehension : ' My forebodings will not 
 allow me to anticipate either honor or profit to the ex- 
 pedition.' ' : 
 
 History, however, must acquit Sir Edward Packen- 
 ham of any motives or design of plunder or brutality, 
 in accepting this command. It was, doubtless, in the 
 discharge of what he deemed his duty, and to gratify 
 what he regarded an honorable ambition, that he came 
 to assume the Governorship of Louisiana, and, with it, 
 the Earldom, that was to reward his conquest of a Pro- 
 vince, which Great Britain had long entertained an 
 ardent desire to possess. We do not believe that the 
 English Government would have allowed Sir Edward's
 
 208 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 modesty or chivalry to prevail over the necessity of 
 supporting this new Earldom by some adequate moneyed 
 allowance ; nor that they would have regarded it as at 
 all improper to apply to that object, a large share of the 
 fifteen millions of cotton and sugar then in the ware- 
 houses of New Orleans. If one of " the greatest soldiers, 
 Englishmen and Christians, that ever lived,'* as Sir Wil- 
 liam Napier has styled his distinguished relative, the 
 conqueror of Scinde, in a funeral oration, recently deli- 
 vered at the burial of that heroic soldier (no less 
 remarkable for its extravagance, than its terseness), did 
 not sully his laurels by enriching himself out of the 
 spoils, the treasure, the jewels and precious metals of 
 the subjugated Ameers, certainly his historian will not 
 include us in the class of American writers who have 
 "traduced" the memory and fame of Packenham, for 
 intimating that his successful entrance into the city of 
 New Orleans would have supplied all those deficiencies 
 of fortune, which too often mark the condition of meri- 
 torious younger sons of the nobility of Great Britain. 
 
 With Sir Edward came, as second in command, Major 
 General Samuel Gibbs, Colonel of the 59th Foot, a very 
 active and experienced officer, who had greatly distin- 
 guished himself in the East, and particularly in the 
 storming of Fort Cornelius, on the island of Java, and in 
 the Peninsular war. There were also several distin- 
 guished staff, engineer, and artillery officers, who came 
 with Sir Edward Packenham. 
 
 It has quite recently since the death of the Duke 
 of Wellington and the publication of his letters come 
 to light, that the project was seriously discussed in the 
 British cabinet of placing Wellington at the head of 
 the expedition to New Orleans, and that he manifested
 
 SIB EDWARD PACKENIIAM. 209 
 
 no reluctance to undertake the enterprise. In one of hia 
 letters, recently published, he refers to the subject, say- 
 ing he would cheerfully accept the duty, if it was 
 imposed upon him, gives some very crude views of the 
 manner in which the war should be conducted, and 
 declares his belief that the troops he had seen embark 
 for America at Bordeaux, in the summer of 1814, must 
 be very badly handled if they did not prove victors in 
 any contest in which they might be engaged. Fortunate 
 decision of the British Cabinet!* Wellington was re- 
 tained at home. The ministry, however, sent some of 
 his ablest lieutenants upon whose brows the laurels 
 of Spain were destined to be supplanted by the cypress 
 of Louisiana to execute the plan of operations of their 
 great chief. Ross had fallen on the banks of the 
 Petapsco, and Packenham was sent to take his place. 
 
 Favoring winds brought him swiftly to the scenes of 
 his future operations. As he stepped from the barge, at 
 the head of Villere's Canal, surrounded by his gallant 
 staff, and greeted by many of the officers of the army, 
 his proud heart swelled with satisfaction and hope, at 
 the prospect, now first opened to him, of rivaling the 
 fame of his great relative, by an exploit that would ring 
 through the world, and bring out the old Tower guns to 
 awaken the quiet Londoners with their thundering an- 
 
 * After the campaign, and to the day of his death, the Duke was a great admirer of 
 General, Jackson, and whilst the latter lived, never failed when he was introduced to 
 an American, to inquire after the General's health. The Earl of Ellesmere, who visited 
 New York during the Industrial Exhibition of 1853, related to General Quitman that 
 being on very intimate terms with the Duke, he frequently visited him in his private 
 room. The Duke had a habit whenever he received any document, which afforded him 
 pleasure, of crumpling it in his hand and waving it over his head. On one occasion 
 the Earl surprised the Duke in one of these curious displays of satisfaction, which was 
 more than usually enthusiastic ; and inquiring the cause, learned that the crumple^ 
 document over which the great warrior wus so much elated was a simple letter of in. 
 troduction from General Jucksou !
 
 210 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 nouncemeat of another great victory won by the heroes 
 of the Peninsula. For the first time in his life, Packen- 
 ham found himself in an independent command, at the 
 head of one of the choicest and most efficient armies 
 that England ever sent forth. This, for a man of thirty- 
 eight, was certainly a proud distinction. As his eye ran 
 down the lists of the regiments of his command, Pack- 
 enham could not but repeat, with his full endorsement, 
 the remark of Wellington, as to their invincibility. 
 Except the 93d Highlanders and the Black Regiments, 
 they were all troops which fought through the whole 
 war in the Peninsula, from Moore's retreat to "Welling- 
 ton's triumphant entry into France. 
 
 There were the Rifles, which, under Crauford and 
 Barnard, had opened nearly every battle that Wellington 
 fought. There were the 85, the 44th, the 21st and 
 14th Dragoons, all bronzed veterans, who had never 
 known defeat, and who were as familiar with all the 
 horrors and exigencies of war, as if they had been 
 nursed by Bellona. Others, too, of equal renown, were 
 hourly expected. The 43d, the 40tb, and above all 
 Packenham's own Fusiliers, the 7th, at whose head he 
 had so often marched to victory and received so many 
 honorable wounds. Who, under like circumstances, 
 would not have felt the glow of pride, enthusiasm and 
 cheerful confidence, which radiated the manly counte- 
 nance of Packenham, when Keane stepped forward and, 
 saluting him, gladly relinquished a command which had 
 become to him a wearisome burden ? 
 
 There was great rejoicing in the British camp over 
 the arrival of Packenham. Loud cheers rent the air. 
 Even salvos of artillery were fired in honor of the event. 
 This joy and commotion were quite perceptible to the
 
 SIR EDWARD PAuKENHAM. 211 
 
 American outposts, who soon ascertained the cause and 
 communicated it to Jackson. The next day the news 
 flew through the American lines that a famous British 
 general some had it the Duke of Wellington himself 
 had arrived in the British camp. Henceforth, it was 
 said, the operations of the British would be conducted 
 with much more vigor and power, and with more effi- 
 cient forces and appliances than had been employed 
 heretofore. These stories, with all their exaggerations, 
 did not appal the spirit or weaken the energies of Jack- 
 son. Indeed, the only visible eifect they produced was 
 to communicate greater activity and resolution to all his 
 movements and measures for the maintenance of his 
 position. Without dismounting, for hours and hours, he 
 paeed along the line of the Rodriguez Canal, encourag- 
 ing and inciting his men by every influence which he 
 could use, to labor in the rude entrenchment which his 
 engineers had drawn along the canal. " Here," he 
 remarked to them, in the frontier style, " we shall plant 
 our stakes, and not abandon them until we drive these 
 red-coat rascals into the river, or the swamp." 
 
 Packenham, who had the eye of a soldier, was not 
 pleased with his first glance at the position of his army. 
 It did not take much time for him to comprehend all 
 the perils and embarrassments that environed him. 
 Concealing his feeling and impressions, he assembled the 
 chief officers at Yillere's house, where he established 
 his headquarters. 
 
 There, in the parlor of the patriotic planter, who was 
 then but a few miles off, aiding in the organization of 
 the militia, who were daily dispatched to reinforce 
 Jackson, met a score or more of the most distinguished
 
 212 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 veteran officers of the Peninsular war, to deliberate 
 upon the means of resisting and defeating a militia 
 general, at the head of a force of raw militia, inferior in 
 number to their own gallant array of veteran and prac- 
 ticed warriors. Many of them had not seen their asso- 
 ciates since they parted in Spain ; many, like the officers 
 of the 93d, newly arrived from the Cape of Good Hope, 
 had not met for eight or ten years. 
 
 But there was no time for congratulations or the in- 
 terchange of friendly conversation. The business before 
 them was serious and pressing. Their consultation ex- 
 tended far into the night. What then and there occur- 
 red must ever be a mystery, but enough leaked out to 
 convince the younger officers, that Sir Edward was 
 greatly dissatisfied with the aspect of affairs, and after 
 receiving a full report of Keane's operations, entertain- 
 ed but little hope of achieving the object of the expedi- 
 tion. He perceived and lamented the original error, in 
 not advancing on the 23d. It was even said that he 
 thought of withdrawing the army and attempting a 
 landing in another quarter. But that sturdy veteran, 
 Sir Alexander Cochrane, who attended the council, was 
 of sterner stuff, and regarded the expedition as far from 
 being defeated or foiled. If the army shrunk from the 
 task, he would bring up the sailors and marines from 
 the fleet, and storm the American lines, and march into 
 the city. "The soldiers could then," added the bitter 
 old Scotchman, " bring up the baggage. 
 
 The confidence of the old tar was happily illustrated 
 by an authentic anecdote. One of the British prison- 
 ers captured on the 23d December, stated to General 
 Jackson, that the Admiral had sworn that he would eat
 
 BIB EDWARD PACKENIIA1I. 213 
 
 his Christmas dinner in the city. Jackson promptly 
 replied, " Perhaps so, but I shall have the honor of 
 presiding at that dinner." 
 
 It was finally determined to advance and carry the 
 enemy's entrenchments at the point of the bayonet. 
 
 The original error in regard to the superior force of 
 the Americans still clung to them. Even then, when 
 they had had the opportunity for observation, which their 
 position afforded, and when the Americans had but 
 two small artillery pieces, and their entrenchments were 
 but just commenced, they neglected to advance with 
 an army which exceeded by two or three thousand that 
 of Jackson's command. This, for the Americans, fortu- 
 nate remissness, was all due to the impression which 
 Jackson had made on the minds of the British by his 
 extraordinary and brilliant attack on the 23d. 
 
 Packenhani, on assuming the command of the army, 
 changed its organization, by forming two columns, or 
 brigades, under the command of Generals Gibbs and 
 Keane. How these brigades were composed, will ap- 
 pear hereafter. 
 
 Early the next day, the 26th December, Packenham 
 rode out with his staff and Generals to reconnoitre the 
 American lines. As far as the eye could reach along 
 the plain, which lay before him, he could perceive no 
 evidence of any regular force opposed to him. The 
 only living objects he could discern were bodies of 
 horsemen, galloping over the field in a very unmilitary 
 fashion, apparently watching every movement in the 
 British camp, and now and then cracking away with 
 their long rifles at the outposts and sentinels. Then 
 these stragglers would wheel and return leisurely to an 
 old chateau, about long musket shot from the British
 
 214 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 sentries, which appeared to be their general rendezvous. 
 These scouts presented more the appearance of snipe 
 and rabbit hunters beating the bushes for their game, 
 than, of soldiers seeking opportunities to annoy their 
 enemies. It was a novel sight to Packenham, accus- 
 tomed as he was to the formal and regular mode of con- 
 ducting warlike operations of the French and British 
 armies. 
 
 Beyond these, there was no other evidence of the 
 presence of a hostile army. This mysterious and si- 
 lent aspect in front served to increase the anxiety and 
 embarrassment of the British General. The movements 
 of these irregular troops indicated the confidence of a 
 powerful force strongly posted in the rear, as well as the 
 audacity of men who had been under fire and had tast- 
 ed of the horrors of war. They were no timid militia- 
 men, like those who had offered so feeble a resistance at 
 Washington; or, rather, in justice to the latter, many 
 of whom were personally as brave as any who ever 
 shouldered a musket, we should say there was unmistak- 
 able evidence of the presence among them of a chief, 
 who inspired confidence, courage, and determination in 
 all under his command. 
 
 This observation satisfied Packenham, that he had 
 but one course to pursue, and that was to carry the 
 enemies lines, wherever they were, by storm. As soon 
 as this resolution was taken, all anxiety and care disap- 
 peared from his countenance. He immediately set to 
 work to prepare for the advance. 
 
 But, before this could be done, a serious obstacle had 
 to be removed. Those terrible floating batteries, tho 
 Carolina and Louisiana, still retained their position, an- 
 chored near the opposite bank of the river, and kept
 
 SIR EDWARD PACKENHAM. 215 
 
 up a continual cannonading on the British camp. 
 Whereever a knot of British could be seen, a shower of 
 grape would be thrown at them with such accuracy 
 that they would be quickly dispersed, and compelled to 
 take shelter. Even those who took refuge in the houses 
 were not safe. Many a social party who met stealthily 
 in some quiet little negro hut, behind the chimneys, or 
 in some nook of the larger houses, to enjoy a few com- 
 forts and relieve the distress and tedium of their situa- 
 tion by a little conviviality, would suddenly be intruded 
 upon by a cannon-ball sent from one of Patterson's ves- 
 sels, producing a very precipitate scattering of the 
 party. It was impossible to form a column under the 
 fire of these vessels. Orders were therefore issued to 
 hurry up all the large cannon which could be spared 
 from the fleet, for the purpose of bringing them to bear 
 on the two formidable little vessels. By incredible ex- 
 ertions, the chief labor being performed by the sailors, 
 under Cochrane and Malcolm, a powerful battery of 
 twelve and eighteen -pounders was brought up on the 
 night of the 26th, and planted on the levee, so as to 
 command the Carolina and Louisiana. 
 
 On the morning of the 27th, the American lines were 
 aroused by a severe and prolonged cannonading from 
 the British camp. This was the first intimation of the 
 presence of heavy artillery among the enemy. The 
 Americans collected on the levee to see whence the 
 firing proceeded. There could be no doubt of the object. 
 It was now seen, what terrible plagues those vessels had 
 been. All their power and skill were concentrated to 
 destroy them. Their battery was evidently a powerful 
 one, and was manned by officers and men who under- 
 stood their business. Their fire was gallantly and briskly
 
 216 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 returned from both vessels. Never were broadsides 
 given with, more rapidity and accuracy. 
 
 The British could only escape their effects by watch- 
 ing the flash of the guns, and then taking refuge under 
 the levee. Loud cheers arose from each line, at every 
 discharge of their respective batteries, which could be 
 distinctly heard in both camps. From the dormant 
 window of the Macarte House, Jackson narrowly 
 watched the combat through a telescope. Paekenham 
 stood on the levee near his battery cheering and en- 
 couraging the artillerists. The banks of the river, for 
 some distance below, and as far above the American 
 lines as would afford a view of the field, were lined with 
 spectators, who regarded the scene with intense interest. 
 A tempest of cannon balls was poured upon the devoted 
 vessels, amid which gleamed, like flaming comets, red 
 hot shot, whilst bursting shells and steaming rockets 
 spread a halo of fire around them. Thus the cannon- 
 ading was sustained for a half an hour before it was 
 discovered that any effect was produced upon the ves- 
 sels. At last it was quite perceptible in both armies, 
 that the Carolina had been struck. There was a com- 
 motion upon her decks. Her firing ceased. Presently 
 her crew were seen clambering down her sides, and 
 taking to the boats. In good order, without alarm or 
 confusion, the boats being all filled, pushed off for the 
 opposite shore, not. however, without shouting a loud 
 defiance at their foes. Then, when all had left her, a 
 light flame was seen, rising from her deck, which the 
 light breeze fed and kindled, until it spread through the 
 hull of the vessel, and then tapering off with the tall 
 masts and branching spars, involved the whole vessel in 
 a fiery embrace. Now the British gave three loud cheers,
 
 SIB EDWARD PACKENHAM. 217 
 
 which almost equalled the thunder of their cannon in 
 volume, and echoed far up and down the river. Eager- 
 ly they watched the progress of the flames, as they ra- 
 pidly devoured the gallant little vessel. At last the fire 
 reached the magazine, and then, with an explosion, 
 which shook the earth for miles around, the Carolina 
 was blown to atoms. Her crew, however, under the 
 indefatigable Captain Henley, gained the shore in safe- 
 ty, with the loss of one sailor killed and six wounded. 
 This event drew a deep sigh from the bosoms of the se- 
 veral thousands of Americans who looked on. In the 
 British camp it was hailed with unbounded delight and 
 most enthusiastic hurras. 
 
 Well, the British might shout and rejoice. That little 
 vessel had not given them an hour's respite since they 
 reached the banks of the Mississippi. It had saluted 
 them, on their arrival, with a broadside which placed a 
 hundred of their men hors de combat. For the three 
 days following, there was not an hour that it did not 
 sweep the field in which the British lay with its terrible 
 battery. Its destruction, therefore, might justly be 
 celebrated as a jubilee in the British camp. 
 
 Packenham and his soldiers now breathed freer. A 
 thorn had been removed from the side of the army, 
 yet their flank was not entirely cleared. Absorbed in 
 their design of getting rid of their older enemy, they 
 had lost sight of the larger ship Louisiana, which lay 
 higher up the stream. It was a great blunder of the 
 British to open with their battery on the Carolina in- 
 stead of the Louisiana. Whilst they were at work on 
 the schooner, Lieutenant Thompson, on the Louisiana, 
 was straining every nerve to get that ship beyond the 
 reach of their batteries. Since the destruction of the 
 
 10
 
 218 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Carolina and the gun-boats, the Louisiana was the only 
 vessel left to the Americans. Jackson's last word to 
 Thompson was to save her at every risk. Her com- 
 mander was the man to execute such an order. Thomp- 
 son had displayed amazing energy in raising a crew and 
 equipping the Louisiana for service in a few days. He 
 had been driven to the necessity of scouring the streets 
 and impressing sailors to fill the complement of men 
 necessary to man his guns. "With this fresh and ill-dis- 
 ciplined crew, he suddenly found himself in a most per- 
 plexing situation. The Carolina had been blown up, so 
 near that her burning fragments fell on the decks of the 
 Louisiana. Both wind and current were against him. 
 The balls of the British battery began to fall thickly 
 around, and the water hissed and simmered with the hot 
 shell that bounded towards and over her. At last 
 Thompson bethought him of towing, and putting all 
 hands to work at the boats, succeeded in moving her 
 slowly, until she was beyond reach of the British ; not, 
 however, without some damage, caused by -a shell, 
 which fell on the decks and wounded several men. It 
 was indeed a narrow escape. As she moved up stream, 
 and gaining a position nearly abreast of the American 
 camp, let go her anchors, at the same time firing a de- 
 fiant volley at the British, the Americans, whose hearts 
 and countenances had fallen under the disaster of the 
 Carolina, gave three loud cheers, which could be dis- 
 tinctly heard in the British camp. 
 
 The removal of these vessels communicated fresh 
 hope and confidence to the British army. "Whilst the 
 battery was engaged with the American vessels, Gibbs 
 and Keane were forming their columns for the advance. 
 Having relieved their flank of its vigorous and active
 
 SIR EDWARD PACKENHAM. 219 
 
 foe, these columns could now form in the open field. 
 Accordingly towards evening, on the 27th, a rocket was 
 sent up from the headquarters of the General-in-Chief. 
 At that signal the British army moved forward, aban- 
 doning ground, which had but few attractions or pleas- 
 ing associations to the minds of the soldiers. Gibbs led 
 his column under cover of. the wood on the right, and 
 Keane marched by the road near the river, keeping 
 Bienvenu's and Chalmette's houses between him and the 
 American lines. Thus the two columns advanced to a 
 point within four or six hundred yards of the American 
 lines. Night closing upon them, the soldiers were 
 ordered to lie down in their places and refresh them- 
 selves with sleep. Promptly they obeyed the order, in 
 the fond hope of resting and recuperating their wearied 
 bodies. Delusive hope ! There again were those un- 
 tiring " land privateers " in their front, who appeared 
 never to sleep themselves, nor willing to allow others to 
 enjoy that blessing. There they were, hovering about 
 the English outposts and pickets, popping away at every 
 man who showed himself, with their terrible rifles, 
 creeping up stealthily in squads and firing right into 
 their pickets. There, too, the daring Hinds and his 
 madcap troopers, dashing up to their outposts and form- 
 ing with all the regularity of parade exercise, would 
 fire volleys into the lines, and then gallop back again 
 hurraing and shouting in savage glee and derision. 
 
 The night, instead of being devoted to sleep and rest, 
 was made hideous to the British by these incessant an- 
 noyances. The Americans, so the indignant and dis- 
 quieted Britons thought, like some of the indigenous 
 animals of the country, appeared to prefer the night to 
 the day for their prowling and warlike operations. The
 
 220 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 precedent of the 23d had been followed ever since. 
 Each man among them seemed bent on some deed of 
 individual prowess, of which he might discourse to his 
 companions in his mess, and around the camp fires. Nor 
 was it merely for display, or to alarm their enemies, that 
 they engaged in these nocturnal enterprises. They 
 looked to such practical results, as the cutting off a 
 sentinel, the driving in an outpost, or the picking off 
 an officer going the rounds. British writers have 
 strongly censured this mode of warfare, as unusual be- 
 tween two civilized nations. One of them remarks, 
 " While two European armies remain inactively facing 
 each other, the outposts of neither are molested, unless 
 a direct attack on the main body be intended : nay, so 
 far is this tacit good understanding carried, that I, my- 
 self, have beheld French and English sentinels not more 
 than twenty yards apart. But the Americans entertain 
 no such chivalric notions. An enemy was to them an 
 enemy, whether alone or in the midst of five thousand 
 companions, and they therefore counted the death of 
 every individual as so much taken from the strength of 
 the whole. In point of fact, they no doubt reasoned 
 correctly, but to us at least it appeared an ingenious 
 return to barbarity." 
 
 This view of the subject is quite natural in a British 
 officer, who no doubt suffered from this "barbarian 
 mode of warfare " of the Americans. But if he had 
 been one of the invaded, instead of the invaders ; one 
 of an army of three thousand militia contending against 
 eight thousand veteran soldiers, who had come four 
 thousand miles to destroy the towns, lay waste the coun- 
 try, and murder a peaceful people, he would, perhaps, 
 have taken a less chivalric view of his duties and obli-
 
 SIR EDWARD PACKENHAM. 221 
 
 gations. Besides, some allowance must be made for the 
 exacerbated state of the feelings of the Americans, on 
 account of the loss of their efficient flanking battery, 
 the Carolina. Nor should this writer forget, in his 
 sentimentality on the chivalry of war, the annoyances 
 to which the Americans were subjected during the 
 nights of the 26th and 27th, by the shell practice of the 
 British howitzers and the rockets which kept the Ameri- 
 can camp in continual alarm. Whatever may be the 
 opinion of ethical and historical writers, on the abstract 
 question of duty and chivalry in this matter, there can 
 be no doubt as to the fact, that the British soldiers had 
 but little rest or quiet on the night of the 27th of Decem- 
 ber. They awaited the break of day with more anxiety 
 and hope than they had hailed its decline.
 
 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 XI. 
 
 A DEMONSTBATTON AND A DEFEAT. 
 
 [DJSCKMBEB 28, 1814.] 
 
 THE American commander had not been idle. Estab- 
 lished in the fine old chateau of Macarte, which then, as 
 now, could hardly be discerned at a short distance off, 
 through the thick evergreen trees and shrubbery in which 
 it is embowered, within one hundred or two hundred 
 yards of the right of the entrenchments, Jackson kept an 
 incessant watch over every movement of the enemy, 
 viewing their camp through a large telescope, which an 
 ingenious old Frenchman had loaned him for the occa- 
 sion, and which was established in the dormer window 
 of the chateau, looking down the river. This chateau 
 still stands, but little changed by the lapse of forty years. 
 It has been the study and pride of its successive pro- 
 prietors and occupants to preserve the premises, as much 
 as possible, in the condition in which Jackson left them, 
 after the war was over. Only such repairs as were 
 absolutely necessary have been made. Even the cannon 
 marks on the pavement, walls, and pillars may now be 
 seen, and the scarred oaks, cedars and pecan trees, which 
 surround it, still wear the signs of the strife that drenched 
 with blood the fields around, that now smile with rural 
 "beauty and teem with agricultural wealth, and rendered 
 the headquarters of the General-in-Chief the most ex-
 
 A DEMONSTRATION AND A DEFEAT. 223 
 
 posed and insecure position of the whole camp. Hun- 
 dreds of the cannon balls have been dug out of the 
 garden, which were rained down on this favorite target 
 of the British artillery. 
 
 From this elevated position, Jackson perceived on the 
 evening of the 27th, the formidable preparations to over- 
 whelm him the next day. lie comprehended, at glance, 
 the plan of Packenham, and set to work to resist and 
 defeat it. That was a busy night in Jackson's quarters. 
 Officers were seen galloping in every direction for cannon 
 and artillerists to strengthen the lines. When the Bri- 
 tish commenced their advance, Jackson had only the 
 two six pounders, which had made such a narrow escape 
 on the night of the 23d. These had been estalished on 
 the levee. On the night of the 27th, a twelve-pound 
 howitzer was planted so as to command the road, and 
 shortly after a twenty-four pounder on the left of the 
 twelve. 
 
 On the morning of the 28th, another twenty-four 
 pounder was established, under the fire of the British 
 battery on the levee. These, together with the battery 
 of the Louisiana, presented quite a formidable display 
 of artillery. The infantry also were strengthened. The 
 first regiment of Louisiana Militia was ordered to take 
 position on the right of the lines, and the second regiment 
 to reinforce the extremity of the left, which had not yet 
 been placed in a safe and reliable condition, though Cof- 
 fee's Tennesseeans were kept incessantly at work upon 
 it. Other precautions had not been neglected. The 
 levee was cut below the lines, in order to fiood the road 
 and drown the British, or render their advance difficult. 
 But fate did not favor this inglorious mode of destroying 
 an enemy, who was destined to be overcome with his
 
 224 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 own weapons and by mortal valor. The river fell and 
 the road remained undamaged. Meantime Carroll had 
 marched his men, who were ill armed, many being 
 supplied with fowling-pieces and discarded guns, to 
 Canal Rodriguez, and set them to work on the entrench- 
 ments on the extreme left. 
 
 Jackson had now a force of over four thousand men 
 and twenty pieces of artillery. How he ever collected 
 such a body of men and established them in so strong a 
 position in so short a time, is far more astounding than 
 the results which were subsequently achieved. 
 
 Packenham had at least eight thousand men of all 
 arms, all veteran soldiers, well armed and equipped, 
 and supplied with all the engines of destruction known 
 to the science of modern warfare. 
 
 The morning of the 28th was one of those beautiful, 
 bracing, life and joy-giving days peculiar to Louisiana 
 in the winter season. In its brightness, clearness, and 
 temperate mildness, it was a delicious novelty to the 
 British, accustomed to fogs, clouds, inky skies and 
 oppressive vapors. The air was just frosty enough to 
 give it purity, elasticity and freshness. A sparkling mist 
 veiled the beauty of the waking morn. The evergreens 
 which dotted and encircled the dusky plain with emer- 
 ald, glistened with the diamond drops from heaven. 
 
 All nature seemed to be animated by these bright in- 
 fluences. The trees were melodious with the noisy 
 strains of the rice bird, and the bold falsetto of that 
 pride of Southern ornithology, the mocking-bird, who, 
 here alone continues the whole year round his unceas- 
 ing notes of exultant mockery and vocal defiance. 
 What a reproach did such a scene of natural beauty 
 and atmospheric purity convey to those whose passions
 
 A DEMONSTRATION AND A DEFEAT. 225 
 
 were soon to convert it from a Paradise to a Pande- 
 monium ! 
 
 At break of day, or as soon as the mist had melted 
 into the purple that spread over the horizon, to form, as 
 it were, a carpet on which the king of day might strut 
 forth upon the world, both armies stood to arms. Pic- 
 quets were called in. Drums were beat. The blasts of 
 bugles rang far along the banks of the old Father of 
 Waters. All the hum and buzz of some great move- 
 ment were observable in both camps. Jackson occu- 
 pied his old position, watching from the window of his 
 headquarters every movement of his enemy with the 
 eye of a lynx, and the heart of a lion. His counten- 
 ance wore that same expression of stern determination 
 and dauntless courage, communicating to all around a 
 fearless and undoubting confidence. Often would he 
 cast anxious glances up the road, to the city, as if in ex- 
 pectation of some new reinforcement. 
 
 He was not permitted to remain long in doubt as to 
 the intentions of the British. Their army was soon per- 
 ceived to be in motion. It advanced in two steady 
 columns. Gibbs with the 4th, the 21st, 44th, and one 
 Black corps, hugging the wood or swamp on the right, 
 with the 95th Rifles, extending in skirmishing order 
 across the plain and meeting the right of Keane's 
 column, which consisted of the 85th, the 95th, and one 
 Black corps. The artillery preceded the latter, in the 
 main road. Keane held his column as near the levee as 
 possible, and under the protection of Bienvenu's and 
 Chalmette's quarters. Detached from Gibbs' column 
 was a party of skirmishers and light infantry, under the 
 command of that active and energetic officer, Lieut. 
 Colonel Robert Rennie, whose orders were to turn the 
 
 10*
 
 226 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 American left and gain the rear of their camp. In this 
 order, the British moved forward in excellent spirits 
 and brilliant array. Packenham, with his staff and a 
 guard composed of the 14th Dragoons, rode nearly in 
 the centre of the line, so as to command a view of both 
 columns. The American scouts retired leisurely be- 
 fore the British, tiring and shouting defiance at them. 
 The Louisiana now weighed anchor, and floated down 
 the stream, and then anchored again in a position which 
 commanded the road and the whole field in front of the 
 American lines. Jackson had ordered McRea, of the 
 artillery, to blow up Chalmette's and Bienvenu's 
 houses. By some accident this order was only partially 
 executed, a fortunate circumstance, as these buildings 
 served to mask the American lines at the strongest point, 
 and to precipitate Keane's column with perilous sud- 
 denness upon Jackson's guns. Chalmette's, the house 
 nearest to Jackson's lines, was blown up just as the 
 British passed Bienvenu's. This had been ever since 
 the 23d the headquarters of Hinds' troop, whence they 
 were in the habit of emerging hourly in detachments 
 to harass the enemy and reconnoitre his position. Now, 
 for the first time, Keane beheld through his glass the 
 mouths of several large cannon protruding from Jack- 
 son's lines, and completely covering the head of his 
 column. These guns were manned as guns are not often 
 manned on land. 
 
 Early in the morning Jackson's anxious glances tow- 
 ards the city had been changed into expressions of sat- 
 isfaction and confidence by the spectacle of several 
 straggling bands of red-shirted, bewhiskered, rough 
 and desperate-looking men, all begrimed with smoke 
 and mud hurrying down the road towards the lines.
 
 A DEMONSTRATION AND A DEFEAT. 227 
 
 These proved to be the Baratarians under Dominique 
 You and Bluche, who had run all the way from the 
 FoVt St. John, where they had been stationed since their 
 release from prison. They immediately took charge of 
 one of the twenty-four pounders. The Baratarians 
 were followed by two other parties of sailors of the crew 
 of the Carolina, under Lieutenants Crawley and Norris. 
 These detachments were ordered to man the howitzer 
 on the right, and the other twenty-four pounder, which, 
 being on the left of Plauche's battalion, had been in 
 charge of St. Geme's dismounted dragoons. 
 
 Thus prepared, Jackson waited the approach of the 
 British. Forward they came, in solid column, as com- 
 pact and orderly as if on parade, under cover of a 
 shower of rockets, and a continual fire from their artil- 
 lery in front and their batteries on the levee. It was 
 certainly a bold and imposing demonstration, for such, 
 as we are told by British officers, it was intended to be. 
 To new soldiers, like the Americans, fresh from civic 
 and peaceful pursuits, who had never witnessed any 
 scenes of real warfare, it was certainly a formidable 
 display of military power and discipline. Those veterans 
 moved as steadily and closely together as if marching 
 in review instead of " in the cannon's mouth." Their 
 muskets catching the rays of the morning sun, nearly 
 blinded the beholder with their brightness, whilst their 
 gay and various uniforms, red, grey, green and tartan, 
 afforded a pleasing relief to the winter-clad field and the 
 sombre objects around. On, on came the glittering 
 array, scarcely heeding the incessant fire which that 
 cool veteran, Humphrey, poured into their ranks from 
 the moment they were visible. But, as they approached 

 
 228 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 nearer, they were suddenly brought to a sense of their 
 danger and audacity, by the simultaneous opening of 
 the batteries of Morris and the Baratarians, and by a 
 terrible broadside from the Louisiana, which swept the 
 field obliquely to the line of march of the British column. 
 Never was there a more effective and destructive fire. 
 For several hours it was maintained with incessant vigor 
 and pitiless fury. More than eight hundred shot were 
 fired by the Louisiana alone with most deadly effect. 
 One single discharge of this most admirably managed 
 battery for it hardly deserved the name of ship killed 
 and wounded fifteen men. A British writer has done 
 justice to this scene. 
 
 Says the author of the Narrative of British Campaigns 
 in America : " That the Americans are excellent shots, 
 as well with artillery as with rifles, we have had frequent 
 cause to acknowledge ; but perhaps on no occasion did 
 they assert their claim to the title of good artillerymen 
 more effectively than on this occasion. Scarcely a ball 
 or bullet passed over or fell short of its mark, but all 
 striking full into the midst of our ranks occasioned terri- 
 ble havoc. 
 
 " The shrieks of the wounded, therefore the crash of 
 firelocks, and the fall of such as were killed, caused at 
 first some little confusion, and what added to the panic 
 was, that from the houses beside which we stood, bright 
 flames suddenly burst forth. The Americans expecting 
 the attack, had filled them with combustibles for the 
 purpose, and directing one or two guns against them, 
 loaded with hot shot, in an instant set them on fire. 
 The scene was altogether very sublime. A tremendous 
 cannonade mowed down our ranks and defeated us with
 
 A DEMONSTRATION AND A DEFEAT. 229 
 
 its roar, while two large chateaux and their out-build- 
 ings almost scorched us with the flames and blinded 
 us with the smoke which they emitted." 
 
 Under such an incessant and galling fire, there was 
 no safety for the British except in retreat, or in a supine 
 position, as it is called in military phrase ; but, as it 
 would be styled in American parlance, " taking to the 
 ditch." For some time Keane's solid column withstood 
 with great firmness this terrific iron storm ; but it was 
 a vain display of valor. Soon the battalions were 
 ordered to deploy into line, and seek a cover in the 
 ditches. Never was an order more promptly and rapidly 
 obeyed. In a few minutes the heavy column was diluted 
 into a thin line, and the men scrambled pell mell into 
 every convenient ditch, or behind every elevated knoll, 
 which presented itself. Gaining the ditches, in which 
 they sank to their middle, the British writer, from whom 
 we have already quoted, says "they leaned forward, 
 concealing themselves in the rushes which grew on the 
 banks of the canal." Truly, an ignoble position for Pen- 
 insular heroes. 
 
 The artillery could not be so easily removed or covered. 
 The guns of the Americans were now concentrated on 
 the British battery. The two field-pieces, which had 
 been advanced on the road and levee, quite near to the 
 American lines, were soon dismantled, many of the 
 gunners were killed, and those who escaped destruc- 
 tion, finally abandoned their useless pieces, leaving them 
 on the road to be knocked and tossed about, the sport of 
 Humphrey's unerring twelve-pounders. 
 
 Thus, disastrously and ignominiously, was Keane's 
 column broken by the American artillery. The melan- 
 choly and pensive countenance of Packenham grew
 
 230 JACKSON AND NEW OKLEANS.j 
 
 dark and gloomy indeed, as he perceived his brilliant 
 battalions melt into the earth as suddenly and magically 
 as the clansmen of Rhoderic Dhu, in the beautifully 
 painted scene of that noblest poem of the great Wizard 
 of the North : 
 
 Down sunk the disappearing band, 
 Each warrior vanished where he stood ; 
 In broom or bracken, heath or wood, 
 Sunk brand and spear and bended bow ; 
 It seemed as if the mother earth 
 Had swallowed up her warlike birth. 
 The wind's last breath had tossed in air 
 Tenon and plaid and plumage fair 
 The next but swept a lone hill-side, 
 Where heath and fern were waving wide ; 
 The sun's last glance had glistened back, 
 From spear and glaive, from targe and jack 
 The next, all unreflected shone, 
 On bracken green and cold grey stone. 
 
 Never before had the British soldier, in his presence, 
 quailed before an enemy, or sought cover from a fire. 
 
 Here was another ground of complaint for the marti- 
 nette, of the ignorance and unscientific warfare of the 
 Americans. They had mistaken a mere feint or demon- 
 stration, for a real attack a showy display, for a practi- 
 cal design. 
 
 So, unlucky Keane, after sheltering himself behind 
 the surrounding ruins of Bienvenu's, again uttered 
 curses, both loud and deep, upon the cruel fate which 
 had cast his lot, hitherto so brilliant, upon so dreary a 
 field of military enterprise a field fertile in everything 
 but British laurels. 
 
 How fared it with Gibbs on the right ? Here the 
 prospect opened brighter, as the head of the column
 
 A DEMONSTRATION AND A DEFEAT. 231 
 
 approached the American lines. In the view of Gibbs, 
 who had led the storming party against Fort Cornelius, 
 defended by over one hundred guns, and of his men, 
 who had scaled the parapets of Badajoz, the walls of St. 
 Sebastian, and a hundred other places of equal strength, 
 nothing could be more contemptible than "the mere 
 rudiments of an entrenched camp," as they were styled 
 by a British writer. The whole work consisted of a low 
 mound of earth, with a narrow ditch in front, not too 
 wide to be leaped by a man of ordinary agility. So it 
 remained through the whole campaign. 
 
 As this mound came in view, Gibbs halted his main 
 column, whilst the skirmishers were thrown forward, 
 and the detached party under Rennie dashed into the 
 woods, closely pursuing the American outposts, and 
 advancing to a position within a hundred yards of the 
 lines, behind which Carroll was posted with his Tennes- 
 seeans. That prompt and ready officer immediately 
 ordered Col. Henderson, with two hundred Tennes- 
 seeans, to steal through the swamp, gain the rear of 
 Remrie's party and then oblique to the right so as to cut 
 them off from the main body. It was a rash adventure, 
 such as General Jackson would not have sanctioned had 
 he been present in that part of the line. But the Ten- 
 nesseeans were impatient to take part in the fight, and 
 could with difficulty be kept within the lines. Hender- 
 son's movement might have succeeded, if he had not 
 advanced too far to the right, and thus brought his men 
 under the heavy fire of a strong body of the British who 
 were posted behind a fence nearly concealed by the 
 trees and weeds. The Colonel, a gallant and promising 
 officer, and five men were killed by this fire, several 
 were wounded, and the others seeing the object of the
 
 232 JACKSON AND NEW OELEANS. 
 
 movement defeated retired behind the lines. This was 
 the only success achieved by the British that day. 
 Rennie, emboldened by this result, was rapidly closing 
 on Carroll's left, which having no cannon and being 
 defended by raw militiamen, was pretty severely pressed, 
 when an officer came up to him with an order from 
 Gibbs to fall back on the main column. Greatly cha- 
 grined at this order, Rennie abandoned the ground he 
 had gained, and retired to the point from which he had 
 advanced. Here his men were posted under the trees, 
 idle spectators of the havoc which the American artil- 
 lery was making in Keane's column on the left. And 
 so they remained until the general retrogade movement 
 was commenced. 
 
 On that day the Americans lost nine killed and eight 
 wounded. That gallant officer Major Carmick, of the 
 Marine corps, was among the wounded. "Whilst deli- 
 vering an order to Major Plauche, near the centre of 
 the American line, he was struck by a rocket, which 
 tore his horse to pieces and wounded the Major in the 
 arm and head. Of the British loss there are no precise 
 or reliable accounts. We conjecture from general 
 statements that it reached nearly two hundred killed 
 and wounded. The official returns, which do not include 
 those who were killed in the attempt to retire, admit 
 only sixteen killed and forty-three wounded and missing. 
 As the only weapon used by the Americans was their 
 artillery, few of the wounded ever recovered. Among 
 the killed were two officers, whose mode of death was 
 remarkable, and illustrative of the precision of the 
 American artillery. One of them was Captain Collings, 
 of the British "West India regiment, who was on duty in 
 the 93d. When the men were ordered to hide them
 
 A DEMONSTRATION AND &. DEFEAT. 233 
 
 selves in the ditch, and lie down on the earth, this 
 yonng officer, in a spirit of reckless bravado chose to 
 maintain his erect position. Major Creagh, of the 93d, 
 called loudly to him to lie down or he would draw the 
 fire of the batteries upon them. Either not hearing, or 
 not heeding the order, Collings walked along the edge 
 of the ditch for a few steps, when a cannon ball struck 
 his head and knocked it off his shoulders. The other 
 officer killed on this occasion was Ensign Sir Frederick 
 Eden, an English baronet, attached to the 85th. A 
 flanking shot from the Louisiana struck the section com- 
 manded by this officer and killed five of the men and 
 wounded several others. Eden himself was struck, and 
 horribly mutilated. He lived long enough to make his 
 will, and then died in a raving delirium of agony. 
 
 The Louisiana, from whose batteries the British sus- 
 tained their heaviest damage, though exposed to a con- 
 stant fire from the British guns on the levee, had but 
 one man killed. 
 
 Such was the ignominious conclusion of the imposing 
 demonstration or feint of the British on the 28th Decem- 
 ber, 1814. Had there been a quick eye, sagacious intel- 
 lect, and a full comprehension of their position and 
 circumstances, to direct the movement of the army, the 
 result might been very different. But in this, as in many 
 other regular armies, the men of sagacity, enterprise, 
 and the requisite qualities to secure the success of such 
 operations, were mere subordinates, under chiefs, who 
 on this occasion manifested a singular destitution of 
 military capacity. Poor Packenham's energies were 
 all the while cramped and oppressed by the conscious- 
 ness, which filled his mind fron\ the first moment he 
 landed and perceived the situation of the army, that it
 
 234: JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 was involved in an inextricable strait. This fact will 
 fully explain the apparent want of promptitude displayed 
 in this emergency. Besides, he expected hourly the 
 arrival of Lambert's fine brigade, which had embarked 
 at Portsmouth at the same time with the fast clipper in 
 which he had sailed. These fresh troops would be a 
 great accession to his jaded and overworked force. 
 
 The partial success of Rennie on the British right 
 shows how egregiously they had exaggerated the strength 
 of the American lines. Rennie demonstrated the prac- 
 ticability of turning the American left and gaining their 
 rear in that insecure and weakly-defended part of the 
 line. By " weakly defended," we do not mean that the 
 men stationed in this part of the works were not as 
 brave and true soldiers as ever handled a gun, but that 
 they were not in adequate force, were without artillery, 
 the cannon being on the right, and could not be held 
 together with sufficient compactness to resist the dash 
 of a strong body of regular soldiers accustomed to scal- 
 ing entrenchments, like the British. That the works 
 offered no other obstacle but the strong arms and daunt- 
 less valor of the men who defended them, is sufficiently 
 shown by the fact, that the British officers actually burst 
 into loud laughter when they perceived the frail mound 
 which " the ignorant Americans" chose to designate a 
 parapet, and to which, many narrators of these events 
 have so far burlesqued military art, as to attach a glacis. 
 
 They also made another discovery, which ingenious 
 and quick-witted people would have turned to better 
 use. They found the horrible swamp, of which they 
 stood in such dread, that their outposts would not 
 approach within a hundred yards of its edge, and of 
 which such marvellous stories are related, of men who
 
 A DEMONSTRATION AND A DEFEAT. 235 
 
 eunk into it and disappeared for ever from sight, quite 
 practicable and passable for light troops. "Why did they 
 not avail themselves of this discovery ? Why did Gibbs 
 follow so closely the folly of Keane on a previous, and 
 a still more notable, subsequent occasion, and let slip 
 the opportunity of hurling his powerful column into the 
 midst of Jackson's raw and poorly disciplined militia- 
 men ? The answer to this and many similar questions, 
 is to be found in the impressive lesson which Jackson 
 had taught them on the bloody night of the twenty- 
 third. 
 
 Besides, the British had learned by this destructive 
 reconnoissance, to appreciate the mettle and skill of the 
 artillerists, who had so unexpectedly opened upon them 
 from lines, behind which they expected to encounter 
 only rifles and muskets. Jackson seemed to possess the 
 power of Cadmus, to raise men and arms from the earth. 
 Those two huge twenty-fours, which belched forth such 
 torrents of iron hail, and that ceaseless twelve-pounder, 
 appeared to have fallen from the skies into the rude 
 embrasures from which they now peered so mysteriously 
 and threateningly. Whence, too, came the skillful and 
 adroit artillerists who manned them with such art and 
 deadly power ? These were themes for anxious delibera- 
 tion and discussion among the British chiefs. The result 
 was a conviction that their army was too weak in artil- 
 lery. Steps must be taken to equalize the conditions of 
 the two armies in this respect. 
 
 Though the demonstration of the twenty-eighth had 
 thus failed, and the splendid battalions of the British 
 had been broken into fragments, and driven to hide their 
 shame and their persons in the ditches on Bienvenu's, 
 they were not yet removed beyond danger. All day
 
 236 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 the American batteries swept the plain with their grapo 
 and round shot. "Wherever a living object became 
 visible, iron showers would fall with awful effect. How 
 to draw off the army under such a fire greatly perplexed 
 the British generals. It was at last done in a most 
 ignoble, and, to veteran soldiers, most mortifying man- 
 ner. The various regiments were ordered to break off 
 in small squads by file to the rear, and retire as rapidly 
 as they could beyond the reach of the American guns. 
 This order was obeyed with alacrity, especially that part 
 of it which required them to move by quick-step. As 
 the squads stole off in this inglorious manner, they were 
 plied more briskly with grape, shot and shells, and 
 saluted with jeering, cries, and huzzas from the Ameri- 
 can lines. Nor was this retrograde movement effected 
 without heavy loss. At least sixty men, we are assured 
 by the author of the Narrative, which we have quoted, 
 were killed or wounded in the retreat. Many of the 
 men were struck in the back with cannon balls, and 
 knocked to pieces as they hurried to the rear. Many 
 received wounds, a tergo, which were deemed by the 
 ancient Eomans more calamitous than death. Finally, 
 however, the whole army staggered beyond the range 
 of the American batteries, and the men, exhausted by 
 their several labors, threw themselves on the ground to 
 rest. 
 
 To remove the dismounted guns was the next difficulty. 
 This duty was assigned to Sir Thos. Troubridge, of the 
 navy, who, with a party of seamen, dashed forward to 
 the spot where the guns lay dismounted in the road. 
 Making fast ropes to them, the sailors succeeded, by 
 incredible exertions, in drawing the guns off and bring- 
 ing them to the rear. 
 

 
 A DEMONSTRATION AND A DEFEAT. 237 
 
 The day was far advanced before these difficult tasks 
 were all accomplished, and the army drawn up in a safe 
 position. It was now posted on the lower line of Bien- 
 venu's, with outposts extending to the front within a 
 few hundred yards of the American lines. Packenham 
 resumed his headquarters at Villere"'s. The hospitals, 
 which were hourly receiving accessions, and were now 
 quite full, were established at Jumonville's, below 
 Villere's. 
 
 In this position the army continued for several days 
 suffering greatly from exhaustion, exposure, and the 
 scarcity and bad quality of food supplied them from 
 their commissariat. The War Department in London 
 had never contemplated the possibility of such an army 
 being detained eight days, within six miles of a city, 
 which was so well provisioned. These causes produced 
 violent dysentery among both officers and men. Having 
 no tents, the men were driven to shelter themselves in 
 damp huts made of cane and reeds. During the few 
 days after the arrival of the British, the soldiers had 
 subsisted tolerably well on the cattle of the neighboring 
 plantations, which scouting parties were able to capture, 
 by scattering themselves over the country. But these 
 resources were soon exhausted; as the planters only 
 raised such stock as they needed for their families, the 
 quantity to be found was necessarily limited. The 
 British were then reduced to the worst kind of army 
 provisions, the maggoty pork and weevily biscuit. All 
 the horses found on the plantations were appropriated 
 by the field officers and their staffs, and by the artillery 
 for the draught of their guns. A few of the 14th 
 Dragoons, but poorly mounted, were assigned to guard 
 and vidette duty.
 
 r ** '* ' ' jt ^ 
 
 238 JACKSON AND NEW OELEAN8. 
 
 Thus closed the first operation of Sir Edward Packen- 
 ham in America. He was further than ever from his 
 Earldom, and his several millions of " the spoils." His 
 experience of the " ignorant Indian fighter " had been 
 even more severe and disastrous than that of his Briga- 
 dier and countryman (Keane). The high spirits excited 
 iii the army by his arrival had descended to zero. A 
 change of leaders had brought no relief to those devoted 
 battalions. Defeat and disaster, difficulties and dangers, 
 innumerable, unforeseen, and insurmountable, enveloped 
 them at every step. A fatal web had been thrown 
 around that army, with the skill and boldness of a 
 master mind. Like the mysterious net weaved by the 
 art of Yulcan, the links, though invisible, were not the 
 less potent, tangible and irresistible.
 
 THE BRITISH BEING UP THEIR BIG GUNS. 239 
 
 xn. 
 
 THE BRITISH BRING UP THEIR BIG GUNS. 
 
 BITTER were the feelings of Packenham, as, accom- 
 panied by Sir John Tylden, Adjutant-General, and 
 Captain Wylley, Military Secretary of the General-in- 
 Chief, and other staff officers, he rode slowly back to 
 his headquarters at Yillere's. The feint by which he 
 expected to scare the Americans from their lines had 
 been quite as great a failure as the attempt to frighten 
 them with Congreve rockets, which the British had con- 
 tinued to throw into the American camp from the first 
 moment the two armies came in sight of one another. 
 
 Another council of war was convoked. The chiefs 
 quickly repaired to headquarters, and were soon engaged 
 in earnest deliberation on the next expedient to relieve 
 the army from its embarrassments. Packenham's 
 depression was still quite manifest, but the obstinate 
 and stout-hearted Scotchman, Cochrane, " knew no such 
 word as fail." He was emphatically the soul of the 
 enterprise, as fertile in resources as he was indomitable 
 in energy. He showed that their failures thus far were 
 due to the superiority of the American artillery. They 
 must supply this deficiency by bringing more large guns 
 from the fleet. 
 
 Certainly, out of the hundred large guns then lying 
 idle on the decks of their three-deckers and frigates,
 
 24:0 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 they could select a battery strong enough to cope with 
 the few old guns of the Americans. But then, it was 
 suggested, the Americans are entrenched. "So must 
 we be," was the reply of the prompt old sailor. It was 
 therefore determined to treat the American lines as 
 regular fortifications, by erecting breaching batteries 
 against them, and proceeding to silence their guns. The 
 reminder of the effectiveness of the American batteries 
 was received with scornful sneers. What ! were the con- 
 querors of Napoleon, the practiced veterans of a hundred 
 victories, the sailors and marines who, under Nelson and 
 Collingwood, had annihilated the navy of France, the 
 heroes of the Nile, of Copenhagen and of Trafalgar, to 
 yield in gunnery to the motley crews of American 
 coasters to the privateers and pirates of the Gulf, and 
 the inexperienced artillerists of a young army of raw 
 and hastily-collected levies? Perish the base thought! 
 The slight successes gained by the Americans were due 
 to the superior metal of their guns. With guns of equal 
 calibre, managed by their experienced scientific artiller- 
 ists, and batteries constructed according to the rules of 
 engineering, these advantages of their enemies would soon 
 disappear. Thus argued the advocates of the new plan 
 of breaching the American lines with heavy batteries. 
 There were no better artillery officers in the British 
 army than Colonel John Dixon and Major Munro, who 
 had achieved great renown in the Peninsular war nor 
 than Colonel Burgoyne, son of the General whose name 
 figures so disastrously in our revolutionary annals, and 
 Major Blanchard, of the Engineers. These officers gave 
 their decided opinion in favor of the practicability of 
 silencing the American batteries and destroying their 
 parapet by establishing opposing batteries of large guns
 
 THE BRITISH BEING UP THEIR BIG GUNS. 241 
 
 brought up from the fleet. Colonel Dixon only required 
 three hours to effect this result. This plan was adopted. 
 The sailors and many of the soldiers were set. to work to 
 bring up the heavy guns from the fleet, a task of im- 
 mense labor and difficulty. Three days were thus con- 
 sumed by the British. 
 
 Jackson, in the meantime, continued with unwearied 
 activity to strengthen his lines and augment his artillery. 
 The weakness of his left, made apparent on the 28th, 
 was, in a measure, repaired by removing the two twelve- 
 pounders of Lieutenant Spotts as near as practicable to 
 the woods, and establishing one twelve-pounder between 
 that point and the centre of his line. This piece was 
 confided to General Garrique, a veteran French soldier, 
 who volunteered for the occasion. A six-pounder, and 
 afterwards an eighteen, were, under Colonel Perry, also 
 planted in the same section. 
 
 On the 29th, Patterson having discovered the destruc- 
 tive effects of a flanking fire from the other side of the 
 river, laid the foundation of his celebrated marine bat- 
 tery, by removing two twelve and one twenty-four 
 pounder from the decks of the Louisiana and placing 
 them in the battery on Jourdan's plantation, behind the 
 levee on the west bank of the river, so as to command 
 the front of the American works. To serve this battery, 
 a part of the crew of the Louisiana were detached and 
 others were pressed in the streets of New Orleans, by 
 Lieutenant Thompson, who for that purpose entered 
 every sailor boarding-house in the city, and arrested 
 every nautical looking character he could find. By 
 these means he soon succeeded in collecting as various 
 and mixed a corps of men as ever fought under the 
 same flag. It embraced natives of all countries except 
 
 11
 
 242 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 England, who spoke all languages except that of their 
 commander. A perfect Babel indeed, was that famous 
 marine battery of Patterson. It is an amazing proof of 
 the power of discipline and of the energy and capacity 
 of the Commodore and his able subordinate, Lieutenant 
 Thompson, that with such discordant material they were 
 able to render their battery one of the most efficient in 
 the annals of modern warfare. 
 
 Early on the 30th their power had been strikingly 
 displayed. The British had established several batteries 
 between the river bank and the levee, for the purpose 
 of combating and destroying the American armed 
 vessels, which could not be reached by Jackson's guns 
 in the lines. The marine battery was soon opened upon 
 them, and in a few hours all the British gunners were 
 driven from the river bank, behind the levee, and the 
 men who were sheltered in the houses about Chalmette's 
 and Bienvenu's were compelled to take refuge in the 
 ditches. So constant and vigilant were Patterson's 
 gunners that the British found it impossible to make 
 any reconnoissance near the river. 
 
 Thus secured on his right flank, Jackson next turned 
 his attention to the prolongation of his lines into the 
 swamp, so as to prevent the British from gaining his 
 rear and turning his left flank. Carroll's and Coffee's 
 men were kept incessantly engaged in deepening the 
 ditches on their part of the line and throwing up the 
 dirt into a rude mound. The anxiety of Jackson about 
 the weakness of this part of his lines was, however, 
 quite unnecessary, for the British always kept as far as 
 possible from the swamp. This caution was due to the 
 terror of the Tennessee bush-fighters and dirty "shirts," 
 as they were called by the neat and well dressed British
 
 THE BRITISH BEING UP THEIR BIG GUNS. 243 
 
 soldiers. These wily frontiersmen, habituated to the 
 Indian mode of warfare, never missed a chance of pick- 
 ing off a straggler or sentinel. Clad in their dusky 
 brown homespun, they would glide unperceived through 
 the woods, and taking a cool view of the enemy's lines, 
 would cover the first Briton who came within range of 
 their long small-bored rifles. Nor did they waste their 
 ammunition. Whenever they drew a bead on any 
 object, it was certain to fall. The cool indifference with 
 which they would perform the most daring acts of this 
 nature was amazing. 
 
 One of these bush-fighters, having obtained leave to 
 go on a hunting-party, one night, stole along towards 
 the British camp, over ditches and through underwood, 
 until he got near a British sentinel, whom he imme- 
 diately killed, and seizing his arms and accoutrements, 
 laid them at some distance from the place where the 
 sentinel had stood, and then concealing himself, waited 
 quietly for more game. When it was time to relieve 
 the sentinel, the corporal of the guard finding him dead, 
 posted another in his place, which he had hardly left, 
 before another victim fell before the unerring rifle of the 
 Tennesseean. Having conveyed his arms and accoutre- 
 ments to the place at which he left those of the first 
 victim, the remorseless hunter took a new position, and a 
 third sentinel, posted in the same place, shared the fate 
 of the two others. At last the corporal of the guard, 
 amazed to see three sentinels killed, in one night, at the 
 same post, determined to expose no more men in so dan- 
 gerous a spot. The Tennesseean, seeing this, returned 
 to camp with the spoils of the slain, and received the 
 congratulations of his comrades on the success of his 
 night's hunt. Many instances of a similar character,
 
 244 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 illustrative of the daring, the skill, and love of adven- 
 ture of these hardy riflemen, are related by the survi- 
 vors of that epoch. Indeed the whole army, after the 
 events of the 23d, 25th, and 28th, seemed to be anima- 
 ted by a spirit of personal daring and gallant enterprise. 
 The plain between the two hostile camps was alive 
 day and night with small parties of foot and horse, 
 wandering to and fro in pursuit of adventure, on the 
 trail of reconnoiterers, stragglers an,d outpost sentinels. 
 The natural restlessness and nomadic tendency of the 
 Americans were here conspicuously displayed. After 
 a while, there grew up a regular science in the conduct 
 of these modes of vexing, annoying, and weakening the 
 enemy. Their system, it is true, is not to be found in 
 Vauban's, Steuben's or Scott's military tactics, but it, 
 nevertheless, proved to be quite effective. It was as 
 follows : A small number of each corps, being permitted 
 to leave the lines, would start from their position and 
 all converge to a central point in front of the lines. 
 Here they would, when all collected, make quite a for- 
 midable body of men, and, electing their own com- 
 mander, would proceed to attack the nearest British out- 
 post, or advance in extended lines, so as to create alarm 
 in the enemy's camp, and subject them to the vexation 
 of being beaten to arms, in the midst of which, the 
 scouting party would be unusually unlucky, if it did 
 not succeed in "bagging" one or two of the enemy's 
 advanced sentinels. Prominent among the bands which 
 kept the British in perpetual alarm, was the command 
 of the indefatigable Major Hinds, whose troopers from 
 Mississippi and Louisiana were ever hovering about the 
 English outposts, charging to the very mouths of their 
 cannon, and driving in their pickets. Unfortunately
 
 THE BRITISH BEING UP THEIR BIG GUNS. 245 
 
 for the British, so at least they thought, they were una- 
 ble to mount their dragoons for field or fighting service; 
 and Hinds, having none of his own arm to try his 
 mettle on, was compelled to satisfy his impatient valor, 
 in unequal and ineffectual, but very dangerous, and to 
 the British very vexatious, charges on their redoubts 
 and outposts. Hinds was of great use to Jackson in 
 executing reconnoissances, which he always did with 
 brilliant daring and success. As soon as the British 
 would throw up a redoubt, or commence planting a 
 battery in any new position, Jackson had only to say, 
 "Major Hinds, report to me the number and calibre of 
 the guns they are establishing there." Immediately 
 the stalwart trooper would form his dragoons, and 
 advancing in an easy trot, until he had arrived within a 
 few hundred yards of the object of the reconnoissance, 
 would order a charge, and leading himself, would dash 
 at full speed at the enemy's position, as near as was 
 necessary to ascertain their strength and situation, and 
 then wheeling under their fire and a shower of rockets, 
 would gallop back to headquarters and report to Jack- 
 son all the information he possessed. One of Hinds' 
 companies was composed of Felicianians, young Ameri- 
 cans, who had settled in that beautiful portion of Louis- 
 iana lying on the east bank of the Mississippi north of 
 the Bayou Manchack. This was the same company 
 which had aided so materially in the capture of Baton 
 Rouge in 1810, when a few Americans organizing at 
 Bayou Sara declared their independence of Spanish 
 dominion, and marching down to Baton Rouge, rushed 
 into the fort, over the big guns of the Spaniards, tore 
 down the flag of Spain, and supplanted it with that of 
 the "Lone Star," which subsequently gave place to the
 
 246 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 ** Stars and Stripes." It was on that occasion the Feli- 
 ciana dragoons learned the art and acquired the habit 
 of charging batteries. The capture by a troop of horse, 
 of a strong fortification, well defended by cannon 
 of the largest calibre, and strongly manned, was an 
 achievement, which is only paralleled in the annals of 
 warfare, by the celebrated charge of Paez with his dra- 
 goons against a hostile fleet in the Venezuelan war. 
 There was also Captain Ogden's company, composed of 
 young men of education and high position in society, 
 which constituted the guard of the commander-in-chief, 
 obeying his orders alone. It was posted in Macarte's 
 garden. There were also the companies of Captain 
 Chauveau and Dubuclay, the latter being chiefly Aca- 
 diens from Attakapas. 
 
 In such incessant scouting parties and volunteer opera- 
 tions as we have described, a majority of Jackson's com- 
 mand were engaged during the greater part of the 
 night. So daring were these attacks, that on more than 
 one occasion, the six-pounders were advanced from the 
 lines and drawn within cannon shot of the outposts, 
 when they would be discharged at the sentinels or any 
 living object, generally with some effect, and always 
 with great terror to the whole British camp, causing a 
 general apprehension that the Americans were advanc- 
 ing to attack them in full force. 
 
 After midnight the skirmishers would return to their 
 camp and resign themselves to sleep, using for their 
 beds the brush collected from the swamp ; and the Ten- 
 nesseeans, who were encamped on the extreme left, 
 lying on gunwales or logs, raised a few inches above 
 the surface of the water or soft mire of the morass. 
 About two hours after daybreak, a general stir would
 
 THE BKITISH BEING UP THEIR BIG GUNS. 247 
 
 be observable in the American camp this was for the 
 general muster. Drums were then beaten and several 
 bands of music among which that of the Orleans bat- 
 talion (Plauche's) was conspicuous would animate the 
 spirits of the men with martial strains, that could be 
 heard in the desolate and gloomy camp of the British, 
 where no melodious notes or other sounds of cheerful- 
 ness were allowed to mock their misery ; where not 
 even a bugle sounded, unless as a warning or a sum- 
 mons of the guard to the relief o"f some threatened out- 
 post. A writer who draws more freely upon his 
 imagination than upon the authentic records of the 
 country, and yet whose works have obtained great 
 popularity among a people who prefer the dramatic and 
 highly wrought to the sober, but often really more in- 
 teresting facts of history Headley, in his life of Jack- 
 son thus describes the two camps: "The two hostile 
 camps presented a spectacle of the most striking inter- 
 est. The British lay in full view of the American lines 
 their white tents looking amid the surrounding water 
 like clouds of sail resting on the bosom of the river, 
 while at intervals a random shot, or the morning and 
 evening gun, sent their slow challenge to the foe. There 
 was marching and counter-marching, strains of martial 
 music and all the confused sounds of camp-life, while 
 to them an American intrenchment, which stretched in 
 a dark line across the plain, semed as silent as death, 
 except when a solitary gun sent forth its sullen defiance." 
 This picture is the reverse of the truth. It presents a 
 ^ood illustration of the evil of that system of historical 
 romancing, for which this writer has become famous. 
 The contrast drawn by the author of " The Subaltern in 
 America," a British officer in Packenham's army, in the
 
 24:8 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. - , 
 
 following quotation, forms quite a different picture from 
 that sketched by the imagination of Headley. 
 
 " On the summit of the centre works a lofty flag- 
 staff was erected, from which a large American ensign 
 constantly waved ; whilst in the rear of the breast-work, 
 a crowd of white tents showed themselves, not a few ol 
 which bore flags at the top of their poles. 
 
 "The American camp exhibited, at least, as much ol 
 the pomp and circumstance of war as modern camps are 
 acccustomed to exhibit, and the spirits of its inmates 
 were kept continually in a state of excitement by the 
 bands of martial music. How different was the specta- 
 cle, to which a glance towards the rear introduced the 
 spectator, presenting exactly the same extent of front. 
 The British army lay there without tents, without works, 
 without show, without parade, upon the ground. 
 Throughout the whole line not more than a dozen huts 
 were erected, and these, which consisted only of planks 
 torn from the houses and from fences near, furnished 
 but an inefficient protection against the inclemency 
 of the weather. No band played among our men 
 nor did a bugle give its sound, except to warn the 
 hearers of danger and put them on the alert. On the 
 contrary, the routine of duty was conducted in as 
 much silence as if there had been no musical instru- 
 ments in the camp. It was impossible not to be struck 
 with the contrast which the condition and apparent com- 
 forts of the invading and defending hosts presented." 
 
 After the nervousness natural to young soldiers had 
 worn off, and the Americans had become, in a measure, 
 hardened to their new mode of life, with characteristic 
 self-reliance and aptitude for taking care of themselves, 
 their camp was made to present an aspect which would
 
 THE BRITISH BEING UP THEIR BIG GUNS. 249 
 
 have done credit to a well-appointed army. All this, 
 too, was done without the aid of the Government. The 
 men who defended those lines were generally gentle- 
 men, in the social sense of the word, and provided their 
 own equipments, arms, and all their comforts, from their 
 own private means. Nor did the gay and high-spirited 
 Orleanois renounce entirely their favorite amusements, 
 pleasures and gallantries during the severe service at 
 the lines. On the contrary, the General-in-chief was 
 frequently compelled to administer very severe reproofs 
 to both officers and men for sundry derelictions from 
 duty and breaches of discipline. Sentinels would be 
 eluded and commanders " dodged" whilst all was quiet 
 in front, and many a gallant Creole youth would thus 
 steal back to town, to snatch a few minutes of delight- 
 ful intercourse with wife or sweetheart, and solace his 
 spirits and his body with a few of the comforts of home 
 and city life. But, woe to him if he were not at his 
 post, when reveille sounded, and the signal was given 
 for the army to get under arms ! 
 
 Such was the state of affairs within the American 
 lines during the time the British were engaged in unceas- 
 ing labors, and contending against unexpected and 
 insurmountable difficulties and obstacles, in the vain 
 hope of rescuing themselves from the perplexing posi- 
 tion into which they had been brought. Their move- 
 ments in establishing redoubts and batteries at various 
 points were closely watched and vigorously opposed. 
 Crawley's thirty-two and You's twenty-four were kept 
 busy playing upon a redoubt, which the British were 
 throwing up on their extreme right, near the woods. 
 Notwithstanding its great distance, many of their shot 
 took effect, demolishing parts of the redoubts and killing 
 
 11*
 
 250 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 several men. At night the work would be repaired, and 
 Jackson's Artillery would be compelled with the dawn 
 of the day to resume the the task of demolition. It was 
 fine practice for the American gunners, who were thus 
 enabled to attain that extraordinary precision, which so 
 greatly amazed the British. 
 
 On the 31st, the redoubt near the woods having been 
 repaired and strengthened, commenced a brisk fire on 
 the American lines, which was warmly returned. This 
 cannonading was kept up on both sides, during the 
 whole day. Under cover of this battery several recon- 
 noitering parties were observed, traversing the fields 
 and making very careful and exact observations of the 
 position of Jackson's batteries. These parties were not 
 neglected by the sleepless cannoniers of the Louisiana, 
 who leaving the land batteries to carry on their duel, 
 thought proper to keep off any intruders by throwing a 
 shower of grape and round shot in every direction where 
 any movement was observed in the British camp. Even 
 individuals were thus picked off, and reconnoitering 
 duty became equal in desperateness to that of the for- 
 lorn hope in a storming party. 
 
 Jackson soon discovered the design of the British. 
 The activity in their camp, the frequent reconnois- 
 sances, the withdrawal of the great body of the troops 
 to the rear, all the signs indicated a new and more 
 vigorous blow than had yet been aimed at his insignifi- 
 cant fortifications. 
 
 On the night of the 31st the American sentinels and out- 
 posts reported that the whole British army had advanced 
 within five or six hundred yards of their lines, and 
 could be distinctly heard at work with spades, digging 
 the earth or hammering at certain wood-work. What
 
 THE BRITISH BEING UP THEIR BIG GUNS. 251 
 
 could it all mean ? was the query which ran through 
 the camp, and greatly inflamed the natural curiosity of 
 the Americans as to what would be the next move of 
 the red-coats? This was the inquiry of the young 
 soldiers. There were veterans in the lines men who 
 had served in regular armies old soldiers of Dumou- 
 rier, Hoche, Moreau, and Napoleon, who perceived at a 
 glance the design of the enemy, and collecting around 
 them groups of younger soldiers, plain militiamen, 
 explained to them, with a pruriency of military techni- 
 calities, the whole plan of the British. 
 
 They were correct in their calculations that the British 
 were about to try what virtue liiere was in batteries and 
 big guns. Packenham had consented to give the artil- 
 lery and navy an opportunity of redeeming the fortunes 
 of the army, by attempting to effect a breach in Jack- 
 son's works. Accordingly, on the night of the 31st, 
 twenty long eighteen and ten twenty-fours having been 
 brought into camp, with ammunition enough for six 
 hours' continued cannonading, it was determined to 
 throw up several redoubts within a short distance of the 
 American lines. As soon as it was dark, half of the 
 army was ordered out, and marched silently to the front, 
 passing the pickets, and halting when they reached a 
 designated spot, about four hundred yards from Jack- 
 son's camp. Here the men were ordered to stack arms 
 and go to work with spades and picks, under the direc- 
 tion of the engineering officers, and the general super- 
 intendence of Colonel (now General) Sir John Burgoyne, 
 Inspector of Fortifications in the British army, and 
 Director of the Engineering operations before Sevas- 
 topol. The men worked with great vigor and activity 
 The 85th and 95th hovered in front and on the flanks to 

 
 252 JACKSON AND NEW OKLEANS. 
 
 cover the working parties. The night was dark. The 
 utmost silence was rigidly enforced by the officers. 
 Each man strove to accomplish his task more promptly 
 and satisfactorily than his neighbor. The officers joined 
 in the work. Not a few hands, which were unused to 
 toil, were hardened by that night's labor. Every one 
 who had the strength wielded a spade or pickaxe, 
 "knowing, as we all knew," remarks the Subaltern, 
 " that we worked for life or death." The work had to 
 be done with caution and silence as well as zeal and 
 vigor, for the "cunning Yankees" were evidently alive, 
 and they might thus lose the effect which the sudden- 
 ness of their new movement was expected to produce. 
 The work in which the British were thus earnestly 
 employed was the erection and solidification of several 
 redoubts, from which it was proposed to open upon the 
 American entrenchments a fire which must sweep such 
 frail structures from the earth. In making the embank- 
 ments of the redoubts, the engineers were sorely pressed 
 for solid material. Everything which appeared to possess 
 any capacity for resistance was thrown into the mounds, 
 so as to give them solidity and strength. Even the 
 hogsheads of sugar that lay around the ruins of the 
 sugar-houses of the plantations near, were rolled to the 
 front, and placed upright in the parapets, under the 
 belief that they would prove to be quite as useful in 
 resisting cannon balls as sand, which is frequently useu 
 for this purpose. Several thousand dollars' worth of 
 sugar was thus wasted. 
 
 The result of these great labors was the completion, 
 before dawn, of three solid demilunes, placed on the 
 right, centre and left, at nearly equal distances apart, in 
 which were established thirty pieces of heavy ordnance,
 
 THE BMTISH BRING UP THEIB BIG GUNS. 253 
 
 with the necessary quantity of ammunition. Manned 
 by the artillerists and the picked gunners of the fleet 
 the veterans of Kelson and Collinsgwood this powerful 
 battery was placed in the most efficient condition to 
 open upon the enemy's lines as soon as they should be- 
 come visible through the morning mist.
 
 254 JACKSON AND NEW OKLKAHB. 
 
 xm. 
 
 BATTLE OF THE BATTERIES. 
 
 A THICK fog ushered in the first of January, 1815. 
 To an unusual late hour of the morning, this fog hung 
 over the fields and obscured all objects, so that neither 
 army could see twenty yards to the front. As soon as 
 the works were completed, the British infantry fell back 
 about two hundred yards in the rear of their battery, 
 where, drawn up in battle array, they awaited anxiously 
 to observe the effect of the new plan of operations, and 
 prepared to take advantage of the expected breach 
 which was to be made in the American works. The 
 artillerists and sailors stood with lighted matches behind 
 the compact redoubts, which were so constructed as to 
 be defended, as well against the flanking fire of the 
 Louisiana and of Paterson's batteries, as against the 
 batteries in front. Thus they stood, impatiently waiting 
 for the sun to dissipate the heavy vapors which con- 
 cealed its face long after it had risen above the horizon. 
 
 The Americans not being disturbed at break of day, 
 as their veterans had predicted, by the apprehended 
 bombardment, had resumed their equability and careless 
 demeanor. Indeed, they had turned out, to honor and 
 salute the New Year, by various joyful demonstrations. 
 A grand parade was ordered. At an early hour all the 
 troops were out in clean clothes, with bright arms, and
 
 BATTLE OF THE BATTERIES. 255 
 
 I 
 
 cheerful countenances. The different military bands 
 pealed forth their most animating strains. The various 
 regimental and company standards were unfurled, and 
 fluttered gaily in the morning breeze. Officers rode to 
 and fro through the camp, full of pride and enthusiasm. 
 Many citizens who had been permitted to come into camp, 
 to see their relations and friends, were walking carelessly 
 over the field in which the tents were pitched. All was 
 animation, confidence, security and joviality in the 
 American camp. This condition of affairs in the Ameri- 
 can lines was perceived by the British, who chafed 
 with impatience to convert the scene into one of a very 
 different character. The day was far advanced before 
 the heavy fog which obstructed the view from the 
 British batteries rolled up, like a stage-curtain, and the 
 bright sun came forth to reveal and expose the animated 
 spectacle of the American camp. But the British did 
 not pause to contemplate this scene. At a signal from 
 the central redoubt, thirty large cannon belched forth 
 their fiery missiles upon the American lines at point 
 blank distance. At the same time, to render the fire 
 more impressive and startling, myriads of Congreve 
 rockets were thrown up from the redoubts, which filled 
 the firmament with flaming orbits and rained meteoric 
 showers upon the fields around and upon the American 
 camp. It would be vain to deny that the Americans 
 were startled by the suddenness and violence of this 
 cannonade Their parade was quickly ended. The 
 men broke ranks and dispersed, not as some British 
 writers have represented, in terror and alarm, but to 
 proceed to their respective posts in the lines. The post 
 of duty on this occasion was not the post of danger, for 
 it was only when standing immediately behind their
 
 256 JACKSON AND NEW OELEAN8. 
 
 parapet that the Americans were safe from the shot and 
 shells of -the enemy. No one in their camp was in 
 greater danger than the General-in-Chief. The head- 
 quarters at Macarte's was the favorite target of the 
 British battery near the road. Here Jackson, surrounded 
 by his staff, was taking a hurried breakfast, when, as 
 the first intimation of the opening of the British batteries, 
 there came a terrific crash of balls, rockets and shells, 
 which, piercing the frail walls of the old chateau, passed 
 through every part of it, scattering bricks, splinters of 
 wood, and furniture, and plaster in every direction, so 
 that several of the General's aids were thickly covered 
 with the rubbish. It was a miracle that no one was 
 hurt, though for ten minutes after the batteries opened, 
 not less than a hundred balls, rockets and shells struck 
 the house. It became too warm a place, for even the 
 fearless General. Calling his aids around him he walked 
 towards the lines. Here he found the men all at their 
 posts, regarding with breathless anxiety and some 
 degree of nervousness, the shock which the tremendous 
 cannonade of the enemy communicated to their embank- 
 ment, and to the very ground upon which they stood. 
 It was indeed a scene calculated to awe and alarm raw 
 soldiers and civilians. The incessant roar and blaze of 
 thirty large cannons, the tremor of the earth under the 
 heavy weight of the missiles, the awful hissing and 
 crashing of shells, the "red glare" of streaming, circling 
 rockets, and the thick smoke, which the dampness of the 
 atmosphere gathered over the scene, formed a picture 
 of the awfully sublime, such as new soldiers are not 
 often required to face, nor ever expected to view, with- 
 out some degree of anxiety, not to say alarm. But 
 nobly did Jackson's men face these terrific demonstra-
 
 BATTLE OF THE BATTERIES. 257 
 
 tions. The artillerists stood ready with their guns 
 pointed and matches lighted, waiting until the smoke of 
 the British guns should disappear and expose the position 
 of their batteries. Jackson's first glance, when he 
 reached the line, was in the direction of Humphrey's 
 battery. There stood this "right arm" of the artillery, 
 dressed in his usual plain attire, smoking that eternal 
 cigar, coolly levelling his guns, and directing his men. 
 
 " Ah !" exclaimed the General, " all is right ; Hum- 
 phrey is at his post, and will return their compliments 
 presently." Then, accompanied by his aids, he walked 
 down the line to the left, stopping at each battery to 
 inspect its condition, and waving his cap to the men as 
 they gave him three cheers, and observing to the 
 soldiers, "Don't mind these rockets, they are mere toys 
 to amuse children." 
 
 Presently the American lines broke their ominous 
 silence. Humphrey led off on the right with his twelves, 
 firing several volleys before the other guns began, there- 
 by creating the false hope in the breasts of the enemy 
 that their terrific cannonade would be gently returned. 
 But soon Dominique, and Norris, and Spotts dissipated 
 this delusion, and with their larger guns joined the cho- 
 rus. Next, the veteran Garrique with his twelve 
 pounder, directed his particular attention to the redoubt 
 on the British right and in his front, whilst Crawley 
 made the earth tremble under the reverberations of his 
 huge piece. And now once fairly opened, the batteries 
 of the Americans poured forth, without pause or cessa- 
 tion, a constant stream of fiery missiles, which soon de- 
 stroyed the hope of the British that it was to be a one- 
 sided affair* There is nothing in this brilliant campaign 
 more remarkable than the vigor, destructiveness, and
 
 258 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 complete success of this cannonade on the part of the 
 Americans. The coolness of the commanders of the 
 batteries, the precision of their fire, and the regularity 
 of their discharges, amazed the veterans in both armies. 
 The phlegmatic Humphreys, with his eternal cigar, his 
 keen eye cocked carelessly over the embrasure, his 
 quiet manner, and those inspiring words of command, 
 "Let her off," which preceded the discharge of his 
 pieces ; the prompt energetic bearing of Lieut. Spotts, 
 a small man of indomitable courage, commanding a 
 hardy band of those besmoked tars, who from the decks 
 of the Carolina had hurled such a terrible tornado into 
 the British camp on the night of the 23d of December ; 
 the agile, wiry, quick-eyed and ferocious Dominique ; 
 You, standing on the very edge of the embankment, 
 exposed to the storms of British shot, and in loud and 
 defiant terms in French, exciting his grim, scarred, and 
 desperate warriors, to fire more briskly, to cram their 
 pieces to the mouth, with those terrible chain-shot, and 
 ponderous ship cannister, and every description of 
 destructive missile ; Korris, calm, and officer-like, hand- 
 ling his piece and directing his men as if merely exer- 
 cising them; Crawley with equal phlegm and ease, 
 leveling his monster with fatal precision ; and the 
 enthusiastic Garrique, stirring up the warm blood of 
 his old Napoleon artillerists, who, before their ancient 
 foe, felt the vengeance, the hostility of long years 
 welling up in their bosoms, and banishing all fear or 
 pity. These were some of the main features in that 
 memorable scene, which greeted the proud and daunt- 
 less gaze of the heroic Jackson, as he passed slow- 
 ly down the lines, infusing spirit, courage, and vigor 
 into all, who beheld his erect bearing, his flashing
 
 BATTLE OF TI1E BATTERIES. 259 
 
 eye, and determined countenance. And so, for an how? 
 the fire raged and the batteries belched forth their iron 
 lava, and, to the lookers on, it appeared as if those 
 guns were as inexhaustible as Vesuvius. In that com- 
 bat, it was quite obvious that the British had several 
 advantages. Their batteries presented a very narrow 
 front and slight elevation on a spacious plain, the sur- 
 face of which was from four to six feet below the level 
 of the American platforms. The American works offer- 
 ed a fair target, in a line about one thousand yards long, 
 the top of the parapet being higher than the platforms 
 of the British. Nor were their guns badly handled. It 
 could not be otherwise, manned as they were by veter- 
 an artillerists and the famous naval gunners, who had 
 fought at Trafalgar, the Nile, and Copenhagen. Their 
 sh<^; rarely missed their object. Several of their balls 
 struck the American guns.. Dominique's twenty-four 
 had its carriage broken ; Crawley's thirty-two was also 
 damaged, the foretrain of Garrique's twelve was broken, 
 and two caissons, in one of which there were a hundred 
 pounds of powder, were blown up. 
 
 But what were all these proofs of skill and good 
 practice, compared with the extraordinary achieve- 
 ments of the American gunners? The British, it will 
 be remembered, had at least thirty guns of the largest 
 calibre ; the Americans only ten of various calibres, 
 several being six-pounders. Yet, in an hour and a 
 quarter after the batteries opened, the British fire began 
 to slacken. It was evident they were hurt, damaged, 
 crippled. With intense interest and eagerness the 
 Americans strove to pierce the smoke which enveloped 
 the British redoubts, in order to ascertain the extent of 
 the damage. Soon, it was quite perceptible on both
 
 260 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 sides, that the embankments of the batteries were all 
 beaten in, the guns exposed, and some of the artillerists 
 killed. The infantry, which had been ordered to be 
 ready for an advance, when a breach was made in the 
 American works, grew impatient, and became so 
 exposed that it was deemed prudent to retire them 
 again into the ditches. As the fire of the British slack- 
 ened, that of the Americans increased in power and 
 accuracy. There was a slight flickering of hope in their 
 bosoms, and a feeble cheer, when an American caisson 
 blew up. It was a brief exultation. The Americans 
 shouted back their defiance, and redoubled their fire. 
 With a terrible crash, the heavy round and chain shot 
 tore through the thick and compact mound of the 
 redoubts, and scattered into fragments. Then it was 
 discovered, that a great error had been committed^ in 
 rising hogsheads of sugar in the construction of their 
 parapets. The balls penetrated these hogsheads as if 
 they were so many empty casks, dismounting the guns, 
 and killing the men in the very centre of the works. It 
 was thus shown that sugar is a very different material 
 j from sand. 
 
 On the other side, the Americans were equally unsuc- 
 cessful in attempting to employ one of the great staples 
 of the country for warlike purposes. A flatboat, which 
 lay near the American camp, had in it some fifty bales 
 of cotton, the property of that since famous cotton spe- 
 culator, Vincent Nolte, who had purchased them from 
 Major Plauche, commandant of the 'Orleans battalion. 
 In the hurried construction of the embankment, these 
 bales had been rolled out and thrown into the pile of 
 earth to increase its bulk. On this day, the enemy's 
 balls striking one of these bales knocked it out of the
 
 BATTLE OF THE BATTEBIES. 261 
 
 mound, set fire to the cotton, and sent it flying about to 
 the great danger of the ammunition. The bales were 
 consequently removed, and some of them falling on the 
 outside of the breastwork into the ditch, there issued 
 from them a heavy smoke, which blinded the artille- 
 rists, and seriously obstructed their operations. Some 
 of the men of Plaudit's battalion volunteered to extin- 
 guish the burning cotton, and, slipping over the breast- 
 work, succeeded in doing so, not, however, without 
 injury, one of the parties being seriously wounded. 
 After this no cotton bales were ever used in the breast- 
 work. Yet, a vulgar error has long prevailed that 
 Jackson's defences were composed chiefly of this great 
 staple, which, though modern science has discovered to 
 possess certain inflammable qualities, suited for some of 
 the operations of war, is, perhaps, one of the most inse- 
 cure and dangerous materials out of which a breastwork 
 to resist cannon balls, shells and rockets could be con- 
 structed. The imaginations of the British, excited by 
 avarice, by the prospect of sharing the immense quan- 
 tity of this valuable product, reported to be accu- 
 mulated in the city of New Orleans, might be excused, 
 for seeing such a vast heap of it, lying, like the apple 
 of Tantalus, within their grasp, and alluring them to 
 death and disgrace. But American writers are scarcely 
 pardonable for a repetition of this absurdity, that Jack- 
 son's lines were composed, in whole, or in part, of 
 cotton bales. The experience of this campaign demon- 
 strated, that sugar and cotton were intended for peaceful 
 uses, for the nurture, conservation and protection of 
 humanity, and not as aids and appliances in promoting 
 man's destruction and encouraging his passions. It 
 demonstrated this other valuable truth, that the soil of
 
 * us 
 
 262 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Louisiana is the best material out of which to construct 
 its own defence. It was the sole material of Jackson's 
 slight breastwork. The British balls were embedded in 
 the soft elastic earth, where they remained without 
 shaking or weakening the embankment. Indeed, they 
 contributed to render it more solid. The only inlets 
 through which they had access into the lines, were 
 through the embrasures for the cannon, and nearly all 
 these were penetrated several times. But the British 
 were not able to pursue these advantages. Their works 
 were rapidly melting before the fire of the Americans. 
 Soon their redoubt was completely silenced, and the 
 parapets levelled with the plain. Then the Americans 
 raised the most stentorian huzzas, as the British artiller- 
 ists were seen stealing out of their demolished works, 
 and running as fast as they could for the nearest ditch. 
 The American batteries waxed warmer, and continued 
 their lire at the other redoubts, until they, too, were 
 soon in a condition similar to that which had been the 
 first object of their fury. 
 
 And now the sun had nearly reached the meridian, 
 and a momentary respite being ordered in the Ameri- 
 can lines, to allow the pieces to cool off, the smoke 
 ascended from the stricken plain. Lo ! what a scene 
 was presented to the exulting army of Jackson. As if 
 by magic the terrible works, so scientifically and labo- 
 riously constructed, from which the iron death was to 
 be poured upon the patriotic defenders of their own 
 soil, whose formidable aspect had excited such alarm 
 and anxiety, but a few hours before, had vanished like 
 the "baseless fabric of a vision, and left not a wreck 
 behind." The big guns which had won so many vic- 
 tories for England on the sea, lay all crippled, broken,
 
 BATTLE OF THE BATTERIES. 263 
 
 dismantled, and heaped up with rubbish, while those 
 who had so often hurled destruction and defiance from 
 their mouths, were retiring with a speed worthy of Eng- 
 lish " blood and bottom," to the rear. Never was work 
 more completely done more perfectly finished and 
 rounded off. Earth and heaven fairly shook with the 
 prolonged shouts of the Americans over this spectacle. 
 Still the remorseless artillerists would not cease their 
 fire. The British infantry would now and then raise 
 their heads and peep forth from the ditches in which 
 they were so ingloriously ensconced. The level plain 
 presented but a few knolls or elevations to shelter them, 
 and the American artillerists were as skillful as rifle- 
 men in picking off those who exposed ever so small a 
 portion of their bodies.* Several extraordinary exam- 
 
 * Colonel John Burgnyne, the engineer who constructed these works, which were so 
 effectually demolished by Jackson's artillery on the 1st of January, 1815, has expe- 
 rienced other disasters of a like character during his long serrice. The failure of the 
 bombardment of Sevastopol during the present campaign, where he (John Burgoyne) 
 directed the English works, has provoked from some military critic in the London 
 Times, the folio-wing severe review of his military career, which will be found interest- 
 ing from the similarity of the error charged upon Sir John in his operations before 
 Sevastopol wilh that committed by him at New Orleans, and as a remarkable example 
 of an officer who has learned nothing from the most impressive and striking expe- 
 rience, and memorable disasters : 
 
 " It is a curious coincidence in the history of one's life, that Sir John Burgoyne 
 should, in the prime and at the end of his military career, have commanded the engi- 
 neers in two great sieges, and twice have been foiled from the very same circumstan- 
 ces. In 1312, when the Duke of Wellington advanced against Burgos, the town was unfor- 
 tified, an old castle had been modernized, and the French had thrown up three lines of 
 earthworks around the hill on which it stood. These had been executed in haste, and 
 in defiance of all rule, but against those we fired, sapped, and mined in vain ; two 
 thousand French soldiers held the place against an English army commanded by a 
 general, undefeated up to that time, but who was then forced to retreat, to abandon 
 his siege train, and the campaign of that year was a failure. After forty-two years, 
 Sir John again commands before Sevastopol, and again the same thing occurs. A 
 few earthworks are thrown up in haste before our very eyes, and the career of a victo- 
 rious army is arrested. And why is this ? Had Sir John been able to read the signs 
 of the times, the lesson so rudely taught him at Burgos would not have been thrown 
 mway. Onr Engineers would have known what earthworks were, and been prepared 
 with means to destroy them, if such be possible or we should never have sat down
 
 264: JiCKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 pies of this slu]l were communicated to the writer by a 
 British officer who was attached to Packenham's army. 
 A number of the officers of the 93d, having taken 
 refuge in a shallow hollow behind a slight elevation, it 
 it was proposed that the only married officer of the party 
 should lie at the bottom, it being deemed the safest 
 place. Lieutenant Phaups was the officer indicated, 
 and laughingly assumed the position assigned him. 
 This mound had attracted the attention of the American 
 gunners, and a great quantity of shot was thrown at it. 
 Lieutenant Phaups could not resist the anxiety to see 
 what was going on in front, and peeping forth, with not 
 more than half of his head exposed, was struck by a 
 
 before them as we have done, to run the risk of failure. We are reduced to our pre- 
 sent straits simply and solely because Sir John, at the head of a large party of vete- 
 rans, has, during the forty years of peace, resisted every improvement in military 
 science as a personal insult to their superior knowledge and experience, and they 
 have, in consequence of their position, been able to keep things pretty much as they 
 were at the end of the hist war. Sir J. Burgoyne is preeminently what in official par- 
 lance is termed ' a safe man ;' he never troubled the ministry for money to make sci- 
 entific experiments, or to improve the education of engineers or artillerymen. For 
 every inventor he had a bucket of cold water administered in the blandest manner 
 possible. He possessed above all men, the art of keeping things smooth and quiet in 
 Pallmall, and rose in favor and in fortune accordingly. He hoped, of course, that 
 these things would last his time, and so they would have done but for this ugly Russian 
 war, which has destroyed all these visions of quiet; and we now find ourselves 
 engaged in a struggle with the most barbarous nation of Europe, whose soldiers arc 
 serfs, whose officers are half educated, and whose military system is corrupt to the 
 core, yet in every scientific point they have shown themselves as superior to us in mili- 
 tary, as we are to them and the rest of Europe in military engineering. Their artillery 
 silences ours without difficulty. The shells are larger, and thrown with greater pre- 
 cision than ours, and their skill in fortification amazes our officers, who can make no 
 head against it. Their science, in short, has made up for all their other deficiencies, 
 and neutralized all the intelligence and bravery of our noble soldiers; and for all this 
 we have to thank Sir John Burgoyne and hig band of co-obstructives, who have 
 reduced the skill of the most scientific and enterprising people of Europe below the 
 level of the most barbarous. Will even the people of England and Parliament, though 
 generally so ignorant and careless on such matters, submit to this much longer f It 
 has required a war as dreadful as this one is, to open our eyes to the absurdities of 
 our military system ; but if it doei so effectually, those who hare fallen became of 
 their superiors, will not all, at least, have fallen In Tain."
 
 BATTLE OF THE BATTERIES. 265 
 
 twelve-pound shot, and instantly killed. His compa- 
 nions buried him on the spot on which he fell, in full 
 uniform. Several officers and men were picked off in a 
 similar manner. 
 
 During the cannonading, the British had sent a 
 detachment of light troops through the woods on the 
 left of the Americans, to see what impression could be 
 made on that quarter. But Jackson, warned by the 
 experience of the 28th, had given special attention to 
 this part of his lines. As soon as the British showed 
 themselves in this quarter, Coffee ordered his men to 
 drive them into the swamp, and drown them. The agile 
 Tennesseeans, leaping like cats from log to log, and 
 utterly indifferent to mire and water, satisfied the 
 heavy, beef-eating, bog-fearing Britons, that they could 
 beat them at swamp fighting, and soon drove off the 
 intruders. On the Levee the British battery had been 
 quite active and efficient in holding the Louisiana at 
 bay, and exchanging shots with Patterson's marine bat- 
 tery on the right bank of the river. They fired with 
 great precision, and several of their shot struck Patter- 
 son's works, but produced no serious injury. The main 
 object of this battery was to destroy the Louisiana. 
 For this purpose, shot were kept constantly heated. 
 But the Louisiana remained beyond the reach of this 
 battery. Humphrey, after completing the demolition of 
 the redoubts in front, now turned his attention to that 
 on the Levee, and, uniting his fire with Patterson's, 
 soon demolished the work. 
 
 The British had abandoned all their redoubts. But 
 still they were not out of the reach of the American 
 guns. Impatiently they waited for the cover of night 
 to escape from the fierce clutch of their indefatigable 
 
 12
 
 266 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 foe, and gain once more that desolate, but now desired 
 camping ground, from which they had advanced with 
 such high hopes the night before. Even this movement 
 was attended with difficulty and danger; for when 
 night drew her sable curtain over the scene, the Ame- 
 rican scouts resumed their old predatory practices, and 
 crept near enough to throw their whizzing bullets at 
 every visible living object. Never were brave men 
 more dispirited and cast down than Packenham's sol- 
 diers, as they wended their slow and dreary way back 
 to their old camp. They had been without food or 
 sleep for sixty hours. They were worn down with 
 fatigue, suffering, exhaustion and exposure to the damp 
 night air. What was worse than all, they were pros- 
 trated in hope and spirits. No wonder they murmured 
 audibly against such labors, trials and deprivations. 
 Military glory had ceased to occupy their minds and 
 imaginations. Avarice was extinct in their hearts. 
 They thought only of the present, the dark, gloomy, 
 desolate present; of their unavailing advances, their 
 unaccountable failures, their severe losses, their inces- 
 sant fatigues. If men ever were driven to the verge of 
 despair, if an army ever reached a condition, which 
 would have palliated, if not justified mutiny and rebel- 
 lion, certainly the soldiers of Packenham were in that 
 state on the night of the 1st of January, 1815. Nor did 
 their labors end with the retirement of the army. 
 Again the men were ordered out to drag the dismounted 
 guns into camp. It was a terrible task. The soil was 
 soft, and the guns were very heavy. It was not until 
 morning that all the guns which were considered of any 
 value could be removed. Five of them were left 
 behind, and subsequently became the property of the
 
 BATTLE OF THE BATTERIES. 267 
 
 Americans. This labor being accomplished, the troops 
 were all called into camp. The officers and men 
 eagerly threw themselves on the damp ground, and 
 were soon wrapped in deep slumber. That whilom 
 busy and active camp, was now as still and quiet as a 
 grave-yard. 
 
 Different feelings and desires agitated the American 
 army. The infantry had regarded with unbounded joy 
 and pride, the brilliant performances of the artillery, 
 which monopolized the labor and glory of the day. 
 Indifferent to the shower of balls, shells and rockets, 
 which were thrown into every part of the line, the men 
 who were not on duty, would crowd around the guns, 
 to witness the wonderful precision and coolness with 
 which they were directed and managed. Many of the 
 infantry were employed in aiding the artillerists, bring- 
 ing the ammunition, and performing other useful tasks 
 about the batteries. 
 
 Among those who were thus engaged, was one, whose 
 memory is cherished with pious devotion by thousands 
 in the community, which he so long blessed with his 
 inexhaustible benevolence. The 1st of January, 1815, 
 witnessed the only scene of contention and bloodshed, 
 in the long, peaceful and virtuous life of that pure- 
 minded philanthropist, Judah Touro, whose fame is 
 coequal with the boundaries of this Republic, and has 
 extended to distant and foreign lands, which he has 
 brightened and comforted by his beneficence. 
 
 After performing other severe labors as a common 
 soldier in the ranks, Mr. Touro, on the 1st of January, 
 volunteered his services to aid in carrying shot and shell 
 from the magazine to Humphrey's battery. In this 
 humble but perilous duty, he was seen actively engaged
 
 268 JACK80N AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 during the terrible cannonade with which the British 
 opened the day, regardless of the cloud of iron missiles 
 which flew around him, when many of the stoutest- 
 hearted clung closely to the embankment or sought some 
 shelter. But in the discharge of duty, this good man 
 knew no fear, and perceived no danger. It was whilst 
 thus engaged, that he was struck on the thigh by a 
 twelve-pound shot, which produced a ghastly and dan- 
 gerous wound, tearing off a large mass of flesh. Mr. 
 Touro long survived this event, leading a life of unos- 
 tentatious piety and charity, and setting an example of 
 active philanthropy, which justly merited the fervent 
 gratitude and warm affection in which he was held by 
 the community of which he was justly regarded as the 
 Patriarch the " Israelite without guile." 
 
 No charitable appeal was ever made to him in vain. 
 His contributions to philanthropic and pious enterprises 
 exceed those of any other citizen. The same patriotism 
 which prompted him to expose his life on the plains of 
 Chalmette, dictated that handsome donation of ten 
 thousand dollars for the completion of the Bunker Hill 
 Monument, and has characterized a thousand other 
 deeds of like liberality, performed " by stealth," which 
 were no less commendable for their generosity than 
 their entire freedom from sectarian feeling or selfish 
 aim. 
 
 An incident, illustrative of the beauty of friendship 
 and gratitude, of the noble and gentle traits of humanity, 
 may serve as an agreeable relief in this narrative of strife 
 and bloodshed. 
 
 Judah Touro and Hezin D. Shepherd, two enterprising 
 merchants, the one from Boston and the other from Yir- 
 gmia, had settled in New Orleans at the commencement
 
 BATTLE OF THE BATTERIES. 269 
 
 of the present century. They were intimate,, devoted 
 friends, who lived under the same roof, and were scarcely 
 ever separated. When the State was invaded, both 
 volunteered their services, and were enrolled among its 
 defenders. Mr. Touro was attached to the Regiment of 
 Louisiana Militia, and Mr. Shepherd to Captain Ogden's 
 Horse Troop. 
 
 Commodore Patterson, who was an intimate friend of 
 Mr. Shepherd, solicited Gen. Jackson to detach him, as 
 his Aid, to assist the Commodore in the erection of his 
 battery on the right bank of the river, and in the de- 
 fence of that position. It was whilst acting as Patter- 
 son's Aid, that Mr. Shepherd came across the river, on 
 the 1st of January, with orders to procure two masons 
 to execute some work on the Commodore's battery. The 
 first person Mr. Shepherd saw, on reaching the left bank, 
 was Reuben Kemper, who informed him that his old 
 friend Touro was dead. Forgetting his urgent and im- 
 portant mission, Mr. Shepherd eagerly inquired whither 
 they had taken his friend. He was directed to a wall 
 of an old building, which had been demolished by the 
 British battery in the rear of Jackson's headquarters, 
 and on reaching it, found Mr. Touro in an apparently 
 dying condition. He was in charge of Dr. Kerr, who 
 had dressed his wound, but who, shaking his head, de- 
 clared that there was no hope for him. Mr. Shepherd, 
 with the devotion of true friendship, determined to 
 make every effort to save his old companion. He pro- 
 cured a cart, and lifting the wounded man into it, drove 
 to the city. He administered brandy very freely to his 
 fainting and prostrate friend, and thus in a great degree 
 kept him alive.* On reaching the city, Mr. Shepherd 
 
 . * The good old man used to say this was the only time he ever drank to excel*.
 
 270 JACKSON AND NEW OKLEAN8. 
 
 carried Touro into his house, and there obtaining the 
 services, as nurses, of some of those noble ladies of the 
 city, who devoted themselves with so much ardor to the 
 care and attendance of the sick and wounded of Jack- 
 son's army, and seeing that he was supported with every 
 comfort and need, he hastened to discharge the import- 
 ant duty which had been confided to him, and which 
 he had nearly pretermitted, in responding to the still 
 more sacred calls of friendship and affection. 
 
 It was late in the day before Shepherd, having per- 
 formed his mission, returned to Patterson's battery. The 
 cloud of anger was gathering on the brow of the Com- 
 modore, when he met his delinquent or dilatory aid, but 
 it soon dispersed, when the latter frankly and promptly 
 exclaimed, 
 
 " Commodore, you can hang or shoot me, and it will 
 be all right ; but my best friend needed my assistance, 
 and nothing on earth could have induced me to neglect 
 him." He then stated the circumstances of Mr. Touro's 
 misfortune, and the causes of his dilatory execution of 
 the duty assigned to him. Commodore Patterson was a 
 man he appreciated the feelings of his aid, and thought 
 more of him after this incident than before. They con- 
 tinued warm friends throughout the campaign, and ever 
 afterwards. 
 
 Shepherd and Touro, with a friendship thus tested 
 and cemented, were ever afterwards inseparable in this 
 world. Death alone could sever them, and then only 
 in a material sense. Such fidelity deserved the rich 
 reward which fortune showered on them. They became 
 millionaires, and as the most valuable of their posses- 
 sions retained the esteem and regard of the community 
 of which they were the patriarchs.
 
 BATTLE OF THE BATTERIES. 271 
 
 On the 18th of January, 1854, the venerable philan- 
 thropist, Judah Touro, was " gathered unto his fathers," 
 arnid the lamentations of the whole population of New 
 Orleans. Public journals in their columns, and divines 
 in their pulpits, offered eloquent and just tributes to his 
 virtues. No man ever died in the city, who was more 
 universally regretted, or whose memory will be more 
 gratefully preserved. A few days before his death to 
 wit, on 6th January, 1854 Mr. Touro made a will, dis- 
 posing of his immense property. That will is an eternal 
 monument of his goodness and philanthropy. It is not 
 less remarkable for its liberal and discriminating charity, 
 than for the earnest affection and gratitude which the 
 good old man cherished for all who had been kind to 
 him in life. After distributing one -half of his estate 
 among various charitable and religious institutions, 
 including a splendid legacy of $80,000 to that much- 
 needed institution, an Aims-House in New Orleans, and 
 handsome endowments to all the Hebrew congregations 
 in the country, as well as a large legacy in favor of the 
 project of restoring the scattered tribes of Israel to Je- 
 rusalem, with numerous private legacies to individual 
 friends, Mr. Touro thus nobly embodies and expresses 
 the gratitude and friendship, which, for nearly forty 
 years, had warmed his heart towards his old friend and 
 constant associate for half a century: 
 
 " And as regards my other designated executor, say my dear, old 
 and devoted friend, Kezin Davis Shepherd, to whom, under Divine 
 Providence, I was greatly indebted for the preservation of my life, 
 when I was wounded on the 1st of January, 1815, I hereby appoint 
 and institute him, the said Eezin Davis Shepherd, after the payment 
 of my particular legacies, and the debts of my succession, the uni-
 
 272 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 versal legatee of the rest and residue of my estate, movable and 
 immovable." 
 
 As residuary legatee, Mr. Shepherd inherits a prop- 
 erty sufficient to make him wealthy, if he were not 
 already so ; but the worthy legatee, regarding this hand- 
 some donation as a testimonial of gratitude and friend- 
 ship, has determined to apply it to such uses as he 
 knows would have gratified his old friend, if he were 
 alive. He has therefore offered to expend the greater 
 part of it in the improvement of a street in New Orleans 
 upon which they had both passed their lives the scene 
 of their old and long friendship, and which Mr. Shep- 
 herd desires to consecrate to the memory of his old 
 friend, by improving it conformably to a darling plan 
 of Mr. Touro, and by bestowing the name of the 
 deceased philanthropist upon it. 
 
 Such are the incidents of a friendship, even in this 
 age of commerce and mammon-worship, as true, as 
 noble, as constant, as pure and unselfish as that which 
 the poets have immortalized in the beautiful episodes of 
 Orestes and Pylades, of Nisus and Euryalus, of David 
 and Jonathan. 
 
 Jackson's loss on the 1st of January was marvelously 
 small, considering the immense number of shot and shell 
 that fell in his camp. Thirty-four killed and wounded 
 were the reported loss. Nearly all the killed were of 
 persons, many of them spectators, who gathered on the 
 roads and in the rear of the camp, to see or hear what 
 was going on. Such results were quite as wonderful as 
 the other incidents of this wonderful campaign.
 
 TWO NOTABLE WARRIORS AND REVOLUTIONISTS. 273 
 
 XIV. 
 
 I TWO NOTABLE WARRIORS AND REVOLUTIONISTS. 
 
 THE retirement of the British, after the disastrous 
 repulse of the first of January, restored quiet and 
 confidence to the American camp, and afforded the 
 " Hunters " an opportunity of resuming their favorite 
 occupation and amusement, of annoying the outposts of 
 the enemy, night and day, by sudden attacks of detached 
 parties, and often by penetrating their camp, or creep- 
 ing near to their lines of communication and picking off 
 sentinels, decoying deserters, and driving in pickets. 
 These scouting parties, composed of volunteers from the 
 various corps, would organize, select their officers on 
 the spot, and embracing the first leave of absence from 
 duty in their lines, would suddenly dash upon some 
 exposed point of the British camp, and regard it very 
 poor luck, if they did not pick off a " redcoat " or two. 
 General Jackson frequently needed the services of these 
 scouting parties to ascertain the movements of the 
 enemy, and perform other services, requiring courage, 
 caution, skill and fortitude. That sagacious man never 
 failed to perceive and select the proper agents he 
 required for any trust. Indeed, his quick and correct 
 observation of character was the real secret of much of 
 his success, and of his great command over men. It ia 
 one of the highest attributes of genius. 
 
 In this crowd of chivalric warriors, aisembled in 
 12*
 
 274: JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Jackson's camp, who were ever ready for any duty, 
 how onerous or perilous soever, there .were two chiefs } 
 to whom the General's attention was frequently called 
 by their gallant bearing and soldierly virtues. Their 
 previous histories were familiar to him. They were 
 men who had figured conspicuously in important 
 events. It will no doubt be regarded an excusable 
 digression, from the regular course of this narrative, to 
 snatch from the perishing records, in which their deeds 
 are chronicled, some memorials of men, who were 
 representatives and embodiments of prevailing ideas of 
 their age. They were of that class of adventurers who 
 have achieved so much for the Southwest, the Valley 
 of the Mississippi, and the State of Louisiana, by giving 
 practical effect to the principle, that every people have 
 the right to possess and control the country which they 
 occupy and cultivate, free from foreign domination. In 
 that age they were called Liberators and Patriots ; now 
 they might be denounced as " Pirates and Fillibus- 
 teros." One of them lived to see his design consum- 
 mated, and those who were instrumental in effecting it, 
 lauded as heroes and patriots. The other died too soon, 
 and had he lived to a much greater age, would still 
 have been far from a realization of the dream, which, in 
 his youth, he prosecuted with so much enthusiasm and 
 earnestness. The field of the ambition and labors of the 
 one was the Yalley of the Mississippi ; that of the other 
 was, unfortunate, ever struggling, ever enslaved Ire- 
 land. ; ;*$ 5 
 
 Reuben Kemper, the indomitable enemy of Spanish 
 dominion in America, lived to see the last remnant of 
 that once splendid power extinguished on this con- 
 tinent.
 
 TWO NOTABLE WARRIORS AND REVOLUTIONISTS. 275 
 
 General Humbert, the hero and chief of the French 
 expedition which aimed at the establishment of Irish 
 Independence in 1798, was disappointed in his early 
 hopes and struggles, but lived long enough to see his 
 old enemy and Ireland's oppressor, subjected to the 
 bitterest defeats and most mortifying disasters that ever 
 fell upon that proud and haughty power. 
 
 These two remarkable men met for the first time on 
 the Plains of Chalmette. Jackson did not regard them 
 as " Pirates and Robbers," because they had left their 
 own countries to aid an oppressed people to throw off 
 the yoke of foreign despots. He viewed them in their 
 true light, as brave, sincere, reliable men, lovers of 
 liberty, and foes of despotism. He gave them his con- 
 fidence, and entrusted them with " enterprises of great 
 pith and moment." They never failed to justify this 
 confidence. 
 
 Reuben Kemper was one of several brothers who 
 were born in Virginia, and early emigrated to the 
 "West. Their father was a venerable and remarkable 
 character. He was a Baptist preacher, no less dis- 
 tinguished for his piety, natural eloquence, and all the 
 patriarchal virtues, than for his imposing figure, his 
 great simpiicity of conduct and manners, and love of 
 frontier life. This venerable man lived to a great old 
 age, in the neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, of which 
 State he was an early settler. He had seven sons, all 
 youths of mark of extraordinary strength, courage and 
 daring. Three of them, Nathan, Reuben and Samuel, 
 settled in the Mississippi Territory, near Pinckeyville, 
 adjacent to the present Louisiana line, which then 
 divided the territory of the United States and Spain. 
 Their strong sense, pleasing address, manly carriage
 
 276 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS . 
 
 and intense Americanism soon rendered the Kempers 
 very popular and influential among the frontiersmen, 
 as well those settled in the Spanish colony of Florida, 
 as those residing in the Mississippi Territory. They 
 were the leaders, in agitating the scheme of driving the 
 Spaniards out of the country, and claiming Florida as 
 belonging to the Americans under the cession of 1803. 
 Henry Clay, in his first speech in the United States 
 Senate, maintained the American title to that country, 
 and urged the Administration of Mr. Madison to occupy 
 it. With the newly acquired territories of Louisiana 
 and Mississippi, surrounding three sides of it, the iso- 
 lated colony of Spain certainly presented a very tempt- 
 ing bait to American ambition, and seemed to be held 
 by his Catholic Majesty out of sheer obstinacy or pride. 
 Several plots were concocted by the Kempers and 
 others, to revolutionize this colony, and forays were 
 made by them into the Spanish territory. In 1805 they 
 marched with forty mounted men, armed with long 
 rifles, to the vicinity of Baton Rouge ; but their 
 approach being announced, the Spanish Governor pre- 
 pared to receive them in such force, as rendered the 
 attempt too serious an affair ; they therefore returned to 
 Mississippi, to " bide their time." 
 
 At last the Spanish Governor determined to nip the 
 conspiracy in the bud, by seizing the chiefs, and making 
 terrible examples of them. Accordingly he induced a 
 number of Americans, by promise of large grants of 
 land, to proceed in a body into the Mississippi Terri- 
 tory, for the purpose of kidnapping the Kempers and 
 bringing them to Baton Rouge, to be dealt with 
 according to Spanish law. The party were armed with 
 guns and clubs, and consisted of a dozen white persons
 
 TWO NOTABLE WARRIORS AND REVOLUTIONISTS. 277 
 
 and several negroes. They entered the house of Nathan 
 Kemper, and dragging Reuben from his bed where he 
 was sleeping, beat him with clubs until he was insensi- 
 ble, and then tied him. They also dragged Nathan 
 from the side of his wife, who received some blows from 
 their clubs in the scuffle, and after beating him severely, 
 secured him in the same manner in which Reuben had 
 been treated. The brothers asked, "What was the 
 meaning of this outrage ; what have we done?" A 
 voice answered, " You have ruined the Spanish country." 
 They were then gagged with sassafras roots, and ropes 
 tied around their necks. In this condition they were 
 compelled to run before the horses of the kidnappers, 
 who held the ropes, all the way to the Spanish line. 
 Samuel Kemper was soon seized and treated in a simi- 
 lar manner, being beaten with clubs and dragged for a 
 hundred yards by a rope around his neck. The three 
 brothers, on their arrival at Tunica, on the Mississippi 
 river, were delivered to Colonel Samuel Alston, on 
 behalf of the Spanish Government, who placed them in 
 a boat to be sent to Baton Rouge. They were tied on 
 their backs to the bottom of the boat. Dr. Towles, long 
 
 * O 
 
 a respected citizen of Feliciana, Louisiana, hearing of 
 the outrage, crossed the Mississippi, and hastened to the 
 American fort at Pointe Coupee, on the Louisiana side, 
 and informed Lieutenant Wilson, the commander, of the 
 circumstances. But as there were many boats descend- 
 ing the river at this time, there would be some difficulty 
 in discovering which contained the captives. This 
 difficulty, however, was removed by Reuben, who, as 
 the boat neared the fort, which he discovered from a 
 glance at the opposite bank, cried out, in a stentorian 
 voice, " It is Reuben Kemper the Spaniards are taking
 
 278 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 to the mines." The words could be distinctly heard by 
 the garrison, and Wilson immediately ordered out a 
 boat with an armed party, by whom the kidnappers 
 were arrested, the Kempers released, and the Spanish 
 agents delivered over to the authorities of the United 
 States to be tried. For sometime, so great was the 
 excitement against them, that they had to be guarded 
 by a strong military force. 
 
 The subject of this outrageous kidnapping was 
 brought before Congress, and the celebrated John 
 Randolph, from the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 
 reported a bill to raise a military force to guard the 
 American territory and repel and punish Spanish 
 aggressions. It was not, however, acted upon. 
 
 This outrage upon the Kempers hastened the revolu- 
 tion which, in 1810, resulted in the capture of Baton 
 Rouge and the entire extinction of Spanish power on 
 the Mississippi river. The Kempers enjoyed the satis- 
 faction of making a triumphal entry into the town from 
 which they so narrowly escaped being sent in chains to 
 the mines of Cuba. 
 
 But this did not satisfy their revenge, nor obliterate 
 the recollection of the insults to which they had been 
 subjected. "With great perseverance and vigilance they 
 hunted, one by one, the individuals who had been 
 engaged in the kidnapping outrage, and inflicted upon 
 them the severest punishments. Certainly, if men were 
 ever justified in manifesting the passion of revenge, the 
 Kempers were, towards those cowardly ruffians. If 
 their mode of obtaining such satisfaction appear cruel 
 and brutal, some allowances must be made for the stern 
 and rough habits and notions of frontier life. Reuben 
 and Samuel Kemper captured Kneeland, one of the kid- 

 
 TWO NOTABLE WAKRIOES AND REVOLUTIONISTS. 279 
 
 nappers, and inflicted npon his naked back one hundred 
 lashes, then one hundred more for their brother Nathan 
 who was absent, cut off his ears with a dull knife, and 
 then let him loose. These gory trophies of their 
 revenge were long preserved in a bottle of spirits and 
 hung up in one of the Kemper's parlors. Reuben 
 caught another of the kidnappers, named Horton, and 
 chastised him as long as his strength would permit. 
 Barker, another, was seized by the Kempers at the 
 Court-house, at Fort Adams in Mississippi, under the 
 eyes of the Judge, and nearly flayed alive. Col. Alston, 
 who commanded the Spanish guard, placed over the 
 Kempers, died of a disease contracted by lying in an 
 open boat, to avoid the attacks of the injured brother. 
 
 Such was the revenge of the Kempers. They were 
 not yet content. Passing from individuals, they next 
 directed their ire and vengeance against the Spanish 
 Government which had authorized and directed the 
 outrage against them. Reuben proclaimed at Baton 
 Rouge, that the work was not finished ; that whilst he 
 lived the Spaniards should not occupy an inch of the 
 North American continent in peace. He accordingly 
 got up an expedition against the Spanish Fort of Mobile 
 in conjunction with Major Kennedy, Dr. Holmes, and 
 other adventurous spirits. This enterprise failed by the 
 treachery of one of the parties, and the interference 
 of the United States authorities. Reuben narrowly 
 escaped capture on that occasion. 
 
 It was not long before another opportunity waa 
 afforded to Kemper of gratifying his insatiate hostility 
 to the Spanish race. 
 
 In 1812, there arrived in the United States an astute 
 Spaniard, by the name of Jose Alvarez de Toledo, who,
 
 280 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 in cooperation with Barnardo Gutierrez, a Mexican, 
 who had been connected with the revolution in that 
 country in 1808, fled to the United States, and resided 
 some years in New Orleans, devised a plan for reviving 
 the revolution, and invading and detaching that portion 
 of Mexico, which is now included in the State of Texas. 
 JReuben Kemper was sought as the most efficient per- 
 son to organize an American party to execute this plan. 
 He eagerly accepted the commission, and aided by 
 Colonel Magee, succeeded in assembling at "Washington, 
 in the State of Mississippi, a force of four hundred and 
 fifty Americans. Col. Magee was the real commander, 
 Gutierrez was the ostensible chief, and Toledo acted as 
 political adviser and director. Kemper was second in 
 command under Magee. This expedition entered Texas 
 in October, 1812, and after capturing Nacogdoches 
 pushed on to La Bahia del Espirito, now called Goliad, 
 which has since become so mournfully famous as the 
 scene of the brutal massacre and desperate courage of 
 some of the noblest martyrs in the cause of Texan inde- 
 pendence. Here the expedition was surrounded and 
 besieged by a strong Spanish force under Salcedo and 
 Herrera. This siege, which was continued for several 
 months, was enlivened by many skirmishes between the 
 hostile armies, in all of which the stalwart form of 
 Kemper was conspicuous. Many a swarthy Spaniard 
 fell before his unerring rifle, or sunk to the earth under 
 the crushing blows of his sabre. His love of these 
 rencontres was insatiable. He led in person twenty- 
 seven sallies against the besiegers, and always with 
 dreadful effect. In the last of these skirmishes, there 
 were two hundred Spaniards killed. Finding all their 
 efforts to reduce the garrison vain, the Spanish Generals
 
 TWO NOTABLE WAKRIOK8 AND EEVOLTJTIONISTS. 281 
 
 suddenly retreated, whereupon Kemper, who had suc- 
 ceeded to the command of the expedition by the death 
 of Magee, marched out, and following rapidly upon the 
 retiring Spaniards, fell suddenly upon them, with such 
 vigor and fury as nearly to annihilate the united armies 
 of Salcedo and Herrera, strewing the field far and wide 
 with the victims of the American rifle and hunting- 
 knife. On this occasion Kemper slew several of the 
 Spaniards with his own hand. Four hundred Spaniards 
 were killed in this affair, and a great many prisoners 
 taken. The Americans lost but five killed and fourteen 
 wounded. 
 
 The Spanish Generals now fled in terror with the 
 remnant of their force to San Antonio, which they 
 fortified. Gutierrez and Kemper followed them with 
 their little band of warriors, and occupied a position 
 near the town. So intense was the terror of the Spa- 
 niards, who were greatly superior in numbers, of the 
 invincible valor and ferocity of the enemy, led by the 
 " giant warrior," that they surrendered on th0 first 
 demand sent to them by Gutierrez. Accordingly, on 
 the 31st March, 1812, the Spanish Generals walked 
 out of the town, into the camp of Gutierrez, bearing a 
 white flag, and offered to surrender on the single condi- 
 tion that their lives were spared. Gutierrez, who was 
 full of revenge towards the Spaniards, for their cruelty 
 to Morelos and other Mexican patriots, made an evasive 
 reply, conveying an intimation that their request would 
 be granted. The Spaniards then surrendered at discre- 
 tion. Having delivered up their swords, they were 
 secured between files of soldiers, and marching in front 
 of Gutierrez's army, crossed the river, and were safely 
 lodged in the Alamo, which, in 1836, became the cradle
 
 282 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 of Texan liberty, and the scene of prodigies of American 
 valor. Gutierrez then entered the town of San Antonio 
 and established a Provincial Government there, which 
 he called a Junta. The first act of the Junta was to 
 try the Spanish prisoners. They were condemned to be 
 banished from the country. But whilst they were in 
 charge of a guard, a party of sixty Mexicans, in com- 
 mand of Capt. Antonio Delgado, suddenly seized them, 
 and dragging the unfortunate prisoners to the bank of 
 the Saledo, carried them over in boats. Arriving on 
 the east side of the river, near the spot where Kemper 
 had achieved his brilliant victory, Delgado's party 
 hastily dismounted from their horses, and with no other 
 weapons but their blunt knives, which these monsters 
 carried in their girdles for camp use, they cut the 
 throats of their prisoners, accompanying the cruel deed 
 with every species of insult and indignity. " Some of 
 these assassins, with brutal irony," says a writer who 
 lived near the scene of the occurrence, "whetted their 
 knives on the soles of their shoes in the presence of their 
 bound victims." This same writer saw this band of 
 murderers the following day, led by the chief, halt in 
 front of the quarters of Gutierrez, and announce to the 
 latter what they had done. At the same time, Delgado 
 placed in Gutierrez's hand a list of the fourteen victims, 
 which included two Governors, and Generals Salcedo 
 and Hererra, one Colonel, six Captains, and five other 
 officers. Delgado's men, in the meantime, suspended 
 from their saddles pieces of bloody garments and jewelry 
 trophies of their cowardly brutality. That Gutierrez 
 was privy to this outrageous deed, was proved, not only 
 by the facts stated, but by a subsequent confession, in 
 which, after denying any direct agency in the murder
 
 TWO NOTABLE WARRIOBS AND REVOLUTIONISTS. 283 
 
 of the prisoners, he added, "God thus permitted their 
 death as a signal punishment of the barbarities which 
 these unfortunate victims had previously perpetrated." 
 Tims the Mexican chief, who shared none of the laurels 
 of the brilliant victories achieved over the Spaniards, 
 satisfied himself by monopolizing all the infamy with 
 which this expedition must ever be associated. We are 
 thus minute in recording these facts because the inci- 
 dent is an interesting one, which is barely glanced at in 
 the histories of the country ; and because it furnishes an 
 illustration of the character of Reuben Kemper. Though 
 fierce and unsparing in battle, Kemper abhorred all 
 cruelty and cowardly brutality. The murder of the 
 Spaniards, in cold blood, produced in the mind of that 
 gallant chief the most profound disgust for the race, 
 and after denouncing the conduct of Gutierrez, he 
 resigned, and with several other Americans returned to 
 the United States. 
 
 When New Orleans was threatened, and the call sent 
 forth for soldiers to defend the city, Kemper joined the 
 Feliciana Dragoons, and was among the first volunteers 
 who arrived in the city. His experience and cool 
 courage recommended him to General Jackson, as the 
 leader in many important and dangerous scouting enter- 
 prises and reconnoissances, which he invariably exe- 
 cuted with consummate address and courage. On 
 several occasions he penetrated the British lines with a 
 select party of bush-fighters, and reported to Jackson the 
 condition and movements of the enemy. The General 
 was constantly apprehensive that the British would steal 
 up the Bayou Bienvenu, through its northern branch, 
 and gaining his rear, enter the city by the Gentilly 
 Kidge. There were continual rumors and alarms of
 
 284: JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 such a design. To ascertain the truth, Kemper was 
 sent with twenty men to reconnoitre their position at 
 the junction of Bayous Mazant and Bienvenu, the most 
 important point along the line of the British communi- 
 cations. It was here the British had stepped ashore 
 from their boats. The enterprise was one of the great- 
 est peril, as it compelled Kemper to separate his party 
 a great distance from the American outposts, and 
 carried him into the very centre of the British lines. 
 It was, however, performed with no less success than 
 daring, under perils and fatigues which would have 
 appalled any other man. The results were of immense 
 advantage to Jackson, in quieting all apprehensions of 
 the approach of the enemy in that direction, who, in 
 truth, were equally fearful of being cut off from the 
 fleet and depot, by a sudden assault of their indefatig- 
 able antagonists. To guard against this, they burned 
 the prairies in front of a redoubt which they had thrown 
 up at the head of the Bayou, where their principal 
 magazine was established and a strong guard posted. 
 Sentinels stationed in the tops of the trees, were scat- 
 tered along the Bayou, to observe the approach of any 
 parties across the prairie. Many similar enterprises were 
 performed by this gallant man. No individual in Jack- 
 son's whole army, performed more efficient service. 
 
 Kemper survived these events many years, pursuing 
 a life of peaceful industry in one of the parishes of 
 Louisiana. After the defeat of the Spaniards, and the 
 extinction of their power on this continent, and the 
 repulse of the British, his military ambition subsided 
 into a quiet love of rural life, and a faithful devotion to 
 all the duties of a good citizen. He died at Natchez 
 about the year 1826, and was buried with military,
 
 TWO NOTABLE WARRIORS AND REVOLUTIONISTS. 285 
 
 honors by that gallant corps, the Natchez Fencibles, 
 then commanded by John A. Quitman, one of the most 
 distinguished of the Generals of the Mexican war of 
 1848, and who shares many of those chivalric ideas, 
 which led Reuben Kemper to abandon peaceful pur- 
 suits and incur the most serious perils and sacrifices in 
 the execution of the cherished sentiment, that this con- 
 tinent was the rightful heritage of the great race which 
 alone has succeeded in establishing here durable and 
 enlightened institutions, and improving the civilization 
 of the Old in the New World. We are not sure that 
 the last-mentioned chieftain is altogether free from the 
 bitter prejudice which marked the life of Kemper 
 against the Power that now concentrates upon Cuba the 
 despotism that once lorded over half of the American 
 iontinent. 
 
 Kemper died, respected by all who knew him. 
 Indeed, he was a man to be respected anywhere. Of 
 gigantic frame, noble, open countenance, frank and 
 gallant bearing, kind and courteous, but firm, and, 
 when aroused by a sense of injury, fierce and vindictive, 
 ardently patriotic and uncompromising in his Ameri- 
 canism, a practical devotee to the doctrine of the duty 
 of all freemen to aid in expanding the area of liberty, 
 and a firm believer in " the manifest destiny " of the 
 American race, to possess and rule this continent, 
 Reuben Kemper will long be remembered as the type 
 and model of that class of men, who have rescued the 
 vast and teeming valley of the Mississippi from the 
 roaming savages, and from the weak hands of a declin-" 
 ing and foreign dynasty, and made it the scene of a 
 great confederacy and empire which is destined to out- 
 shine old Rome in wealth, greatness, and power.
 
 286 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 There was another prominent volunteer chief and 
 leader in many perilous enterprises, who, having no 
 regular command, rendered himself conspicuous for his 
 conduct and gallantry, in detached scouting and recon- 
 noitering service, as well as highly useful to Jackson, 
 in many of the more important arrangements, that 
 required a knowledge of military service and art. This 
 was Gen. Humbert, the victor of ' Castlebar, and leader 
 of that desperate and chivalric expedition from France 
 to Ireland in 1798. The life of Humbert possessed one 
 prominent point of similarity with that of Kemper, in 
 the fact that both had been engaged in the most daring 
 efforts to revolutionize foreign States, which had signal- 
 ized their era. They were alike, too, in the qualities of 
 unflinching courage, dauntless resolution and fearless 
 love of adventure. But here the similitude ends. 
 Their military ideas were quite antagonistic, their 
 habits and tastes dissimilar. Humbert was a stem 
 soldier, familiar with the routine, as practised in the best 
 disciplined armies, a firm believer in the potency of 
 science, as applied to the conduct of war, an exacting 
 martinet in all the rules and punctilios of the profession. 
 Kemper was a natural warrior, trained in the rough 
 scenes of border life, accustomed to rely on individual 
 courage and skill. Humbert confided in the touch of 
 the elbow of disciplined troops. Kemper in the rifle 
 and hunting-knife of the backwoodsman, fighting on his 
 own hook. Their appearance indicated their dissimilar 
 tastes and ideas. Kemper was tall and rawboned, of 
 long limbs, slouching carriage, swinging his arms about 
 with that air of independence and indifference, peculiar 
 to the backwoodsman. His apparel was coarse, badly 
 fitting and badly worn. There was in his whole bear- 

 
 TWO NOTABLE WARRIORS AND REVOLUTIONISTS. 287 
 
 ing, an almost studied contempt for effect and military 
 display and fashion. Humbert was a stout, squarely 
 and compactly built man, of the most rectangular up- 
 rightness of carriage and rigid exactitude of movement. 
 His air was thoroughly military, and his dress neat and 
 well fitting. To the day of his last sickness, he never 
 abandoned the old uniform of the General of the French 
 Republic. It is within the recollection of many, now 
 in the bloom of life, what a great sensation the veteran 
 General was wont to excite among the residents of the 
 old Square of the city, as every day at noon, clad in the 
 same old, well preserved, military frock, with the cha- 
 peau of the French Revolution on his head, and the 
 sword of a General under his arm, he would march with 
 all the port and precision of an officer on duty, to an 
 ancient cafe kept by an old comrade in arms, on the 
 levee, near the French Market. On arriving at the cafe, 
 he would salute his old comrade witli a grand air mtti- 
 taire, and then laying his sword on the table, would 
 proceed leisurely to arrange the dominoes for a game at 
 that very quiet, favorite diversion of elderly Frenchmen, 
 with any lounger who might happen to be present. A 
 glass of cogniac, frequently replenished by his faithful 
 friend and host, would serve to give spirit to the game. 
 Thus would the veteran spend the greater part of the 
 day, now and then relieving its tedium by vivacious 
 conversation and exciting reminiscences exchanged with 
 Ilis admiring comrade, until his prolonged potations, 
 producing their usual effect, would arouse him to more 
 active but less dignified demonstrations of his natural 
 ardor and military enthusiasm. Then he would appear 
 in the character which attracted the admiration and 
 curiosity of the little Creole boys, who, fired with mill-
 
 288 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 tary pride and ambition, would regard with intense inte- 
 rest " le grand General de la Republique Franpaise" as, 
 flourishing his sword, he walked down the streets, shout- 
 ing at the top of a powerful voice, snatches of the Mar- 
 seillaise and of the Chant du Depart, and other revolu- 
 tionary airs. 
 
 Alas! the poor old Gaul had outlived his generation. 
 He had descended from times of military emprise and 
 ambition to an era of trade and money-scrambling. 
 Mammon had long since displaced Mars in the world 
 around him. If, thus isolated from the bustling crowd, 
 he was driven to the use of that oblivious antidote, by 
 which the gloomy present could be momentarily ban- 
 ished, and the glorious past, with all its exciting scenes 
 and noble associations, brought vividly to mind, due 
 allowance must be made for the weakness which circum- 
 stances forced upon a gallant and sturdy old soldier 
 who in his day had played a conspicuous part in events 
 of great moment. Yes, that old soldier, who died twenty 
 years ago in poverty and destitution, who was indebted 
 to an old quadroon woman for his only attendance in 
 sickness, and was buried at the public expense, had 
 once been a proud General of the French Republic in 
 its palmy days. To him was entrusted the command of 
 the expedition to emancipate Ireland from English rule, 
 in 1798. A more desperate enterprise was never con- 
 ceived. Its character, events and results have found a 
 parallel in the expedition of Narcisco Lopez to Cuba, in 
 1851. For a long time this design had occupied the 
 most anxious deliberations of the French Republic. 
 The presence in Paris of several prominent Irish patriots 
 served to keep alive this feeling and encourage the plan 
 of striking " perfide ATMon" in this her weakest point
 
 TWO NOTABLE WABKIOR3 AND REVOLUTIONISTS. 289 
 
 The French never doubted the assurance that the Irish 
 were united and harmonious in their devotion to repub- 
 lican liberty ; that they were as hostile to the British 
 dynasty as the French were to the Bourbon rule. Vari- 
 ous plans of invasion were proposed, and great prepara- 
 tions were made to carry them out. Failure upon fail- 
 ure, disaster after disaster followed, and frustrated all 
 the efforts of the Irish patriots to organize an efficient 
 expedition to proceed from France. One great difficulty 
 was to obtain a leader in the French army of sufficient 
 experience and prestige to take charge of such an expe- 
 dition. They were all willing to go with a large army, 
 but none would venture with a mere experimental force. 
 It was in vain the Irish patriots Tone and Sullivan 
 represented that the Irish people were united in the 
 cause ; that they only needed a small disciplined force 
 and arms to give direction to their unconquerable ardor; 
 that a large army might either create that jealousy which 
 all people are prone to feel towards foreigners, even when 
 acting as allies, or might induce an entire dependence 
 upon a force which they regarded as sufficient to accom- 
 plish the object without their aid; that a people, to 
 appreciate their independence, must achieve it them- 
 selves. These are precisely the arguments which encour- 
 aged and emboldened the companions of Narcisco Lopez 
 in his expedition to Cuba, in 1851. 
 
 France was then (in 1798) crippled in power and 
 means, with the Old "World arrayed in arms against her, 
 and constantly threatened with internal revolution, 
 changes and discord. About this time, too, the Direc- 
 tory, composed as it then was of a more philosophic and 
 conservative class of republicans than had wielded the 
 destinies of the nation for some years before, began to 
 
 13
 
 290 JACK60N AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 adopt a more pacific and prudent policy. Still it could 
 not hazard its popularity by discouraging, even if it did 
 not afford material aid, to the enterprise of liberating 
 " oppressed Ireland." Officers and soldiers of the army 
 were, therefore, allowed to volunteer for the expedition, 
 and arms and munitions were furnished to them. At 
 this moment, Humbert stepped forward to volunteer to 
 lead this forlorn hope. He had served with distinction 
 on the Rhine, under Pichegru, Moreau, and Dumourier, 
 and was an officer of acknowledged courage and energy. 
 Repairing to Rochelle, he immediately set to work, in 
 conjunction with the Irish patriots, Tone-, Teeling, and 
 Sullivan, to organize an army out of a heterogeneous mass 
 of adventurers, who had assembled there, composed of 
 straggling French soldiers, Irish volunteers, British 
 deserters, and a few earnest enthusiasts in the cause of 
 universal freedom and republicanism. To obtain money 
 and supplies for the expedition, Humbert was driven^ to 
 the expedient of a military requisition on the merchants 
 of Rochelle, who were glad enough to pay an illegal tax 
 to be rid of so discordant and adventurous a force. 
 After a thousand annoyances, difficulties, and troubles, 
 being compelled to shoot several of his men to enforce 
 discipline, Humbert succeeded in sailing out of the port 
 of Rochelle with his motley band of liberators. The 
 Irish triumvirate, as they were called Tone, Teeling, 
 and Sullivan accompanied him. They were in the 
 highest spirits, and almost certain of victory and suc- 
 cess. They were assured that the people of Ireland 
 were ripe for a revolution, which was to rid the green 
 isle of the Saxon.- So confident were they of this result, 
 that the future government of the island, the whole 
 organization of its civil administration, had been discus-
 
 TWO NOTABLE WARKIOKS AND REVOLUTIONISTS. 291 
 
 sed and carefully digested and prepared. They looked 
 even beyond this. When they had gajned their inde- 
 pendence, and extorted security for the future, they 
 would next demand indemnity for the past. They would 
 require the West India islands as compensation for 
 the woe and poverty which English misrule had brought 
 on the island. Humbert was impulsive, enthusias- 
 tic, and credulous. He could not doubt such earnest 
 assurances of his Irish confederates. He hated England 
 with intense earnestness. Treachery, falsehood, pride, 
 avarice, grasping covetousness, and reckless brutality, 
 were the characteristics lie assigned to the English. 
 Despite these feelings, however, doubts would frequently 
 cloud the bright prospects of the expedition, so glowingly 
 painted by the voluble and enthusiastic Irish. His im- 
 pressions of the character, of his allies were not elevated 
 by an observation of the -conduct of those engaged m 
 the expedition. Still, he was embarked in the enter- 
 prise, and determined to prosecute it with courage and 
 energy. 
 
 Humbert effected a landing at Killala, on the southern 
 coast of Ireland, in August, 1T98. His force consisted 
 of less than a thousand men, including a battalion of 
 good French soldiers well officered. At Killala, he 
 arrested the Protestant Bishop, and detained him as a 
 prisoner, treating him with a respect and courtesy which 
 did not please the excited and wild mob of peasants that 
 soon began to pour into the town, greatly perplexing 
 , and embarrassing his arrangements, rather than adding 
 to his strength and resources. Ignorant of their lan- 
 guage, their peculiarities and customs, Humbert was 
 almost driven mad by the turbulent and unruly charac- 
 ter of his confederates the oppressed race which he had
 
 292 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 come to liberate. They set at defiance all military sub- 
 ordination and a discipline, and even ridiculed the stiff 
 carriage and neat appearance of the French regulars. 
 When the officers assumed any control over them, they 
 rolled their eyes, pouted their lips, and cracked many a 
 joke at the impudence of the " interloping foreigners." 
 At last, however, having by dint of superhuman 
 efforts, reduced his command to something like order, 
 Humbert commenced his march into the country. His 
 battalion of regulars advanced in military order, but it 
 was flanked, followed and surrounded by the disorderly 
 host of wild-looking, ragged peasants, with their long 
 uncombed hair hanging down their necks and shoul- 
 ders, barefooted, with signs of starvation, of poverty, 
 misery, and oppression, in their countenance, carriage, 
 and habiliments. And yet, they were full of enthusiasm 
 and patriotism, and marched gaily along, swearing, hur- 
 raing, singing in the exuberance of their joy and hope 
 of the rescue of " Sweet Ireland" from the vile Saxon. 
 Nor was patriotism their only inspiration on this occa- 
 sion. "Whisky, the inseparable concomitant of all such 
 enterprises, was an important element and agent of the 
 revolution. Its importance in this respect is appreciated 
 even in this- enlightened age. The patriots of Killala 
 celebrated their imaginary independence, as too many 
 Americans do that real independence which was declared 
 on the 4th July, 1776, by getting drunk and falling by 
 the road-side, so that Humbert's advance was marked by 
 the bodies of the victims of alcohol, rather than by 
 those of the perfidious Saxons whom he had come to 
 annihilate. -Ammunition carts were loaded with whis- 
 ky barrels, and at every halt there was a general biba- 
 tion. Mingled with the men, who thus encumbered
 
 TWO NOTABLE WAKEIOR8 AND REVOLUTIONISTS. 293 
 
 Humbert's march, were many women and children. 
 The small, regular, compact body of disciplined soldiers, 
 looked even smaller from being enveloped by such a 
 rabble. They were perplexed and astounded at the con- 
 duct of their allies of patriots, who would bear no 
 restraint, submit to no discipline, who all wanted to be 
 officers, chiefs, and leaders, who sneered at the generous 
 devotion of their allies, and frowned on any assumption 
 of authority by them. Humbert saw at a glance the 
 folly and hopelessness of the enterprise. 
 
 " "We shall all be taken, and probably shot," he 
 remarked to his aid ; " but then France will be commit- 
 ted to the enterprise, and will be bound to avenge us. So 
 Vive la Repvfolique ! Vive la Republique ! En avant! 
 En avant /" 
 
 And thus the enthusiastic and heroic Frenchman 
 advanced rapidly towards Castlebar. Here he encoun- 
 tered a considerable force of royalists, strongly posted 
 with artillery. The French battalion steadily advanced 
 on the royalists, but a few discharges of the English guns 
 scattered in every direction Humbert's auxiliaries. 
 Charging gallantly with his Frenchmen, Humbert suc- 
 ceeded in putting the royalists to flight with considera- 
 ble loss, and achieved a brilliant and decided victory. 
 He then made a triumphal entry into the town of Cas- 
 tlebar. Here he was joined in greatly augmented num- 
 bers by the peasantry of the country, who with scythes, 
 pikes, and every rude weapon imaginable, crowded into 
 the town and made it hideous with their wild revelry. 
 They imagined that the last blow had been struck, and 
 that Ireland was now free. Humbert was compelled 
 to tarry here for the reinforcements daily and hourly 
 expected from France. These reinforcements were
 
 994 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 rapidly proceeding to Killala, but unfortunately the fleet 
 under Bompard, which was conveying them, was 
 attacked in the Bay of Killala by the squadron of Sir 
 John Warren, and entirely destroyed. Thus was Hum- 
 bert's last hope annihilated. 
 
 Meantime, Lord Cornwallis, with a powerful army, 
 was gradually surrounding Humbert, as he himself had 
 been surrounded by the French and Americans at York- 
 town, Virginia, some fifteen years before. As the 
 rumors of the approach of the British began to thicken 
 upon him, Humbert observed his allies rapidly falling 
 off, and slinking oui, of the town, until at last he was left 
 in the village of Boyle with his French veterans, and a 
 fow of the Irish leaders who were too far committed to 
 retreat. Humbert called a council of his officers, and 
 proposed to fight it out, offering themselves a sacrifice 
 on the altar of Irish independence. His officers, who 
 had been disgusted with the enterprise from their land- 
 ing and first acquaintance with their allies, were not so 
 enthusiastic and devoted. Under their advice he deter- 
 mined to surrender. Accordingly, Lord Cornwallis had 
 the satisfaction of receiving the sword of the French 
 general, an event well calculated to remind that distin- 
 guished Briton of a memorable scene in his own military 
 history. Humbert was released on parole, and finding 
 no prospect for promotion in France, came with many 
 other soldiers of the old French Republican school, 
 whose republicanism was of too earnest and uncompro- 
 mising a character for Napoleon's views, to New Orleans. 
 
 When Jackson arrived, in 1814, to assume the defence 
 of the city, Humbert was one of the first to tender his 
 services as a volunteer. He proved eminently servicea- 
 ble during the campaign. Having no regular command,
 
 TWO NOTABLE WAERIOES AND REVOLUTIONISTS. 295 
 
 he was always ready for any detached service, how 
 perilous and difficult soever it might be. Mounted on a 
 large black charger, it was his custom every day to 
 emerge from the American lines, and trotting down the 
 road to a point within musket-shot of the British outposts, 
 to take a deliberate observation of their camp through 
 a field glass ; after completing which, he would wheel 
 his horse and leisurely return to the American encamp- 
 ment, disregarding the balls, which frequently rained 
 around him from the British batteries, and report to 
 Jackson the exact condition of the enemy's camp. For 
 these and other services, Humbert was highly compli- 
 mented in Jackson's dispatches. The old Frenchman, 
 in return, declared that Jackson was worthy to have 
 commanded in the army of the Rhine which distinction 
 was alone necessary to complete his military greatness 
 and .renown. But though thus eulogistic of Jackson, the 
 veteran did not include in his good opinion the mass of 
 the soldiers whom Jackson had the " misfortune to com- 
 mand." He could never be persuaded that the rude, 
 dusky, awkward, slouching, bush-fighters from Tennes- 
 see, with their careless, unmilitary carriage, their reck- 
 less, undisciplined, barbarian style of fighting, could be 
 converted into soldiers. What particularly annoyed 
 him, was the habit these " sauvages" had of thinking for 
 themselves discussing the merits of their officers and 
 the expediency of orders from their commanders, and 
 assuming to reason and judge when their only duty was 
 to act and obey. A disagreeable illustration of this 
 habit was brought home to the general on a certain 
 occasion, when, being ordered out for a reconnoissance 
 with a detachment of Coffee's men, he brought them 
 under the severe fire of a British redoubt whereupon
 
 296 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 these independent, self-thinking soldiers, not relishing or 
 appreciating the necessity of losing their lives in so . 
 unprofitable an undertaking, quietly wheeled their 
 horses and returned to the lines, leaving the veteran 
 cursing and swearing in the field, amid a shower of 
 British shot. When Humbert reported this " infamous 
 conduct" to General Jackson, the General could not 
 refrain from a smile but seeing one of the men of the 
 detachment near hia.quarters, he called him, and frown- 
 ingly asked, " Why did you run away?" " Wall, gene- 
 ral," replied the bush-fighter, " not understanding 
 French, and believing our commander was a man of 
 sense, we construed his orders to retire out of the reach 
 of the cannon balls, and so we just kinder counter- 
 marched." The General had much difficulty in inter- 
 preting this excuse to Humbert, who shook his head, 
 and continued to the day of his death profoundly skep- 
 tical of the soldierly qualities of the Tennesseans.
 
 PREPARATION FOE THE FINAi CONFLICT. 297 
 
 XV. 
 
 PREPARATION FOR THE FINAL CONFLICT. 
 
 COMPLETELY and disastrously foiled in his attempt on 
 the 1st of January, to create a breach in the American 
 lines with his powerful batteries, Packenham, with mor- 
 tification visible" in every feature and action, withdrew 
 his army to its old position in the rear, leaving his care- 
 fully and scientifically made redoubts, his dismantled 
 guns and broken carriages a confused mass of ruins. 
 Gibbs' brigade encamped at Bienvenu's, and Keane's 
 at Lacoste's. The General-in-Chief resumed his old 
 headquarters at Yillere's, which he had abandoned in 
 the morning, with a confident expectation of shifting 
 them before night, permanently, to the Government 
 buildings in New Orleans. 
 
 The army murmured audibly. Such incessant labors 
 and repeated failures were enough to try the patience 
 of the most hardy veterans. These trials were the more 
 severe to victors, like the Peninsular heroes, who had 
 scarcely ever before experienced a reverse whose pre- 
 vious campaigns presented an unbroken series of victo- 
 ries and successes. Sickness and hunger added to their 
 distress and disgust. The dysentery prevailed to a 
 frightful extent, and the men were reduced to half rations 
 of the most repulsive and unsavory food. That neces- 
 sary nourishment of the soldiers, coffee, had entirely dis-
 
 298 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 appeared, and a vain effort was made to substitute for it 
 a decoction of burnt biscuit. Sugar, of which an abun- 
 dance lay about them, in the broken hogsheads of the 
 planters, whose estates they occupied, became an impor- 
 tant article in their commissariat. By mixing it with 
 broken biscuit, the soldiers succeeded in making cakes, 
 which were more palatable than any of the food furnished 
 to them by the army purveyors. 
 
 Another council of the chiefs was held, which was a 
 brief one, as it had but one proposition to consider and 
 adopt. It was Sir Edward's own plan. It was worthy 
 of his bold character, and has never been justly cen- 
 sured or criticised. The plan was to sform the Ameri- 
 can lines, on both sides the river, commencing with 
 those on the right bank, which, being carried, would 
 enable the British to enfilade Jackson's lines, and drive 
 him from his position, or cut off his communications 
 with the city. Such a plan gave Packenham the great 
 advantage, that, having the larger force, he could afford 
 to divide his army, whereas Jackson's men were hardly 
 sufficient to defend his own lines. If he had known 
 Jackson's real condition, Packenham could not have 
 adopted a plan better calculated to embarrass and defeat 
 his enemy. With a sufficient force, say fifteen hundred 
 or two thousand men, and several batteries to defend the 
 lines on the right bank, Jackson would have felt quite 
 safe in that quarter, but as it was, he had not half that 
 force. Indeed, he was perilously weak on that side. 
 
 Packenham determined to pass a detachment of fifteen 
 hundred muskets, with some artillery, to the right bank, 
 and pushing forward under cover of the night, to reach 
 the American lines before day, to storm them as soon as 
 it was light, and after they were carried, and the batte-
 
 PREPARATION FOR THE FINAL CONFLICT. 299 
 
 ries turned upon Jackson's position, the lines on the left 
 bank were to be stormed by the main army. The duty 
 of conveying the troops across the river was assigned to 
 Yice- Admiral Cochrane, who adopted a novel, bungling, 
 and exceedingly laborious mode of bringing the barges 
 from the bayou, -the head of which, or its junction with 
 Yillere's canal, lay two miles from the river bank. He 
 set the sailors and soldiers to work to excavate the old 
 plantation canal and prolong it to the river. It was an 
 herculean labor for an army already exhausted with 
 fatigue and sickness. Yainly the officers and men sug- 
 gested that it would be far easier to drag the barges on 
 rollers, as they had previously dragged cannon that were 
 heavier than the boats. The obstinate old Scotchman 
 persisted in his plan, which was finally, by the inces- 
 sant labor of the whole army, completed on the Yth of 
 January. Packenham was reconciled to this delay by 
 the hope of receiving some important reinforcements, 
 which had embarked from England on the 26th October. 
 These at last arrived on the 6th January, and consisted 
 of two fine regiments, the Yth (Fusileers) Packenham's 
 " own," Lieut. Col. Blakeney, and the 43d Light Infan- 
 try, Lieut. Col. Patrickson, the whole under Major-Gene- 
 ral John Lambert, Colonel of one of the Household Regi- 
 ments (the Foot Guards.) 
 
 There were no two regiments in the British army 
 which stood higher had been engaged in more battles, 
 and had won more laurels than the Yth and 43d. " The 
 Hero of Salamanca" felt his heart throb with pride arid 
 soldierly enthusiasm, as he cast his eyes along the ranks 
 of his old regiment, and recognized the familiar faces of 
 such a number of his old comrades in so many bloody 
 and perilous scenes. General Lambert, though a young
 
 300 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 officer, like the other chiefs of the expedition, had fleshed 
 his sword under Wellington. He enjoyed the confi- 
 dence of that distinguished commander as an officer of 
 approved courage and discretion. His services had been 
 conspicuous towards the close of the Peninsular war, 
 when he led a brigade in the advance into France, and 
 particularly in the battle of Toulouse. General Lam- 
 bert was an Englishman by birth, and had been sent out 
 to America, like other young Generals, to win distinction 
 and fortune. 
 
 Packenham's army consisted now of ten thousand of 
 the best soldiers in the world, which he divided into 
 three brigades, under Generals Lambert, Gibbs, and 
 Keane. Besides these, there was a strong force of ma- 
 rines and sailors, which not only relieved the army pro- 
 per of a great deal of labor and camp duty, and other 
 service, but was also ever ready to take a part in the 
 fighting. 
 
 For several days before the 8th, the troops were kept 
 continually in motion either at work on the canal, or 
 in reviews and parades. Their spirits revived as the 
 evidences thickened around them of the approach of 
 some decisive movement, and as they observed the con- 
 fidence and activity of their officers. They anticipated 
 the preparations justly, and looked forward with viva- 
 city to the storming of the contemptible lines of the 
 enemy, paltry indeed, compared with those more formi- 
 dable works in Spain, which they had stormed when 
 defended by French veterans, instead of the " broad- 
 brimmed shepherds " who now held them at bay. 
 
 The plan of execution of Packenham's new and deci- 
 sive movement was as follows : Colonel Thornton, with 
 tiie 85th, one of the West India regiments, and the ma-
 
 PREPARATION "FOR THE FINAL CONFLICT. 301 
 
 lines and sailors, making a detachment of 1,400 muskets, 
 with a corps of rocketers and three carronades in barges, 
 to protect his flank, was directed to pass across the river 
 on the night of the 7th, and steal upon the Americans 
 before day. 
 
 On the left bank Gibbs, with the 44th, 21st, and 4th, 
 at a signal to be given, would storm the American left, 
 where it was deemed weakest : whilst Keane, with the 
 93d, 95th, and the light companies of the 7th, 43d, and 
 some of the West India troops, would threaten the Ame- 
 rican right drawing his tire, and taking advantage of 
 any opportunity that might occur for a blow at him. 
 On the left, the two British batteries destroyed on the 
 1st were to be restored and armed with six or eight 
 eighteen-pounders, were to engage and keep employed 
 the American batteries on their right, and thereby pre- 
 vent them from opening on the storming column. The 
 advance of the latter were to carry fascines or bundles of 
 cane with which to fill up the ditch, and ladders, on 
 which to mount the parapet. The order entered on the 
 regimental books, and dated the 7th January, 1815, is 
 given by one of the survivors of these events as follows : 
 " The troops will be under arms two hours before day- 
 light to-morrow morning, when the army will form in 
 two columns in the following order : The right column, 
 consisting of the 4th, 21st, 44th, will take post near the 
 wood, the 44th leading and bearing the gabions and 
 fascines ; the left column, composed of one company 
 from the 43d regiment, one from the 7th the 93d, and 
 the fifth West India regiments, shall station itself on the 
 left, and on the road, and with the 95th extended, shall 
 keep up communications between the heads of the two 
 columns ; a general assault will then be made on the
 
 302 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 enemy's lines, and the commander of the forces places 
 the fullest reliance on the gallantry of the troops and the 
 skill of their officers ; that arrangements were made to 
 assure success ; and that he confidently expected that to- 
 morrow would add an additional laurel to the many 
 which already adorned the brows of his brave followers." 
 
 Such was Packenham's plan of attack, and the gene- 
 ral order directing the mode of executing it. 
 
 And how did Jackson prepare to meet and repel these 
 formidable arrangements, the nature and object of which 
 were soon known to him ? First, he dispatched messen- 
 gers to hasten the advance of the reinforcements of his 
 frightfully meagre force. Gen. Philemon Thomas arri- 
 ved in the city on the 1st January, with 500 militia 
 from Baton Kouge. On the 4th January the long-ex- 
 pected drafted militia of Kentucky relieved Jackson by 
 their presence, but in such plight as to make it quite 
 questionable whether they were any addition to his 
 effective strength. These gallant men had hurried from 
 their homes, travelling fifteen hundred miles, without 
 supplies and clothing, under the infatuation that they 
 would find an abundance of arms and clothes provided 
 by the government, at New Orleans. They little knew 
 that long before their arrival, Jackson had exhausted all 
 the Government's, the State's, and the City's supplies 
 of arms and munitions to furnish his little army. Under 
 this delusive hope, General John Thomas brought his 
 two thousand two hundred and fifty Kentuckians to the 
 city. About one-third of these were armed with fowl- 
 ing pieces and old muskets. Nearly all of them were 
 in want of clothing, having left home with but one shirt 
 apiece. The poor fellows had to hold their tattered gar- 
 ments together, to hide their nakedness, as they marched
 
 PREPARATION FOR THE FINAL CONFLICT. 303 
 
 through the streets. If this fact reflects seriously upon 
 the Federal Government of that day, it speaks volumes 
 for the ardent patriotism of the gallant Kentuckians, 
 who are ever foremost in encountering any danger and 
 sacrifice in the defence of the honor and integrity of 
 their country. Such a spectacle produced a lively sensa- 
 tion among the grateful and patriotic citizens of New 
 Orleans. Immediate steps were taken to relieve the 
 wants and distress of the gallant men of the West, who 
 had left comfortable homes to fight for so distant a sec- 
 tion of the Union. The Legislature appropriated $6,000, 
 and the people, including the volunteers and militia of 
 New Orleans, the inhabitants of Attakapas, and of the 
 river parishes, augmented this sum to $16,000, which 
 was laid out in the purchase of blankets and woolens, 
 and these being distributed among the ladies of the city, 
 were made into comfortable clothes within a few days 
 after the money was raised. Thus were provided for 
 the suffering militia one thousand two hundred blanket- 
 coats ; two hundred and sixty-five waistcoats ; one thou- 
 sand one hundred and twenty-seven pair of pants ; eight 
 hundred sheets ; four hundred and ten pair of shoes, and 
 a great number of other articles of clothing. Here was 
 a striking example of the public spirit of the citizens, of 
 the ardent patriotism of the ladies of New Orleans, and 
 likewise of the economy which was observed in those 
 days in the expenditure of money. The sum which was 
 thus made to contribute so largely to the health and 
 comfort of a whole brigade, would barely serve, in these 
 days of contractors and of governmental extravagance, to 
 supply a single company with the necessaries of a cam- 
 paign. All honor to the ladies of New Orleans for this 
 noble display of gratitude and generosity ; all honor to
 
 304 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 the veterans De Buys, Soulie, and Loncaillier, for their 
 energetic efforts in behalf of the destitute soldiers. 
 
 Jackson had received an actual reinforcement of not 
 over 2500 men since the 23d. With these he had to 
 guard the approaches to the city by the northern 
 branches of the Bienvenu, where he maintained outposts, 
 and to defend the lines in front of the enemy, on both 
 sides of the river. Such a force, compared with that of 
 the British, of which he had a clear and distinct view 
 from the window of Macarte's, would have dispirited 
 and unnerved any other man. To Jackson it gave new 
 vigor, heroism and intensity of purpose. His eyes grew 
 more bright and his lips set firmer together, as every 
 day and hour added to his perils, without increasing his 
 means of resistance. His wasted frame seemed to take 
 new life, galvanized by the heroic soul which tenanted 
 it. He was everywhere. His aids found it difficult to 
 keep up with him. His noble bay charger, foamed and 
 smoked with the continual exercise of galloping from 
 post to post. Nor was he oppressed only with the cares 
 of his army of maintaining his post. There were the 
 annoyances of timid counsels, of the fears, the doubts, 
 the intrigues of civilians and politicians, who had no 
 confidence in his ability to defend the city, and who 
 dwelt upon the horrors of a sack as a consequence of a 
 vigorous resistance. 
 
 " Was not this, in a good part, the same British army 
 which had perpetrated the atrocities of San Salvador 
 and of Washington city ?" was gloomily whispered by 
 some timid citizens. These were certainly serious and 
 appalling apprehensions to fathers, husbands, and civi- 
 lians generally. But to the immortal renown of New 
 Orleans be it said, that few, very few, indeed, there
 
 PEEPAEATION FOE THU FINAL CONFLICT. 305 
 
 were who gave way to these fears. Jackson had com- 
 . municated his spirit to the great mass of the population. 
 And though historians, politicians, and others have 
 thought it due to the reputation and glory of Jackson, 
 to exaggerate the discontent and apprehensions of a few 
 timid persons in New Orleans into a deep-laid scheme 
 of treason ; and though we are aware that partisans and 
 intriguants succeeded in instilling into the mind of the 
 General himself this suspicion, yet it is due to truth, to 
 history, and the reputation of this gallant city, to say 
 that, with abundant means and facilities for procuring 
 the evidence of such inglorious purposes and feelings, 
 their existence has never yet been established. 
 
 It is no longer necessary, if it ever was, to the fame 
 of Jackson, that the libel should be perpetuated. That 
 the reported resolution of Jackson, in case his lines were 
 forced, to fall back on the city, to fire it, and fight the 
 enemy in the blazing streets and in the tumult of a con- 
 flagration, should excite great alarm, was quite natural. 
 But we feel confident in the assertion, that in no commu- 
 nity in the world would such a desperate step have been 
 more generally acquiesced in and excited less terror and 
 distress than in New Orleans. As the best evidence of 
 the justice of this opinion, we need only state the fact 
 that the people remained in the city after this report 
 became rife, and after it was known that the General 
 had replied to certain inquiries as to his purpose, in case 
 his lines were carried, that "if the hair .of his head knew 
 what his determination was, he would cut it off," with 
 an intimation provoked by rumors of the disloyalty of 
 the Legislature, that if his lines were carried their ses 
 eion would be a warm one ! 
 
 "We have little doubt that Jackson's determination
 
 306 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 was as reported, and still less that he would have exe- 
 cuted it. 
 
 On the 6th January, sailing-master Johnson the same 
 who was so vigorously defended Pass Christian against 
 Lockyer's barges slipping out of the Chef-Menteur with 
 three boats, succeeded in capturing a British brig 
 loaded with rum and biscuit, on her way to the Bayou 
 Bienveuu. Ten prisoners were taken on the brig, who 
 were conducted to Jackson's head-quarters. From them 
 Jackson received continuation of his suspicion that the 
 enemy were digging a canal to aid in transporting troops 
 to the other side of the river. He determined, therefore, 
 to strengthen that part of the defences. 
 
 After the 23d December General David Morgan, 
 commanding the quota of Louisiana militia who occu- 
 pied the English Turn when the British arrived at 
 Villere's, was ordered to pass across the river and take 
 position opposite Jackson's lines. But Morgan preferred 
 a position somewhat in advance of Jackson's, and 
 accordingly established himself on Raquet's Canal, 
 about three hundred yards in front of Patterson's Marine 
 Battery. His command consisted of 260 effective 
 militia men. Here he was soon joined by the 2d Regi- 
 ment of Louisiana Militia, Col. Z. Cavellier, 160' men ; 
 and on the 6th January by Colonel Dejean's regiment, 
 which completed his line to the river. With this weak 
 force Morgan commenced to throw up an entrenchment 
 for two hundred yards ; the remainder of the line, two 
 thousand yards, was left with no other defence but the 
 ditch. Colonel Latour, whose able history is the text 
 book of this campaign, had directed General Morgan's 
 attention to a much more practicable line some distance 
 in his rear, where the space to be defended between the
 
 PREPARATION FOR THE FINAL CONFLICT. 
 
 river and the swamp, was only nine hundred yards. 
 This line could have been defended with one thousand 
 muskets, or with five hundred muskets and one or two 
 batteries. 
 
 On the left, Jackson's lines had been daily strength- 
 ened, the men working incessantly on them, widening 
 and deepening the ditch, and increasing the height and 
 bulk of the parapet. On the 6th, some of the more sci- 
 entific officers suggested to Jackson to strengthen the 
 right by throwing up a redoubt, or horn-work, in which 
 some cannon could be planted to enfilade the front of 
 his lines, and defend the extreme right of his position. 
 When Jackson saw a plan of the work he condemned 
 it, but was persuaded to allow it to be built. It was 
 accordingly thrown up, with three embrasures, which 
 commanded the road, the river-bank, and flanked the 
 front of the lines. A shallow ditch, that had run dry 
 by the falling of the river, surrounded the redoubt, 
 which had not been completed on the night of the 7th. 
 Jackson, when he saw this work, shook his head, and 
 remarked to one of his aids, "That will give us trouble." 
 
 Let us survey these famous lines of Jackson's. Time 
 has spared many memorials of the great achievements 
 we relate. The scene of these events has experienced 
 slighter changes in the last forty years than the arena 
 of any similar occurrences in this land of change and 
 progress. As if to rebuke the deficiencies of our histo- 
 rical records, nature has preserved, in almost their 
 original state, the physical characteristics of the scenery 
 associated with the most glorious triumphs of the Ame- 
 rican arms. The reader need only acquaint himself 
 with the leading facts of the campaign, and then pro- 
 ceeding six yards below the city, he may take his posi-
 
 308 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 tion in the gallery of Macarte where Jackson himself 
 stood on the afternoon of the 7th January, 1815, closely 
 observing through a telescope the movements in the 
 British camp, situated two miles down the river. Here 
 he will command a splendid view of the whole scene of 
 this campaign. He will perceive the embankment, 
 somewhat worn by time and the elements, behind which 
 Jackson's men stationed themselves. He can trace it 
 clearly and distinctly from the* river to the swamp, in 
 which it is lost to view. It becomes more distinct as it 
 approaches the swamp, the ground near the river having 
 been more exposed to the action of the plow and the 
 tramp of men and cattle. The river having caved some 
 hundred or two feet, the line of the levee has been 
 slightly changed, and the road has worn away the 
 mound and the vestiges of the redoubt on the extreme 
 right. There is a handsome villa, quite ancient too in 
 its aspect, standing near the road in the centre of the 
 lines and about a hundred yards from. the ditch. This, 
 however, has been built since the war. Chalmette's 
 buildings, which were destroyed by the Americans to 
 give jull play to their artillery, were at least two hun- 
 dred yards in rear of this edifice. All else is as it was 
 in 1815. Jackson's head-quarters are nearly concealed 
 by a luxuriant growth of the graceful cedars and 
 cypress, which here assume the most symmetrical pro- 
 portions, tapering off into perfect cones and pyramids. 
 A thick orange hedge almost excludes a glimpse into 
 the handsome garden, where bloom all the flowers and 
 shrubs of this rich soil and benignant clime. But the 
 buildings stand as they did then, but slightly changed 
 by the lapse of time. They are scarred in many places 
 with marks of the severe cannonade to which they were
 
 PREPARATION FOR THE FINAL CONFLICT. 309 
 
 exposed. 1 The view stretches far down the river ; and 
 is quite monotonous. The same broad, open field, 
 divided by numerous ditches, and relieved at intervals 
 of miles, by groves wherein nestle the homesteads of the 
 planters and the neat little cottages of the negroes, com- 
 plete the panorama. The noble Mississippi moves 
 along with the same sublime grandeur, in the same 
 course and at the same height as when, by its calm 
 power and majesty, it inspired Jackson with that sublime 
 courage and resolution, of which it is so mighty a 
 symbol. 
 
 Those jields are the same, too. The plain of Chal- 
 rnette, thus named after the owner of the ground in front 
 of Jackson's lines, has the same dimensions now that it 
 had then. It is an unbroken level, usually when not in 
 cane, covered with a luxuriant growth of stubble or 
 weeds, and cut into numerous small ditches. Solitary 
 live oaks, reverently spared by the plowman, loom out 
 grandly at long distances apart from the grey or brown 
 plain. The swamp, too, has preserved its line of sepa- 
 ration from the fields. It presents the same contour as 
 in 1815 with that identical bulge or projection within 
 two or three hundred yards of Jackson's lines, which 
 served as a cover for the British in their advance. Near 
 the swamp, and within it for some distance, the mound 
 erected by the Tennesseeans is almost as prominent and 
 clearly defined as it was, when the gallant bush-fighters 
 rested their long rifles on its summit. 
 
 So much for the present aspect of these classic plains. 
 What was their appearance in the memorable month 
 of January, 1815 ? 
 
 Jackson's lines were drawn along an old mill race 
 which separated the plantations of Rodriguez (Macarte's)
 
 310 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 and Chalraette. In the early days of the Sfate, mills 
 were located at the heads of canals, which were dug 
 from the river towards the swamp, and through them a 
 large body of water was projected from the river, the sur- 
 face of which is several feet higher than the land in the 
 rear. Rodriguez's canal had long been abandoned, and 
 was nearly filled up with dirt and grass, so that it pre- 
 sented the appearance of a simple draining ditch. This 
 position recommended itself to Jackson by the fact, that 
 it left him the smallest space between the river and the 
 swamp to defend. It gave him the narrowest front he 
 could find near the position of the enemy. This was its 
 only peculiarity, which would have attracted the notice 
 of amost every man, who was driven with a small force, 
 to the necessity of entrenching, to defend himself against 
 a larger. It was Jackson's own selection. To this point 
 he marched his army on the 24th, and ordered his men 
 to widen the canal in front, throwing uf> the dirt into a 
 parapet. The story that General Moreau had previously 
 perceived the advantages of this position, and recom- 
 mended it in case the city was approached in that 
 quarter, is an absurd fiction, obvious to all who have 
 ever observed the character of the country. 
 
 Owing to the irregular, independent and hurried man- 
 ner in which the parapet was thrown up, the men being 
 continuously at-work on it from the 24th December to 
 7th January, it presented, when completed, quite an 
 irregular appearance. In some places being twenty 
 feet thick and in others of scarcely sufficient solidity to 
 resist the enemy's balls ; in some places having a height 
 sufficient to conceal the tallest men and in others hardly 
 reaching the belt of an ordinary sized person. The 
 mound was composed entirely of earth dug from the
 
 PBEPAKATION FOB THE FIXAL CONFLICT. 311 
 
 canal and the field in the rear. The experiment of using 
 cotton bales and other articles in raising the embank- 
 ment had been discarded, and the elastic, tenacious soil 
 of the alluvion preferred to all other materials, being 
 superior for such uses even to brick or granite. 
 
 On the first of January, there was but a small part of 
 the line, which could not be penetrated by the balls of 
 the enemy, but on the 6th it was rendered cannon-proof 
 nearly the whole length. This was the work of men 
 who were unaccustomed to physical labor. The vigor 
 and alacrity with which merchants, lawyers, young 
 clerks, and others, who had hardly ever performed a 
 day's work of manual labour in their lives, prosecuted 
 this task for ten or twelve days, showed the earnest pur- 
 pose and ardent resolution of Jackson's patriotic com- 
 rades. 
 
 The lines extended a mile and a half from the river 
 to the woods, and then penetrated the swamp, as far as 
 it was deemed possible to turn them, resting on the 
 extreme left on an impassable swamp. That part of the 
 lines, which passed through the woods was frail and 
 rude, not being made to resist artillery. The average 
 height of the parapet was five feet. In many places the 
 men had to stoop to sight their guns from the mound. 
 Nothing could have been ruder or simpler than this 
 whole work, which is made to figure in history, as one 
 of the most formidable fortifications that an invading 
 army ever encountered. It is just such a parapet as the 
 whole Delta of the Mississippi would present to an 
 enemy, who might attempt to advance up the river. 
 With embrasures cut in the levee, filled with cannon of 
 sufficient calibre, well manned, the hostile navies of the 
 world would find it nearly as difficult to reach New
 
 312 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Orleans by the Mississippi river, as for the Allied Squad- 
 rons of France and Great Britain to pass the frowning 
 and lofty granite batteries of Cronstadt and reach the 
 famous stronghold of Russian power, St. Petersburg. 
 Cannon balls will break, crush and dislodge granite, 
 coral and even iron walls, but from the soil of the 
 Mississippi bottoms they will rebound as if made of 
 India-rubber. 
 
 The artillery of Jackson was thus distributed. On the 
 road within and near the levee was the battery of 
 Colonel Humphrey of the regular artillery. It consisted 
 of two brass twelves and a six-inch howitzer. These 
 pieces enfiladed the road and grazed the flank of the 
 redoubt. This battery was located about seventy yards 
 from the river. The two twelves were served by U. S. 
 artillerists, and the howitzer by the dragoons of Major 
 St. Geme. 
 
 Battery No. 2, distant ninety yards from "No. 1, con- 
 sisted of one twenty-four-pounder under Lieutenant 
 Norris of the navy, and was served by sailors from the 
 Carolina. 
 
 Battery No. 3, fifty yards from 'No. 2, consisted of 
 two twenty-fours, manned by the Baratarians and French 
 privateers, under their famous chiefs, Dominique You 
 and Bluche, who had been released from prison, to 
 which they had been committed under indictments for 
 piracy, for the purpose of aiding Jackson to defend the 
 .city. 
 
 Battery No. 4, distant twenty yards from No. 3, con- 
 listed of one thirty-two-pounder, and was served by part 
 jf the crew of the Carolina, under Lieutenant Crawley. 
 
 Battery No. 5, distant one hundred and ninety yards 
 from No. 4, commanded by Colonel Perry and Lieuten-
 
 PREPARATION FOR THE FINAL CONFLICT. 313 
 
 ant Kerr of the artillery had two six-pounders and one 
 eighteen. 
 
 Battery No. 6, commanded by General Garrique 
 Fleaujeac, a veteran of Napole'on's wars, who had served 
 in Egypt and Italy, was manned by a detachment of 
 the Francs of the battalion D'Orleans, under the imme- 
 diate command of Lieutenant Berbel, had a brass twelve. 
 It was situate thirty- six yards from No. 5. 
 
 Battery No. Y had a long brass eighteen pound culve- 
 rin and a six-pounder, under Lieutenant Spotts and 
 Chameau, and was served by gunners of the U. S. artil- 
 lery. It was one hundred and ninety yards from No. 6. 
 
 Battery No. 8 had a small brass carronade, which 
 could not be expected to render much service, as it was 
 badly mounted. It was placed in charge of a corporal 
 of artillery, and was served by some of Carroll's men, 
 and was distant sixty yards from No. 7. This completed 
 Jackson's batteries. His artillery force may be summed 
 up as follows: Four sixes, (including those in the 
 redoubt), three twelves, two eighteens, three twerity- 
 fours, one thirty-two, one six-inch howitzer, and one 
 small brass carronade. There w r as also a mortar, which 
 remained for some time in the camp, of no use, because 
 no person could be found in the army who knew how to 
 plant it. This task was at last performed by a French 
 veteran of the name of Lefebvre, but it did not prove a 
 very effective weapon. Jackson's artillery consisted of 
 sixteen pieces, of various calibre. The heaviest of the 
 artillery were placed on the right, to resist the British 
 batteries and repel the attack in that quarter. As a 
 part of his defence, the marine battery on the right 
 bank, under Patterson, consisting of three twenty-fours 
 and six twelves, which that active officer had placed in 
 
 14
 
 314 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 battery between the 30th December and 6th Jan-nary, 
 and which flanked the enemy on the left bank, must 
 not be forgotten. This would swell Jackson's artillery 
 force to twenty -five pieces quite a formidable propor- 
 tion of artillery to so small a force of infantry. 
 
 The latter were distributed as follows: The redoubt 
 on the extreme right was occupied by a company of the 
 7th infantry, under Lieutenant Ross. The two sixes 
 were served by a detachment of the 44th, under Lieu- 
 tenant Maraut. Tents were pitched in this redoubt. 
 On the extreme right, between Humphrey's battery and 
 the river, were stationed Beale's rifles, thirty in number. 
 From their left the 7th infantry extended to Battery No. 
 3, covering Humphrey's and Norris' guns, taking in the 
 powder magazine, built since 1st January. 
 
 This regiment was 430 strong, under that active young 
 Creole, Major Peire. Between the two guns of Battery 
 No. 3 (You's and Bluche's), the company of the car- 
 bineers were stationed, and the remainder of Blanche's 
 battalion of Orleans, and Lacoste's battalion of free men 
 of color the former numbering 289, the latter 280 
 filled up the interval from No. 3 to No. 4 (Crawley's 
 thirty-two), covering the latter gun. Daquin's battalion 
 of free men of color, 150, and the 44th i:nder Captain 
 Baker, 240, extended to Perry's battery, No. 5. 
 
 Two-thirds of the remaining length of the line was 
 guarded by Carroll's command, who was reinforced on 
 the 7th by one thousand Kentuckians under General 
 Adair, consisting of 600 men under Colonel Slaughter 
 and 400 under Major Harrison, who were all of Major- 
 General Thomas's Kentucky Division of 2,250 for whom 
 arms could be obtained. 
 
 On the right of Battery No. 7 (Spotts') fifty marines
 
 PREPARATION FOE THE FINAL CONFLICT. 315 
 
 were stationed, under Lieutenant Bellevue. The extreme 
 left was held by Coffee, whose men were compelled to 
 stand constantly in the water, and had no other beds 
 but the floating logs which they could make fast to the 
 trees. Coffee's command was 500. Ogden's horse troop, 
 h'fty strong, was stationed near headquarters ; Cauveau's, 
 thirty, near them ; and Hind's squadron, 150 strong, was 
 encamped in the rear, on Delery's plantation. Detach- 
 ments of Colonel Young's regiment of Louisiana militia 
 were stationed in the rear, near Pierna's canal, to pre- 
 vent the enemy coming into the camp in that direction, 
 and also to prevent any persons from leaving the lines. 
 Outposts were thrown out five hundred yards to the 
 front. Jackson's whole force on the left bank of the 
 river amounted to 4,000 men, but his lines were occu- 
 pied by only 3,200, of which less than 800 were regular 
 troops, and those mostly fresh recruits, commanded by 
 young officers. The consolidated report, in the Adju- 
 tant-General's office, gives Jackson, on the 8th January, 
 1815, on the left bank of the river, a force of 5,045 in 
 which, however, Major Harrison's Kentucky battalion 
 is not included. 
 
 Jackson's army was divided into two divisions. The 
 troops from the right to the left of the 44th, were under 
 the command of Colonel Ross, acting Brigadier General, 
 and the left of the line under Carroll and Coffee, the for- 
 mer as Major-General, and the latter as Brigadier-Gene- 
 ral. 
 
 How grossly and shamefully untrue is the statement 
 of nearly all the British historians, that Jackson had an 
 army of twelve thousand. Alison, in his fourth vol- 
 ume of his History of Europe, says : " Including seamen 
 and marines, about six thousand combatants on the
 
 316 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 British side were in the field ; a slender force to attack 
 double their number, entrenched to their teeth in works 
 bristling with bayonets and loaded with heavy artillery. 
 .... General Jackson, an officer since become celebra- 
 ted both in the military and political history of the coun- 
 try, commanded a military force destined for the defence 
 of the city, which amounted to about twelve thousand 
 men." It will be seen that this great standard historian 
 quadruples Jackson's force, and by the vagueness of his 
 terms, conveys the idea that the British were but six 
 thousand, which was the number of their storming col- 
 umns, exclusive of their reserves, of Thornton's detach- 
 ment, and the sailors and marines. 
 
 So Bissett, in his History of the reign of George III., 
 states that the American force collected for the defence 
 of New Orleans, consisted of 30,000 men. The author 
 of the Narrative of the British army at Washington, Bal- 
 timore, and New Orleans, an actor in the events he 
 describes, after mentioning the conflicting estimates of 
 the American force, varying from 23,000 to 30,000, 
 chooses a middle course, and supposes the whole force 
 to be about twenty-five thousand. Baines, in his His- 
 tory of the French Revolution, approaches the truth, 
 and sets down the force on each side at about ten thou- 
 sand men. 
 
 Besides the arrangements for defence mentioned, there 
 was another characteristic precaution of Jackson. He 
 had directed another entrenchment to be thrown up a 
 mile and a half in the rear of that which he occupied 
 with his army, in which were posted all those of his 
 army who were not well armed or regarded as able- 
 bodied. With rare exceptions, the men in charge of 
 this line were armed only with spades and pick-axes,
 
 PREPARATION FOE THE FINAL CONFLICT. 317 
 
 Should the enemy succeed in carrying his main works 
 by escalade, Jackson intended to throw forward his 
 mounted force, and under their protection fall back to 
 and rally upon his second line. A third line had also 
 been drawn still nearer the city, upon which the men 
 had commenced working quite vigorously. 
 
 On. the 6th, it was well understood by Jackson that 
 the British intended to cross the river, but whether for 
 the purpose of concentrating their force on the weak 
 defences on the right bank, or for a simultaneous and 
 concerted advance on both banks, could only be conjec- 
 tured by the American commander. To obtain some 
 information on this point, Jackson sent his intelligent 
 and sagacious aid, Col. John R. Grimes, across the river, 
 to observe the movements of the enemy at Villere's, and 
 report upon the condition of Morgan's defences. Colo- 
 nel Grimes executed this order in a prompt and efficient 
 manner. He saw at a glance, that the enemy were pre- 
 paring to throw a detachment across the river, and ho 
 advised General Morgan to march his whole force down, 
 under cover of the levee, take post opposite Villere's, 
 and when the enemy approached in their boats, to open 
 fire upon them. Completely protected by the levee, a 
 better entrenchment than that which Jackson had 
 thrown up on the left, there is little doubt that if this 
 advice had been adopted, Morgan would have destroyed 
 the British detachment, which might attempt to cross 
 the river, or at least driven it back. But, instead of 
 pursuing this sensible and practicable plan, Morgan 
 stationed his advance, consisting of 120 militia of Major 
 Arnaud's battalion, under Major Tessier, armed with 
 fowling-pieces and musket cartridges, on Mayhew's canal, 
 in front of his own position, and several hundred yards
 
 318 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 from the place where the British would probably land. 
 Of course this small force could cover but a small por- 
 tion of a position so illy chosen. 
 
 On the night of the 7th, Commodore Patterson and 
 his volunteer aid, R. D. Shepherd, proceeded down the 
 right bank of the river, and arriving at a point opposite 
 the scene of the British preparations, where they ap- 
 peared to be most actively engaged, observed closely 
 their proceedings. They could hear a considerable 
 commotion in the enemy's camp the sounds of men 
 pulling arid dragging boats, as if in great haste the 
 splash of boats, as they fell into the river the orders 
 of officers, and expressions of relief and satisfaction of 
 the laborers, as some work appeared to be finished. 
 They could even discover, by the camp fires, a long line 
 of soldiers drawn up on the levee. They hastened back 
 to Patterson's battery. On their return, Patterson 
 observed the very weak and insecure position of Morgan, 
 and after consulting with that officer, directed Mr. 
 Shepherd to cross the river and inform General Jackson 
 of the state of affairs, and beg him to reinforce Morgan, 
 who had not men enough to occupy his lines. Shepherd 
 crossed the river, and arrived at Jackson's headquarters 
 about one o'clock on the morning of the 8th. He in- 
 formed the sentinel on guard that he had important 
 intelligence' to communicate to the General, and was 
 accordingly ushered into the room, where Jackson lay 
 on a sofa, snatching a few moments of rest from the 
 great fatigues of the day. Around the General lay his 
 aids, on the floor, all asleep. On Shepherd's entering. 
 Jackson raised his head and asked, 
 
 " Who's there ?" 
 
 Mr. Shepherd gave his name, and added that he had
 
 PKEPARATION FOB THE FINAL CONFLICT. 319 
 
 been sent over by Commodore Patterson and General 
 Morgan, to inform him, General Jackson, that the 
 appearances in the British camp, indicated that the 
 main attack was to be made on the right bank, and that 
 Morgan required more troops to maintain his position. 
 " Hurry back," replied the General, rising from his 
 recumbent position, "and tell General Morgan that he 
 is mistaken. The main attack will be on this side, and 
 I have no men to spare. He must maintain his position 
 at all hazards." Then looking at his watch, and observ- 
 ing that it was past one o'clock, he exclaimed aloud, 
 addressing his sleeping aids: "Gentlemen, we have 
 slept enough. Arise. The enemy will be upon us in a 
 few minutes ; I must go and see Coffee." The aids arose 
 hastily and commenced buckling on their swords, when 
 Mr. Shepherd departed, and recrossing the river, deli- 
 vered the reply of Jackson to Morgan. 
 
 Jackson did not, however, neglect Morgan; but 
 ordered General Adair to send a detachment of 500 
 Kentuckians to the lines on the right bank. This detach 
 ment was placed under the command of Colonel Davis. 
 It was very badly armed and was greatly delayed in 
 crossing the river. At the naval arsenal, on the right 
 bank, the Kentuckians received some old muskets, but 
 when they commenced their march to join Morgan, 
 there were but 260 of them armed, and some of these 
 had common pebbles instead of flints in their locks. 
 They were, howtver, hurried forward without rest or 
 food, and after a fatiguing march of five or six miles 
 arrived at Morgan's lines ; thence they were ordered 
 forward to the advance position already occupied by 
 Tessier. They arrived here greatly fatigued, and formed 
 on Tessier's left but a few moments before the enemy 
 appeared in sight.
 
 320 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Morgan's whole force consisted of 812 men, all militia, 
 and but poorly armed. On his left he had two six- 
 pounders, which were placed in charge of Adjutant 
 John Nixon of the Louisiana militia, and a twelve- 
 pounder under Lieutenant Philibert of the navy. 
 
 Patterson's battery being in the rear of and masked 
 by Morgan's lines, could not be used in defence of the 
 same. The guns were turned so as to flank the front of 
 Jackson's lines on the left bank. 
 
 Such were the arrangements of the two armies for 
 the expected final combat. 
 
 There was little sleeping in the American lines on 
 the night of the 7th. The men were all engaged in 
 cleaning their pieces, preparing cartridges and perform- 
 ing various duties of preparation for the conflict. The 
 outposts and scouting parties were all alive as usual, 
 watching every movement in the British camp with 
 characteristic American curiosity. They could hear 
 very distinctly corresponding notes of preparation on 
 the enemy's side, among which were the noises of the 
 workmen engaged in reconstructing the redoubts, near 
 the Chalmette buildings, which had been destroyed on 
 the 1st of January. 
 
 There was intense anxiety, but no fear in Jackson's 
 little army. The citizen soldiers had now grown to be 
 veterans. They had learned to confide in their General, 
 and in themselves, and if these were not sufficient to 
 nerve their arms for the struggle, the recollection of 
 those dear ones, who then reposed in the city behind 
 them, with so much confidence in their devotion and 
 heroism, inspired every heart with heroic courage and 
 determination.
 
 THE BATTLE OF NEW OELEANS. 321 
 
 XVL 
 
 THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 THE VICTORY. 
 [The Eighth of January, 1815.] 
 
 BY the same conveyance which brought the reinforce- 
 ments of Lambert, the British soldiers received a most 
 acceptable addition to their comforts, in the shape of a 
 supply of fresh provisions. A refreshing supper on the 
 evening of the 7th produced no little vivacity in the 
 camp, and after packing their knapsacks, burnishing their 
 arms, filling their cartridge-boxes, and arranging their 
 neatest toggery, that they might appear before the 
 famous beauties of New Orleans to the greatest advan- 
 tage, the soldiers destined to storm Jackson's lines lay 
 down to refresh their bodies for the coming struggle. 
 At the same time, Thornton with his command, moved 
 to the bank of the river, where the men were drawn up 
 and kept waiting for the boats which were to transport 
 them to the opposite side. The patience of Thornton 
 was sorely tried by the delay in the arrival of the boats. 
 After the British had excavated a canal of sufficient 
 depth, the banks began to cave in just as they were 
 dragging the boats through the water, and thus their 
 progress was greatly impeded. The providential and 
 quite unexpected falling of the river was the cause of
 
 322 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 this obstacle. The sailors were at last compelled to drag 
 the boats through the mud, and were thus enabled to 
 launch upon the river about one-fourth of the boats 
 needed, by three o'clock in the morning. Dismissing 
 one-half of his force, Thornton ordered his own regiment, 
 a division of sailors and a company of marines, to crowd 
 .into the boats, making about seven hundred men, and 
 then the flotilla under Captain Roberts pushed off from 
 the left bank of the river. This was not Thornton's 
 only unexpected obstacle. Deceived as all strangers are 
 by the quiet, smooth current of the Mississippi, Captain 
 Roberts imagined that the oars of his sailors could keep 
 the boats right ahead and enable him to disembark at a 
 point opposite that of his departure. He was grievously 
 mistaken. The Mississippi current at this point runs at 
 the rate of five miles an hour. The barges of the 
 British, instead of holding up against the current, were 
 swept by it a mile and a half down the stream. Thus 
 it happened that before Thornton's detachments could 
 step ashore, the eastern sky began to be streaked with 
 the light of the coming day. 
 
 Long after the men in the British camp had fallen 
 asleep, full of hope, confidence, of bright dreams of 
 wealth, luxury, and spoils of " booty and beauty," the 
 officers kept awake in their little circles, discussing the 
 chances of the morrow's combat. The older and more 
 experienced commanders, to whom the delay in bringing 
 up the boats was known, were gloomy and desponding. 
 Some of them openly expressed their belief that the 
 ensemble of the plan was lost, and it would have to be 
 gone over again. Col. Dale, of the 93d Highlanders, ;i 
 brave and thoughtful officer, being asked his opinion, 
 turned to Dr. Dempster of his regiment, and giving him
 
 THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. 323 
 
 his watch and a letter, said : " Deliver these to ray wife 
 I shall die at the head of my regiment." The conduct 
 of Col. Mullens, of the 44th, was even more desponding, 
 and far less heroic. His wife, an elegant lady, was then 
 in the fleet, and had come over to grace the fashionable 
 circles of New Orleans. She had been the life of the 
 squadron, contributing, by her fascinating manners and 
 vivacity, to brighten many of the dull and gloomy hours 
 of the long voyage. But her husband was far from 
 being the soul of the army. Son of a lord, he had 
 obtained his promotion more by influence than merit. 
 Among the officers who have carved out their names 
 and commissions, by their own good swords, the desig- 
 nation of Mullens to lead the advance of the storming 
 party was ascribed to the natural esprit de corps of their 
 aristocratic commander, himself the son of an earl. 
 Perhaps they were correct, but Packenham and Mullens 
 took very different views of the privileges of the sons 
 of peers. Packenham regarded that an honor and dis- 
 tinction, which he frequently enjoyed, never without 
 glory, and never without grievous wounds, which 
 Mullens looked upon as a death sentence. He had 
 received one honorable wound at Albuera, and that 
 sufficed to fill the measure of his ambition. Besides, 
 Colonel Mullens, whether prompted by his regard for 
 his own safety, or his good sense, had the sagacity to 
 perceive the hopelessness of the enterprise ; and to 
 declare that conviction in the hearing of both officers 
 and men. He stated that his regiment had been ordered 
 to execution that their dead bodies were to be used as 
 a bridge for the remainder of the army to march over 
 to a like fate. 
 The young officers were in better spirits. They had
 
 324: JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 no doubt of their success, and in a gay and jovial 
 manner discussed their individual chances in the battle, 
 speculated on the ulterior results of the campaign on 
 the prospect of accumulating fortunes where they 
 would be quartered in the city what frolics they 
 would have what distinction they would enjoy in the 
 gay society of New Orleans what "jolly letters " they 
 would write home, and what handsome presents they 
 would " send to the girls they left behind them," not 
 forgetting mothers, wives, sisters and cousins. 
 
 About the hour when Jackson aroused his aids, Pack- 
 enham having refreshed himself with a short slumber, 
 repaired from his head-quarters at Villere"s mansion, to 
 the moutli of the canal, and there discovered the morti- 
 fying delay in the transportation of Thornton's detach- 
 ment across the river. A cooler headed commander 
 would have perceived the serious interruption which 
 this accident made in his plan of operations, and con- 
 formed his other movements to it. In other words, he 
 would have countermanded the advance on the left 
 bank, which it was now certain must follow that on the 
 right, but which, if executed under the orders that had 
 been issued, should precede it. But Packenham was a 
 self-willed, gallant and somewhat reckless man, who 
 believed that courage and daring were the chief reliance 
 in all military operations, who never, like Lysander, 
 eked out the lion's skin with the fox's. The orders of 
 the 7th were, therefore, adhered to. 
 
 Before day, Gibbs' and Keane's men were aroused 
 from their lairs, and forming, advanced in line some 
 distance in front of the pickets, about 400 or 500 yards 
 from the American lines. Here they remained, listen- 
 ing in anxious suspense for the firing on the other side
 
 THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. 325 
 
 of the river. Not a sound could be heard across the 
 calm surface of the great, silent Mississippi. A thick 
 fog involved the army, and shut out all in front and 
 rear from their view. The minutes, the hours flew 
 rapidly by, and not a sound of Thornton could be heard. 
 The truth was, that gallant officer had not even landed 
 his men, when Gibbs began to form his column for the 
 advance. The mist was now breaking. The American 
 flag, on its lofty staff in the centre of Jackson's lines, 
 began to wave its striped and starry folds above the 
 vapory exhalations from the earth, within full view of 
 the British lines, and the dark mound, behind which the 
 guardians of that standard stood with arms at rest, be- 
 came faintly visible. On the mound stood many a sharp- 
 eyed soldier, painfully stretching his vision to catch the 
 first glance of the enemy, that he might announce his 
 approach, or have the first fire at him. This honor was 
 reserved for Lieutenant Spotts, who, perceiving a faint 
 red line several hundred yards in front, discharged his 
 heavy gun at it. Slowly the fog rolled up and thinned 
 off, revealing the whole British line stretching across 
 two-thirds of the plain. At the same moment a rocket 
 shot up near the river ; another on the right, near the 
 Bwamp ; and then the long line seemed to melt away 
 suddenly, puzzling the American gunners, who were 
 just bringing their pieces to bear upon it. But the 
 British had only changed their position and then 
 deployed into column of companies. 
 
 Forming his column of attack in admirable order, 
 Gibbs now advanced towards the wood, so as to have 
 its cover, the 44th in front, followed by the 21st and 
 4th. The column passed the redoubt on the extreme 
 right of the British, near the swamp, where the men of
 
 326 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 the 44th were directed to pack the ladders and fascines, 
 at the same time stacking their muskets. The batteries of 
 Spotts' No. 6, and Garrique's No. 7, and the Howitzer No. 
 8, now began to play upon the column with some effect. 
 There was no time to spare. The 44th, with the rest of 
 the column, rushed past the redoubt, some of the men 
 picking up a few fascines and ladders as they marched, 
 and, fronting towards the American lines, advanced 
 steadily in compact column, bearing their muskets at a 
 shoulder. In his advance Gibbs obliqued towards the 
 wood, so as to be covered by the projection of the 
 swamp. But he could not elude the fire of the batteries, 
 which began to pour round and grapeshot into his lines 
 with destructive effect. It was at this moment whispered 
 through the column that the 44th had not brought the 
 ladders and fascines. Packenham hearing it, rode to 
 the front, and discovered that it was but too true. He 
 immediately called out to Colonel Mullens, who was at 
 the head of his regiment, " To file to the rear and pro- 
 ceed to the redoubt, execute the order, and return as 
 soon as possible with his regiment." The execution of 
 this order produced some confusion in the column, 
 and some delay in its advance. Gibbs, indignant at 
 this disturbance and the disobedience of Mullens, and 
 perceiving his men falling around him, exclaimed in a 
 loud voice, " Let me live till to-morrow and I'll*hang 
 him to the highest tree in that swamp." But the column 
 could not stand there exposed to the terrible fire of the 
 American batteries, waiting for the 44th, and so Gibbs 
 ordered them forward. On they went, the 21st and 4tb, 
 in solid, compact column, the men hurraing, and the 
 rocketers covering their front with a blaze of their com- 
 bustibles. The American batteries we have named were 

 
 THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. 327 
 
 now playing upon them with awful effect, cutting great 
 lanes through the column from front to rear, and huge 
 gaps in their flanks. These intervals were, however, 
 quickly filled up by the gallant Redcoats. The column 
 advanced without pause or recoil steadily towards 
 Spotts' long eighteen, and Chauveau's six (No. 9). 
 Carroll's men were all in their places, with guns sighted 
 on the summit of the parapet, whilst the Kentuckians, 
 in two lines, stood behind, ready to take the places of 
 the Tennesseeans as soon as their pieces were discharged, 
 thus making four lines in this part of the entrenchment. 
 There they stood all as firm as veterans, as cool and cal- 
 culating as American frontiersmen. All the batteries in 
 the American line, including Patterson's marine battery 
 on the right bank, began now to join those on the left 
 in hurling a tornado of iron missies into that serried, 
 scarlet column, which shook and oscillated like a huge 
 painted ship tossed on an angry sea. 
 
 " Stand to your guns," cried Jackson, as he glanced 
 along the lines, " don't waste your ammunition see that 
 every shot tells." 
 
 Again he exclaimed, " Give it to them, boys; let us 
 finish the business to-day." 
 
 The confused and reeling army of Redcoats had 
 approached within two hundred yards of the ditch, when 
 the loud command of Carroll, " Fire ! fire * rang 
 through the lines. The order was obeyed, not hurriedly, 
 excitedly, and confused, but calmly and deliberately, by 
 the whole of Carroll's command, commencing on the 
 left of the 44th. The men had previously calculated the 
 range of their guns, and not a shot was thrown away. 
 Their bullets swept through the British column, cutting 
 down the men by scores, and causing its head and flanks
 
 328 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 to melt away, like snow before a torrent. Nor was it 
 one, or several discharges followed by pauses and inter- 
 vals ; but the fire was kept up without interruption the 
 front men firing and falling back to load. Thus the four 
 lines, two Tennesseeans and two Kentuckians, sharing the 
 labor and glory of the most rapid and destructive fusil- 
 ade ever poured into a column of soldiers. 
 
 For several minutes did that terrible, incessant fire 
 blaze along Carroll's front, and that rolling, deafening, 
 prolonged thunder fill the ears and confuse the sense of 
 /the astounded Britons. Those sounds will never cease 
 to reverberate in the ears of all who survived that mer- 
 ciless fire. 
 
 The roar of the cannon, the hissing of the shells, the 
 low, rumbling growl of the musketry, the wild scream 
 of the rpckets, the whizzing of round shot, the SAveeping 
 blast of chain-shot and the crash of grape, formed a 
 horrid concert. 
 
 Then was seen the great advantage which the Ameri- 
 cans possess in the skill with which they handle fire- 
 arms the rapidity with which they load, the accuracy 
 of their calculation, and the coolness of their aim qual- 
 ities developed^ their frontier life, and their habit of 
 using arms from boyhood. 
 
 There were scarcely more than fifteen hundred pieces 
 brought to bear on the British column, but in the hands 
 of Tennesseeans and Kentuckians they were made as 
 effective as ten times that number, fired by regulars of 
 the best armies of Europe. Against this terrible fire, 
 Gibbs boldly led his column. It is no reflection upon 
 even those veterans, to say that they halted, wavered, 
 and shrunk at times, when the crash of bullets became 
 most terrible, when they were thus shot down by a foe
 
 THE BATTLE OF NTSVf ORLEANS. 3-9 
 
 whom they could not see. But the gallant Peninsular 
 officers threw themselves in front, inciting and arousing 
 their men by every appeal, and by the most brilliant 
 examples of courage. The inen cried out, " "Where are 
 the 44th ? If we get to the ditch we have no means of 
 scaling the lines !" " Here come the 44th ! here come 
 the 44th !" shouted Gibbs. This assurance restored 
 order and confidence in the ranks. There came at least 
 a detachment of the 44th, with Packenham himself at 
 their head, rallying and inspiring them by appeals to 
 their ancient fame reminding them of the glory they 
 had acquired in Egypt and elsewhere, and addressing 
 them as his " countrymen " (the 44th were mostly Irish). 
 The men came up gallantly enough, bearing their lad- 
 ders and fascines, but their colonel was far in the rear, 
 being unable, even with the assistance of a servant, to 
 reach his post over the rough field. Packenham led 
 them forward, and they were soon breasting the storm 
 of bullets with the rest of the column. At this moment 
 Packenham's bridle arm was struck by a ball, and his 
 horse killed by another. He then mounted the small 
 black creole pony of his Aid, Captain McDougall, and 
 pressed forward. But the column had advanced now as 
 far as it could get. Most of the regimental officers were 
 cut down. Patterson, of the 21st ; Brookes, of the 4th ; 
 and Debbiegs, of the 44th, were all disabled at the heads 
 of their regiments. There were not officers enough to 
 command, and the column began now to break into 
 detachments, some pushing forward to the ditch, but the 
 greater part falling back to the rear and to the swamp, 
 until the whole front was cleared. They were soon 
 rallied at the ditch, were re-formed, and throwing off 
 their knapsacks, advanced again.
 
 330 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Keane, judging very rashly, that the moment had 
 arrived for him to act, now wheeled his line into column 
 (it had been, as we have seen, intended as a reserve to 
 threaten, without advancing upon the American lines), 
 and with the 93d in front, pushed forward to act his 
 part in the bloody tragedy. The gallant and stalwart 
 Highlanders, nine hundred strong, strode across the 
 ensanguined field, with their heavy, solid, massive front 
 of a hundred men, and their bright muskets glittering 
 in the morning sun, which began now to scatter a few 
 rays over the field of strife. Onward pressed the Tartan 
 warriors, regardless of the concentrated fire of the bat- 
 teries, which now poured their iron hail into their ranks. 
 At a more. rapid pace than the other column, the 93d 
 rushed forward into the very maelstroom of Carroll's 
 musketry, which swept the field as if with a huge scythe. 
 The gallant Dale fulfilled his prophecy, and fell at the 
 head of his regiment, a gra'peshot passing through his 
 body. Major Creagh then took the command. Incited 
 by the example of the 93d, the remnant of Gibb's bri- 
 gade again came up with Packenham on their left and 
 Gibbs on the right. They had approached within a 
 hundred yards of the lines. 
 
 At this moment the standard-bearer of the 93d feeling 
 something rubbing against his epaulette, turned, and 
 perceived through the smoke the small black horse 
 which Packenham now rode. It was led by his Aid, as 
 he seemed to have no use of his right arm. In his left 
 hand he held his cap, which he waved in the air, crying 
 out, "Hurra! brave Highlanders." At this instant 
 there was a terrible crash, as if the contents of one of 
 the big guns of the Americans had fallen on the spot, 
 killing and wounding nearly all who were near. It was
 
 THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. 331 
 
 then the Ensign of the 93d saw the horse of Pakenham 
 fall, and the General roll from the saddle into the arms 
 of Captain McDougall, who sprang forward to receive 
 him. A grape-shot had struck the General on the thigh, 
 and passed through his horse, killing the latter immedi- 
 ately. As Captain McDougall and some of the men 
 were raising the General, another ball struck him in the 
 groin, which produced an immediate paralysis. It is 
 an interesting coincidence that Captain McDougall was 
 the same officer into whose arms General Ross had 
 fallen from his horse in the advance on Baltimore. The 
 wounded and dying General was borne to the rear, and 
 laid down in the shade of a venerable live-oak, standing 
 in the centre of the field, beyond the reafch of the 
 American guns. A surgeon was called, who pronounced 
 his wound mortal. In a few minutes the gallant young 
 officer breathed his last, and his faithful Aid had to 
 lament the death of another heroic chief, who, after 
 winning laurels that entitled him to repose and glory 
 enough for life, perished thus ingloriously in a war of 
 unjust invasion against his own race and kindred. 
 The old oak under which Packenham yielded up his soul 
 still stands, bent and twisted by time and many tempests 
 a melancholy monument of that great disaster of the 
 British arms ! 
 
 Gibbs fared even worse than Packenham, for despe- 
 rately wounded shortly after the fall of the General-in- 
 Chief, he, too, was borne to the rear, and lingered many, 
 many hours, in horrible agony, until the day after, when 
 deatli came to his relief. Keane also fell badly wounded, 
 being shot through the neck, and was carried off the 
 field. There were now no field officers to command or 
 rally the broken column. Major Wilkinson, Brigade
 
 332 JAOK80N AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Major, shouted to the men to follow, and pushed for- 
 ward. 
 
 Followed and aided by Lieutenant Lavack and 
 twenty men, he succeeded in passing the ditch, and had 
 clambered up the breastwork, when, just as he raised 
 his head and shoulders over its summit, a dozen guns 
 were brought to bear against him, and the exposed 
 portions of his body were riddled with bullets. He 
 had, however, strength to raise himself, and fell upon 
 the parapet, whence his mutilated body was borne, with 
 every expression of pity and sympathy, by the gene- 
 rous Kentuckians and Tennesseeans, to a place of 
 shelter in the rear of the camp. Here the gallant 
 Briton received every attention which could be ren- 
 dered to him. Major Smiley, of the Kentuckians, a 
 kind-hearted gentleman, endeavored to cheer the spiiits 
 of the dying soldier, saying, " Bear up, my dear fellow, 
 you are too brave a man to die." " I thank you from 
 my heart," faintly murmured the young officer. " It 
 is all over with me. You can render me a favor ; it is 
 to communicate to my commander that I fell on your 
 parapet, and died like a soldier and a true Englishman." 
 In two hours the gallant Wilkinson was a corpse, and 
 his body was respectfully covered with one of the colors 
 of the volunteers. 
 
 After the fall of Wilkinson, the men who followed 
 him threw themselves into the ditch. Some made fee- 
 ble efforts to climb up the parapet, but it was too 
 slippery, and they rolled into the fosse. The majority, 
 however, were satisfied lo cower under the protection 
 of the entrenchment, where they were allowed a 
 momentary respite and shelter from the American fire. 
 The remainder of the column broken, disorganized, and
 
 THE BATTLE OF NEW OKLEAN8. 333 
 
 panic-stricken, retired in confusion and terror, each 
 regiment leaving two-thirds of its men dead or wounded 
 on the field. The 93d, which had advanced with nine 
 hundred men and twenty-five officers, could muster but 
 one hundred and thirty men and nine officers, who now 
 stole rapidly from the bloody field, their bold courage 
 all changed into wild dismay. The other regiments 
 suffered in like manner, especially the 21st, which had 
 lost five hundred men. The fragments of the two gal- 
 lant brigades fell back precipitately towards the rear. 
 
 At this moment Lambert, hearing of the death of 
 Packenham and the severe wounds of Gibbs and Keane, 
 advanced slowly and cautiously forward with the reserve. 
 Just before he received his last wound, Packenham had 
 ordered Sir John Tyndell, one of- his Staff, to order up 
 the reserve. As the bugler was about to sound the 
 " advance," by order of Sir John, his right arm was 
 struck with a ball, and his bugle fell to the ground. 
 The order was accordingly never given, and the reserve 
 only marched up to cover the retreat of the broken 
 columns of the two other brigades. 
 
 Thus, in less than twenty-five minutes was the main 
 attack of the British most disastrously repelled, and the 
 two brigades nearly destroyed. On their left they had 
 achieved a slight success, which threatened serious con- 
 sequences to the American lines. Here the advance of 
 Keane's brigade, consisting of the 95th rifles, the light 
 infantry companies of the 7th, 93d, and 43d, and seve- 
 ral companies of the West India regiments in all, 
 nearly a thousand men, under the gallant and active 
 officer, Colonel Rennie, of the 21st had crept up so 
 suddenly on the Americans, as to surprise their outpost 
 and reach the redoubt about as soon as the advance
 
 334: JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 guard of the Americans, which was threatened by 
 Gibbs's advance, had fallen back from their left, and 
 was now hurrying into their lines. The British were so 
 close upon the retiring guard, that the Americans were 
 unable to open their batteries upon them, fearing that 
 they would kill some of their own men. It was with 
 difficulty that Humphrey could keep his gunners from 
 applying the match to his pieces that completely com- 
 manded the road, down which the Americans mingled 
 with the pursuing British, were retiring. At last, 
 reaching the redoubt, the Americans clambered over 
 the embankment and the leading files of the British 
 following, succeeded in also gaining the interior, where, 
 being supported by others, they engaged in a hand-to- 
 hand fight with the soldiers of the 7th infantry, whom 
 they drove out into the lines, which were reached by a 
 plank across the ditch separating the redoubt from the 
 main lines. But they did not hold the redoubt long, for 
 now the 7th infantry began to direct its whole fire upon 
 -the interior of the redoubt, which very soon made it too 
 hot for the British. In the meantime, the mainbody of 
 the detachment advanced in two columns, one on the 
 road, and the other filing along the river under cover of 
 the Levee. ' The 7th infantry and Humphrey's batteries 
 poured into the column on the road a most destructive 
 fire. Those on the river bank were protected by the 
 Levee from the fire of the batteries, and troops in the 
 lines, but attracted the attention of the hawk-eyed Pat- 
 terson, on the right bank of the river, who gave them 
 scattering volleys of grape, which strewed the river 
 bank with the dead and wounded. It was here, Rennio 
 advanced at the head of his command. He had been 
 struck on the calf of the leg by a grape shot, which
 
 THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. 335 
 
 tore a ghastly wound. He still pressed on, huzzaing 
 and encouraging his men. The heroic bearing of this 
 gallant officer rushing so impetuously into the very 
 jaws of death, excited a tin-ill of admiration in those 
 Americans who observed his conduct. Perhaps this 
 feeling obtained for Bennie a brief respite, and reserved 
 for him the only glory which was achieved by the Bri- 
 tish on that field. Advancing with several other officers 
 and men, he reached the ditch on the extreme right, 
 within a few yards of the river's edge, and climbing up 
 the parapet, gained the summit of the breastwork. 
 The Orleans Bines, who defended this part of the line, 
 fell back a few yards, in order to have better aim. 
 Bennie, with two others Captain Henry, of the 7th 
 infantry, a tall and stalwart Irishman, and Major King, 
 of the same regiment gained the breastwork, and wav- 
 ing his sword, shouted in a loud voice, " Hurra, boys, 
 the day is ours !" The words had barely passed his 
 lips (and they were distinctly heard within the Ameri- 
 can lines) when the sharp cracking report of the Bines 
 gave awful warning of the fate of the adventurous; 
 Britons. They had made themselves the targets for the 
 famous marksmen of New Orleans. Their dead bodies, 
 rolling heavily from the parapet into thexlitch, justified 
 the reputation of the Bines as sharp-shooters. There- 
 upon, the remainder of Bennie's column fell back, hur- 
 rying to the rear as rapidly as they could under cover 
 of the Levee. That portion of the detachment which 
 had advanced on the road, suffered greatly from the fire 
 of Humphrey's, Norris, You's, and Bluche's batteries, 
 and from the well-directed musketry of the 7th infantry, 
 and was soon compelled to retire in disorder. This 
 attack on the extreme right of the American lines
 
 336 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 occurred at the same time with the first advance of 
 Gibbs's column on the left. 
 
 There is some force in the suggestion of a British offi- 
 cer, writing of these events, that it would have been 
 wiser for Keane, with his main column, to have followed 
 up his advance and thrown his whole force upon the 
 American right, where Rennie succeeded in scaling the 
 parapet. 
 
 As the detachments on the road advanced, their 
 bugler, a boy of fourteen or fifteen climbing a small 
 tree within two hundred yards of the American lines, 
 straddled a limb and continued to blow the " charge " 
 with all his power. There he remained during the 
 whole action, whilst the cannon balls and bullets 
 ploughed the ground around him, killed scores of men, 
 and tore even the branches of the tree in which he sat. 
 Above the thunder of the artillery, the rattling of fire 
 the musketry, and all the din and uproar of the strife, 
 the shrill blast of the little bugler could be heard, and 
 even when his companions had fallen back and retreated 
 from the field, he continued true to his duty, and blew 
 the charge with undiminished vigor. At last, when the 
 British had entirely abandoned the ground, an Ameri- 
 can soldier, passing from the lines, captured the little 
 bugler and brought him into camp, where he was 
 greatly astounded, when some of the enthusiastic 
 Creoles, who had observed his gallantry, actually 
 embraced him, and officers and men vied with each 
 other in acts of kindness to so gallant a little soldier. 
 
 A more melancholy spectacle was presented, when 
 some of the Americans brought within the lines the 
 bodies of Colonel Kennie and the two other officers who 
 had fallen in the ditch. There arose a warm discussion
 
 THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. 387 
 
 among the Rifles for the honor of having " brought 
 down" the Colonel. Withers, the crack shot of the 
 company then, and for a long time after a highly 
 respectable merchant of New Orleans, exclaimed : 
 . " If he isn't hit above the eyebrows, it wasn't my 
 shot !" On examination it was discovered that the bul- 
 let had entered the head of the gallant Briton just over 
 the eyebrows. Withers was, therefore, recognized as 
 his slayer, and the mournful duty was devolved upon 
 him of preserving the valuables, including the watch, 
 purse, and epaulette of the unfortunate officer, and 
 transmitting them to his widow, who was then in the 
 fleet lying off the coast. The two other officers killed 
 with Rennie, Captain Henry, of the fan, and Major 
 King, of the same regiment, were fairly riddled with 
 rifle balls ; the first named having received no less than 
 five balls in various parts of his body. Henry and 
 King were in full uniform, Rennie wore his grey over- 
 coat. 
 
 Whilst this terrible slaughter, was being enacted on 
 the extreme right and left of the American lines, the 
 centre remained inactive. A few men on the right of 
 Plaudit's battalion fired without orders, when the 7th 
 infantry commenced their fire, but they were quickly 
 silenced by their officers as the enemy were too far off, 
 and they only wasted their ammunition. From 
 Plauche's battalion to the left of the 44th, including 
 Plauch6X Daquin's, and Lacoste's battalions, and the 
 44th, at least eight hundred men, not a gun was fired, 
 save a few, which were discharged at an angle of forty- 
 five degrees, in order that the bullets might fall into the 
 ranks of the enemy, and a few scattering shots by the 
 left company of the 44th, which, however, were 
 
 15
 
 338 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 instantly suppressed. The gallant volunteers chafed 
 with impatience at the restraints to which they were 
 thus subjected in being compelled to look on, idle spec- 
 tators, of so glorious a conflict. They could with 
 difficulty be prevented from stealing from their posts to 
 the right or left, to have a shot at the capotes rouges. 
 If, however, they did not contribute to the predominant 
 music of the conflict, the roar of the cannon and the 
 rattling of musketry, they served to enliven and vary 
 the monotony of those sounds, and offered an additional 
 stimulant to the courage and ardor of the men, by the 
 inspiriting melody of their fine band. 
 
 It is a rare circumstance in a battle, that martial 
 music can be sustained throughout the action. In the 
 American army, such an occurrence was a phenomenon 
 never before observed in any battle. The moment the 
 British came into view and their signal rocket pierced 
 the sky with its fiery train, the band of the Batta- 
 lion D'Orleans struck up " Yankee Doodle " and 
 thenceforth, throughout the action, it did not cease to 
 discourse all the national and military airs in which it 
 had been instructed. The British had not this incentive. 
 Their musical instruments had never been taken from 
 the box in which they were afterwards found by the 
 Americans. They advanced with no blasts of trumpet, 
 with no stirring roll of drums and li vely notes of the 
 piercing fife with not even the monotonous martial 
 scream of the bagpipe, arousing the pride and heroism 
 of the Highlanders. A few buglers in the light infan- 
 try regiments contributed the only musical sounds, to 
 relieve, on their side, the awful din and tumult of the 
 battle. 
 
 Subtracting the centre of Jackson's lines already
 
 THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. 339 
 
 enumerated, at least one-half of Coffee's men, who 
 never tired a gun, and a large number of Kentuckians, 
 whose pieces were so defective as according to the tes- 
 timony of some persons, to place the Tennesseeans in 
 more danger from their friends and supporters in the 
 rear than from their enemies in front, there were 
 actually less than half of Jackson's whole force engaged 
 in the battle. There is no instance in history where so 
 small a force achieved such destructive results. It is 
 true, the batteries contributed largely to these results, 
 but not to the extent that is generally estimated, as the 
 heaviest of Jackson's guns were kept quite busy return- 
 ing the fire of the two batteries, which the British had 
 thrown up on the night of the 7th, in the centre of the 
 field and near the road, on the ruins of Chalmette's estab- 
 lishment, from which they maintained a continuous fire 
 during and after the advance of the storming parties. 
 Norris', Crawley's, You's and Bluche's batteries gave 
 their particular attention to these batteries, and suc- 
 ceeded in silencing them shortly after the general retro- 
 grade movement of the British lines. In the swamp, 
 on the extreme right, the British had thrown out a 
 detachment of skirmishers under Lieut. Colonel Jones 
 of the 4th. These succeeded in getting quite near 
 Coffee's men, but becoming mired, were either killed or 
 captured by the Tennesseeans, who astonished the 
 Britons by the squirrel-like agility with which they 
 jumped from log to log, and their alligator-like facility 
 of moving through the water, bushes and mud. Some 
 of the prisoners taken in the swamp were of the West 
 India Regiment, who were greatly comforted in their 
 forlorn position by the idea that they were captives of 
 men of their own color and blood, deceived by the
 
 34:0 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 appearance of the Tennesseeans, who, from their con- 
 stant exposure, their familiarity with gunpowder, and 
 their long unacquaintance with the razor, or any other 
 implement of the toilette, were certainly not fair repre- 
 sentatives of the pure Caucasian race. The unfortunate 
 red-coated Africans soon discovered their error, when 
 they were required by their facetious captors to " dance 
 juba" in mud a foot deep. 
 
 It was eight o'clock two hours since the action com- 
 menced before the musketry ceased firing. As long 
 as there was a British soldier visible, though at a dis- 
 tance which rendered it quite futile to endeavor to 
 reach him with musket or rifle, a cartridge would be 
 wasted in the vain attempt. At last the order was 
 passed down the lines to " cease firing," and the men, 
 panting with fatigue and excitement, rested on their 
 arms. At this moment Jackson, who during the whole 
 action, had occupied a prominent position near the right 
 of Plauche"'s battalion, where he could command a view 
 of the whole entrenchment, now passed slowly down 
 the lines, accompanied by his staff, halting about the 
 centre of each command, and addressing to its com- 
 mander and the men, words of praise and grateful com- 
 mendation. His feeble body now stood erect, and his 
 face, relaxing its usual sternness, glowed with the lire 
 of a proud victor in the noblest of all causes, the 
 defence of his country's flag, the protection of the lives, 
 the property, and honor of a free peorle. And as he 
 passed, the band struck up " Hail Columbia," and the 
 whole line, now for the first time facing to the rear, 
 burst forth into loud and prolonged hurras to the Chief, 
 by whose -indomitable heroism and energy they had 
 been enabled to inflict so awful a punishment upon the
 
 THE BATTLE OF NEW OELEAN8. 341 
 
 enemy, who had invaded their homes and sought to dis- 
 honor their flag. But these notes of exultation died 
 away into sighs of pity, and exclamations of horror and 
 commiseration, as soon as the artillery, which had kept 
 up the fire at intervals after the musketry ceased, being 
 silenced, the smoke, ascending from the field, revealed 
 a spectacle which sent a thrill of horror along that 
 whole line of exultant victors. The bright column and 
 long red lines of a splendid army, which occupied the 
 field where it was last visible to the Americans, had 
 disappeared as if by some supernatural agency. Save 
 the hundreds of miserable creatures who rolled over the 
 field in agony, or crawled and dragged their shattered 
 limbs over the muddy plain, not a living foe could be 
 seen by the naked eye. The commanders, with their 
 telescopes, succeeded, with some difficulty, in discover- 
 ing, far in the rear, a faint red line, which indicated the 
 position of General Lambert, with his reserve, stationed 
 in a ditch, in what that officer designated in his dis- 
 patch, a supine position, meaning that the men, after 
 getting into the ditch, which covered them to the waist, 
 leaned over flat on their faces, and thus escaped the 
 cannon-balls of the Americans. These were the only 
 live objects visible in the field, but with the dead it was 
 so thickly strewn, that from the American ditch you 
 could have walked a quarter of a mile to the front on 
 the bodies of the killed and disabled. The space in 
 front of Carroll's position, for an extent of two hundred 
 yards, was literally covered with the slain. The course 
 of the column could be distinctly traced in the broad, 
 red line of the victims of the terrible batteries and 
 unerring guns of the Americans. They fell in their 
 tracks : in some places, whole platoons lay togetter, as
 
 342 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 if killed by the same discharge. Dressed in their gay 
 uniforms, cleanly shaved and attired for the promised 
 victory and triumphal entry into the city, these stalwart 
 men lay on the gory field, frightful examples of the hor- 
 rors of war. Strangely, indeed, did they contrast with 
 those ragged, unshorn, begrimed, and untidy, strange- 
 looking, long-haired men, who, crowding the American 
 parapet, coolly surveyed a.nd commented upon the ter- 
 rible destruction they had caused. There was not a 
 private among the slain, whose aspect did not present 
 more of the pomp and circumstance of war, than any 
 of the commanders of the victors. In the ditch there 
 were no less than forty dead, and at least a hundred 
 who were wounded, or who had thrown themselves 
 into it for shelter. On the edge of the woods there 
 were many, who, being slightly wounded, or imable to 
 reach the rear, had concealed themselves under the 
 brush and in the trees. It was pitiable, indeed, to see 
 the writhings of the disable^ and mutilated, and to hear 
 their terrible cries for help and water, which arose from 
 every quarter of the plain. As this scene of death, 
 desolation, bloodshed and suffering, came into full view 
 of the American lines, a profound and melancholy 
 silence pervaded the victorious army. No sounds of 
 exultation or rejoicing were now heard. Pity and sym- 
 pathy had succeeded to the boisterous and savage 
 feelings which a few minutes before had possessed their 
 souls. They saw no longer the presumptuous, daring, 
 and insolent invader, who had come four thousand 
 miles to lay waste a peaceful country ; they forgot their 
 own suffering and losses, and the barbarian threats of 
 the enemy, and now only perceived humanity, fellow- 
 creatures in their own form, reduce4 to the most help-
 
 THE BATTLE OP NEW ORLEANS. 343 
 
 less, miserable, and pitiable of all conditions of suffering, 
 desolation and distress. Prompted by this motive, 
 many of the Americans stole without leave from their 
 positions, and with their canteens proceeded to assuage 
 the thirst and render other assistance to the wounded. 
 The latter, and those who were captured in the ditch, 
 were led into the lines, where the wounded received 
 prompt attention from Jackson's medical staff. . Many 
 of the Americans carried their disabled enemies into 
 the camp on their backs, as the pious Eneas bore his 
 feeble parent from burning Troy. Some of the British 
 soldiers in the ditch, not understanding the language of 
 the free men of color who went to their assistance, and 
 thinking that their only object was to murder or rob, 
 h'red upon them. This at least is their only apology for* 
 conduct, which was regarded as very atrocious, and 
 produced considerable excitement in the American 
 lines. The Americans thus i killed and wounded were 
 unarmed, and were engaged in the duty of the good 
 Samaritan, attending the wounded and relieving the 
 distressed. It has been charged that they were tired 
 upon by order of the British officers, out of chagrin and 
 mortification for their defeat. If this be true, it is a 
 pity that the names of such officers could not be known, 
 that they might be separated from those whose conduct 
 throughout the campaign proved them to be honorable 
 and gallant soldiers, and high-toned gentlemen. In this 
 manner several Americans w6re killed and wounded. 
 Indeed more casualties occurred to the Americans after 
 the battle than in the principal action. The British 
 evidently mistook the humane purposes of the Ameri- 
 cans, and even when there was no other alternative,
 
 344 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 manifested a disposition to resist capture. One officer, 
 who was slightly wounded, declined surrendering to 
 one of the Tennesseeans, whose appearance was not 
 very impressive, and disregarding his call, was walking 
 off, when the Tennesseean, drawing bead on him, cried 
 out, " Halt, Mr. Red Coat : one more step and I'll drill 
 a hole through your leather;" whereupon the officer 
 surrendered exclaiming at the same time, "What a 
 disgrace for a British officer to have to surrender to a 
 chimney-sweep !" 
 
 Of course there was a general desire among the 
 Americans to procure some lawful trophy some 
 memento of their great victory ; and many of the men 
 wandered over the field in pursuit thereof. They were 
 quite successful in securing many such mementoes, 
 among which were the field glass of Packenham, and 
 an elegant sword, believed to be Packenham's, but 
 which was afterwards claimed by General Keane, and 
 delivered to him by order of Jackson. Packenham's 
 glass was identified, and remained in the possession of 
 Colonel, afterwards General, Garrique Fleaujac, who 
 commanded one of the batteries on the left. The trum- 
 pets of Gibbs and Keane were also picked up on the 
 field, and became the property of Coffee's brigade. At 
 least a thousand stand of arms were gathered by the 
 Americans from the scene of the slaughter. The prison- 
 ers and wounded being now collected within the lines, 
 were placed in carts or formed into detachments to be 
 sent up to the city. Every attention was given to their 
 relief and comfort. Many of the prisoners seemed not 
 at all disheartened by their capture, but indeed gave 
 manifestations of joy and satisfaction, especiallv +v>*
 
 THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. 345 
 
 Irish, who declared that they did not know whither 
 they were bound when they left the old country that 
 they never wanted to fight the Americans. 
 
 " Why, then," asked some of the American guard, "did 
 you march up so boldly to our lines, in face of such a 
 fire ?" " And 'faith were we not obliged, with the offi- 
 cers behind, sticking and stabbing 'us with their swords." 
 There were unmistakable proofs of the truth of this 
 remark on the bodies of many of the men, whose clothes 
 and flesh were cut evidently with sharp instruments. 
 
 Some distance in the rear of Jackson's lines, the 
 greater part of the adult population of New Orleans, 
 not connected with the army, were gathered in anxious 
 suspense, observing the progress of the battle, and 
 receiving with the most greedy zest and intense anxi- 
 ety, every fact or rumor, which passed from the front 
 to the rear sentinels. Far towards the swamp a num- 
 ber of boys, eager to see what was going on, climbed 
 the trees, and thus commanded a distant, but rather 
 confused view of the battle. When the guns ceased 
 firing, and after the terrific tumult of the battle, which 
 could be distinctly heard far to the rear, and even in 
 the city, had settled into silence and quiet, only broken 
 by the loud hurras of the Americans, the anxious spec- 
 tators and listeners in the rear, quickly comprehending 
 the glorious result, caught up the sounds of exultation 
 and echoed them along the banks of the river, until the 
 glad tidings reached the city, sent a thrill of joy through- 
 out its limits, and brought the whole population into 
 the streets to give full vent to their extravagant joy. 
 The streets resounded with hurras. The only military 
 force in the city, the veterans, under their indefatigable 
 commander, the noble old patriot soldier, Captain De
 
 34:6 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Buys, hastily assembled, and with a drum and fife 
 paraded the streets amid the salutes and hurras of the 
 people, the waving of the snowy handkerchiefs of the 
 ladies, and the boundless exultation and noisy joy of the 
 juveniles. Every minute brought forth some new proof 
 of the great and glorious victory. First, there came a 
 messenger, whose horse had been severely taxed, who 
 inquired for the residences of the physicians of the city, 
 and dashed madly through the streets in pursuit of sur- 
 geons and apothecaries. All of the profession, whether 
 in practice or not, were required to proceed to the lines, 
 as their services were needed immediately. "For 
 whom ?" was the question which agitated the bosom of 
 many an anxious parent and devoted wife, and for a 
 moment clouded and checked the general hilarity. 
 Soon it was known, however, that this demand for sur- 
 geons was on account of the enemy. All who possessed 
 any knowledge of the curative art, who could amputate 
 or set a limb, or take up an artery, hurried to the camp. 
 Next there came up a message from the camp to dis- 
 patch all the carts and other vehicles to the lines. This 
 order, too, was fully discussed and commented on by 
 the crowd, which gathered in the streets and in all pub- 
 lic resorts. But like all Jackson's orders, it was also 
 quickly executed. 
 
 It was late in the day before the purpose of this order 
 was clearly perceived, as a long and melancholy pro- 
 cession of these carts, followed by a crowd of men, was 
 seen slowly and silently wending their way along the 
 levee from the field of battle. They contained the Bri- 
 tish wounded ; and those who followed in the rear were 
 the prisoners in charge of a detachment of Carroll's 
 men. Emulating the magnanimity of the army, the
 
 THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. 347 
 
 citizens pressed forward to tender their aid to their 
 wounded enemies. The hospitals being all crowded 
 with their own sick and wounded, these unfortunate 
 victims of English ambition were taken in charge by 
 the citizens, and by private contributions were sup- 
 plied with mattresses and pillows, with a large quantity 
 of lint and old linen for dressing their wounds, all of 
 which articles were then exceedingly scarce in the city. 
 Those far-famed nurses, the quadroon women of New 
 Orleans, whose services are so conspicuously useful 
 when New Orleans is visited by pestilence, freely gave 
 their kind attentions to the wounded British, and watch- 
 ed at their bedsides night and day. Several of the 
 officers, who were grievously wounded, were taken to 
 private residences of citizens, and there provided with 
 every comfort. Such acts as these ennoble humanity, 
 and obscure even the horrors and excesses of war. 
 
 From the city the news of Jackson's triumph flew 
 rapidly through the neighboring country. It soon reach- 
 ed a gloomy detachment which, under Jackson's orders, 
 had been condemned to a mortifying and disgusting in- 
 activity at the little fort of St. John. Here on the 
 shores of the placid Pontchartrain the roar of Jackson's 
 batteries, on the morning of the 8th, could be distinctly 
 heard. It was known that this was the great attack 
 the last effort of the British. Their absence from the 
 scene of such a great crisis, was humiliating beyond all 
 expression to the gallant men of this detachment. One 
 of them, an officer, the late venerable Nicholas Sinnott, 
 a stalwart and determined veteran, who had wielded a 
 pike at Vinegar Hill, bore this disappointment with ill 
 grace and little philosophy. In the excitement of the. 
 moment, he could with difficulty be restrained fron]
 
 34:8 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Leading a detachment to proceed to the lines, and ex- 
 pressed his disgust in words which were not forgotten 
 to the day of his death by his intimate friends and 
 associates. "Oh! there are the bloody villains, mur : 
 thering my countrymen, and myself stuck down in this 
 infernal mud-hole!"
 
 THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. 349 
 
 XYIL 
 
 BATTLE OP NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 THE DISASTER. 
 [Eighth of January, 1815.] 
 
 THE general rejoicing and exultation in the American 
 camp, and in the city, which had been interrupted by 
 the calls of humanity and the pity excited by the dis- 
 asters of the enemy, were destined to receive another 
 serious shock, and to be suddenly changed into intense 
 anxiety, as the news which had been in the possession 
 of the Commander-in-chief from an early hour, leaked 
 out, that all had not gone well on the other bank of the 
 river, and that the British actually commanded their 
 lines, and had advanced to their rear. It may be better 
 imagined than described, how profoundly the camp was 
 agitated by this alarming intelligence. It was but too 
 true. The British attack had been as successful on the 
 right, as it had been disastrous on the left bank. Jack- 
 son might safely say, as Napoleon, with far less truth, 
 remarked, when he heard of the defeat of his fleet at 
 Trafalgar " I cannot be everywhere." There can be 
 little doubt that if he had commanded on the right 
 bank, the only disgrace which sullied the glory of the 
 campaign would have been avoided.
 
 350 JACKSON AND NEW OELEAN8. 
 
 We liave seen how Morgan sent forward Iris advance, 
 consisting of less than three hundred ill-armed and 
 fatigued men, to occupy a line a mile in front of his 
 own a line stretching from the levee to the swamp 
 which could not have been manned by less than a thou- 
 sand men, with several pieces of artillery. Had even 
 these three hundred men been sent to the point where the 
 British landed, and stationed behind the landing, Thorn- 
 ton's crowded boats could not have reached the river's 
 bank.* They would have enjoyed the advantage of day- 
 light, for it was half-past four when Thornton stepped 
 ashore a mile further dpwn stream than he had calculat- 
 ed. His men were formed in columns, just as the rockets, 
 ascending on the other bank, announced the commence- 
 ment of the attack in that quarter. This landing had been 
 effected without the slightest interruption. Covering 
 his flank by three gun-boats, eaoh bearing a carronade 
 in the bows, under the command of Captain Roberts, 
 Thornton pushed rapidly forward up the road, until he 
 reached Morgan's advance position. Here, dividing his 
 force, he moved a detachment of the 85th against Tes- 
 sier's position, while, with the remainder of his regi- 
 ment, he held the road against Davis. As Thornton 
 advanced, Roberts opened his carronades on Davis's 
 command. The detachment of the 85th rushed on Tes- 
 
 * In support of this opinion, we need only refer to the fact that the British always 
 believed that the success on the right bank was due to their taking the Americans by sur- 
 prise. The author of the Campaigns of the British army at Washington and New Orleans, 
 says : " Had they (Morgan's men) stood firm, indeed, it is hardly conceivable that so 
 Email a force could have wrested an entrenched position from numbers so superior ; at 
 least it could not have been done without much bloodshed. But they were completely 
 surprised. An attack on this side was a circumstance of which they had not dreamed ; 
 and when men are assaulted in a point which they deem beyond the reach of danger, 
 it is well known that they defend themselves with less vigor than when such an even4 
 was anticipated."
 
 THE BATTLE OP NEW OBLEANS. 351 
 
 Bier's party with great vigor, and put them to flight, 
 after firing a few scattering shots. Tessier and his men 
 being on the extreme right, and unable to reach the road 
 before the British had occupied it, were -compelled to fly 
 into the swamp, where many of them suffered great dis- 
 tress, and were unable to reach the camp, in the rear, 
 for many hours. Meantime, Thornton, pushing forward 
 with his main body, consisting of the 85th, the sailors 
 and marines, soon put Davis's weak detachment to flight, 
 closely following on their heels. The Keutuckians being 
 raw troops, did not, of course, retreat in very good order. 
 As they fell back in great confusion upon Morgan's lines, 
 the general rode out, and meeting Colonel Davis, directed 
 him to form his men within his lines, on the right of the 
 Louisiana militia. Davis obeyed the order, but instead 
 of the five hundred men Jackson had ordered across the 
 river, there were but one hundred and seventy to cover 
 lines of three or four hundred yards. These were sta- 
 tioned some distance apart, so as to- present to the 
 enemy rather the appearance of a line of sentinels, thaE 
 of a continuous body of troops, to defend a small ditch 
 and rude parapet. Insignificant as these works were, 
 if Morgan had received the intended reinforcement, he 
 would have been able to maintain his position. Instead 
 of six hundred, his real force, he would then have had 
 nearly a thousand men and three pieces of artillery. 
 
 There was no lack of courage and determination on 
 the part of Morgan and his command. They stood 
 firmly at their posts, and prepared to repel the enemy 
 with nerve and resolution. 
 
 Thornton, as he gained the open field in front of 
 Morgan's works, extended the files of the 85th so as 
 to cover the whole field, and with the sailors formed
 
 352 JACKSON AND NEW OBLEANS. 
 
 in column on the road and the marines in reserve, 
 advanced steadily on Morgan's lines. Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Gubbins commanded the 85th, Major Adair the marines, 
 and Captain Money the seamen. The bugler sounded 
 a shrill and animating charge, and amid a shower of 
 rockets under the direction of Major Mitchell of the 
 artillery, the British tars rushed forward. They were 
 received by a crashing discharge of grape from Philli- 
 bert's twelve-pounder and two sixes under adjutant 
 John Nixon, of the First Louisiana militia, and gunner, 
 James Hosmer and Mr. Batique. The seamen recoiled 
 from this fire. There was another and another volley 
 from the batteries, which killed and wounded several of 
 the seamen. Among the wounded was their gallant 
 commander, Captain Money, who had been distinguish- 
 ed in the operation in the Chesapeake, and in the attack 
 on Washington City. He fell at the head of his men. 
 At this the Americans began to hurrah and ply their 
 pieces more briskly. But Thornton, seeing the hesita- 
 tion and recoil of the seamen, rushed forward with the 
 85th, under a fire of musketry from Morgan's lines, and, 
 despite a severe wound received by him in the advance, 
 succeeding in obliqueing the storming party towards 
 the centre of Morgan's line, and strengthening it by a 
 division of the 85th under Captain Schaw, whilst two 
 other divisions of the 85th advanced briskly against the 
 centre and extreme right of Davis's position. Thus 
 Thornton, showing a skill and judgment superior to 
 that which had been displayed on the left bank, occu- 
 pied the whole front of the American lines, while 
 Roberts opened upon the batteries of Morgan's extreme 
 left, with his carronades. As Thornton closed upon 
 Davis's command, the Kentuckians perceiving that they
 
 THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. 353 
 
 were about to be hemmed in between two divisions of 
 the enemy, one penetrating the centre, and the other 
 the extreme right, fired one volley, and then abandon- 
 ing their position, began to fall back in great confusion 
 towards the road in the rear. 
 
 General Morgan rode to the right, and called out to 
 Colonel Davis to halt his men. Davis replied that it 
 was impossible. " Sir," exclaimed Morgan, in an angry 
 tone, " I have not seen you try." And then, turning to 
 the fleeing Kentuckians, he shouted to them "Halt, 
 halt ! men, and resume your position." At the same 
 moment Adjutant Stephens, a brave Kentuckian, who 
 had been badly wounded, cried out, " Shame, shame ! 
 Boys, stand by your general." But the men were 
 already panic-stricken and unnerved, and moved rapidly 
 and disorderly from the right towards the roads, Mor- 
 gan following them on horseback, and endeavoring in 
 every way he could to rally them. He succeeded in 
 bringing back some of the fugitives, but a shower of 
 rockets falling in their midst revived their alarm, and 
 now they scattered, running as fast as they could towards 
 Morgan's left. Meantime the Louisiana militia kept up 
 a brisk fire on the advancing British, discharging eight 
 volleys with considerable effect. But their right being 
 now uncovered, the British hastened to rush over the 
 ditch, and, scaling the parapet, gained the inside of 
 Morgan's lines. The Louisiana troops being now in dan- 
 ger of being intercepted their batteries having dis- 
 charged their last cartridge, of which they had but 
 twelve, they were compelled also to abandon their posi- 
 tion, which they did in tolerable order, and under fire 
 of the enemy, after spiking their guns and tumbling 
 them into the river. Patterson's battery on the Levee,
 
 354: JACKSON AND NEW OELEANS. 
 
 some three hundred yards in Morgan's rear, had been 
 constructed to operate on the other bank of the river, 
 and had been engaged since daylight in an incessant 
 fire at the British in front of Jackson's position. See- 
 ing that Morgan's lines were forced, Patterson had 
 wheeled his guns round so as to command the road, 
 when, perceiving Davis's men running in wild disorder, 
 right upon his battery so as to cover the advance of the 
 British, and General Morgan so vainly striving to rally 
 them, the gallant commodore, greatly incensed at his 
 countrymen, cried out to the commander of a twelve- 
 pounder, which had been brought to bear in that direc- 
 tion, to fire his piece into the u d d cowards." The 
 
 midshipman, a half-grown youth, raised the match to 
 apply it to the piece, when the order was counter- 
 manded ; and the commodore, perceiving that his bat- 
 tery was unmasked and exposed, having recovered his 
 calmness, directed the guns to be spiked, and the pow- 
 der to be thrown into the river, lie then abandoned 
 his position, and retired by the road, walking with Mr. 
 R. D. Shepherd, his volunteer aid, in the rear of his 
 men, only thirty in number, and alternately denouncing 
 the British and the Kentuckians. Patterson was fol- 
 lowed by the Louisiana militia, who fell back in good 
 order until they reached the Louisiana, which had been 
 moored about three hundred yards behind Patterson's 
 battery. The sailors being unable to get her off, the 
 militia halted, and by fastening a hawser and foreline, 
 succeeded in having her towed out into the stream be- 
 yond the reach of the enemy, who would have been too 
 happy to destroy this great plague, which had so con 
 tinually harassed their camp. Finally, the Louisiana 
 militia rallied at Casselard's, and forming on Boisge-
 
 THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. 355 
 
 veau's canal, prepared to make a stand there. But the 
 British never reached this position. After advancing 
 in excellent spirits with a full belief that all had gone 
 well on the other side of the river, they had barely 
 reached Patterson's battery when Colonel Dickson, of 
 the artillery, arrived direct from General Lambert, with 
 the crushing intelligence of the terrible disasters which 
 had crowned their efforts on the left bank. Previous to 
 Dickson's arrival, Thornton had been reinforced by 
 several companies of sailors and marines, and he felt 
 quite strong in his position ; but Dickson now declared 
 that it could not be maintained ; and, hurrying back to 
 Lambert, so reported ; whereupon orders were trans- 
 mitted to Thornton to retire from his position, recross 
 the river and join the main body. The execution of 
 these various orders consumed a great part of the day. 
 Meantime, Jackson, greatly concerned at the state of 
 affairs produced by the events on the right bank, busied 
 himself in organizing a strong force to throw across the 
 r-iver to Morgan's relief. That force was placed under 
 the command of General Humbert, who, but for the 
 unworthy jealousy of some of the militia officers towards 
 a distinguished military hero of foreign origin, would, 
 no doubt, have recovered the lost ground, and wiped 
 off the disgrace of Morgan's defeat. But the disinclina- 
 tion of the American militia to serve under Humbert, 
 and their lack of zeal in preparing to execute his orders, 
 produced a delay, which was no less mortifying to the 
 gallant Frenchman, than unworthy of the Americans, 
 who displayed these petty feelings. 
 
 After the wounded in front of Jackson's line had" all 
 been brought into his camp, and provided with proper 
 Attendance, the men in Jackson's lines were ordered to
 
 356 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 resume their position, stand to their arms, and be ready 
 to repel another attack. Jackson was not the man to be 
 carried away by exultation and joy, so as to neglect the 
 necessary precautions to secure his victory. Indeed, he 
 was as prudent as heroic. 
 
 About noon on the 8th, several Americans, who had 
 advanced some distance in front of the lines, announced 
 the approach of a party from the British camp. It con- 
 sisted of an officer in full uniform, a trumpeter, and a 
 soldier bearing a white flag. The three advanced on the 
 levee to a position within three hundred yards of Jack- 
 son's lines, when the trumpeter blew a loud blast, and 
 the standard-bearer waved the white flag. The whole 
 army now gathered on the summit of the parapet, and 
 looked on in anxious suspense and curiosity. Jackson 
 ordered Major Butler, with two other officers, to proceed 
 to the British party, and receive any message it might 
 bear. The officer courteously received Major B., and 
 delivered him a written communication, which that 
 officer hastened to present to General Jackson at his 
 head-quarters at Macarte's. The message contained a 
 proposition for an armistice, to bury the dead. It was 
 signed " Lambert," without any title or designation of 
 rank. General Jackson directed Major Butler to state 
 to the officer bearing the message that he would be 
 happy to treat with the commander-in-chief of the British 
 army, but that the signer of the letter had forgotten to 
 designate his authority and rank, which was necessary 
 before any negotiations could be entered upon. General 
 Lambert had erred in thinking that a militia general 
 and Indian fighter might be imposed upon by so shallow 
 a device, employed to conceal the fact of the death of 
 the commander-in-chief. The delegation with the flag
 
 THE BATTLE OP NEW ORLEANS. 357 
 
 of truce returned to the British head-quarters, and in 
 half an hour appeared again before the American lines, 
 with propositions now signed by " John Lambert, Com- 
 mander-in-Chief of the British forces." 
 
 The first proposition, as a basis for the armistice, 
 offered by Jackson, embodied an admirably sagacious 
 stroke of policy. It was on these terms : that although 
 hostilities should cease on the left bank, where the dead 
 lay unburied until twelve o'clock on the 9th, yet it was 
 not to be understood that they should cease on the right 
 bank ; but that no reinforcement should be sent across 
 by either army until the expiration of that day. Such 
 condition produced the expected result ; Lambert asked 
 until ten o'clock on the 9th to consider the proposition : 
 meantime he sent orders to Thornton to retire. That 
 officer, covering the movement by an advance towards 
 the American position, set fire to the several saw-mills 
 in his rear, and after destroying the ammunition and 
 stores which he had captured, retired in good order, his 
 rear-guard being, however, pressed by an advance party 
 of Americans, upon which they kept up a running fire. 
 It was dark before Thornton succeeded in crossing the 
 river. That night the Americans regained their lines 
 on the right bank, and by early morn Patterson had re- 
 stored his battery, in a more advantageous position than 
 it had previously occupied, announcing the gratifying 
 fact to Jackson at daybreak by a discharge of several 
 large pieces against the British outposts. 
 
 Disgraceful as the defeat on the right bank was, it is 
 due to the Kenfuckians, who were the chief actors in the 
 affair, to remind the reader of the hard usage to which 
 they had been subjected in their long and fatiguing march
 
 358 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 during the day, and to their ill-armed condition. 
 Whether these facts will be sufficient to acquit them of 
 all blame, or to mitigate the censure which has been so 
 often and freely bestowed on them for their conduct, 
 are questions we feel no desire to discuss. It should not 
 be forgotten, however, with what promptitude and self- 
 sacrificing patriotism these men had abandoned their dis- 
 tant homes, and hurried at an inclement season of the 
 year, to the defence of this remote settlement. It is 
 hardly conceivable that such men should be faithless to 
 duty and honor, and the conclusion that their retreat was 
 an unavoidable necessity, is more reasonable as well as 
 more consonant to the pride and feelings of Americans. 
 
 The Americans achieved glory enough that day, to 
 bear with equanimity the slight mortification inflicted 
 by this event. 
 
 To complete our narrative not to aggravate the shame 
 of this disaster it is necessary to state that Morgan lost 
 but one man killed and five wounded. The British loss 
 was much more serious. The 85th had two killed and 
 thirty-nine wounded, including their colonel ; and the 
 sailors and marines, had four killed - and forty-nine 
 wounded, including Captain Money. Several of the 
 wounded died before the detachment re-crossed the 
 river. The dead were buried in the plain in front of 
 Morgan's lines. 
 
 It was in this action that the British acquired the 
 trophy which is their sole record of their achievements 
 on this day. It is a small flag which now hangs amid 
 the trophies of the Peninsular war in "Whitehall, Lon- 
 don, with this description : " Taken at the battle of New 
 Orleans, January 8, 1815." There is as much appro-
 
 THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. 359 
 
 priateness in such a record, as there would be in the 
 French arraying in public a British regimental standard 
 captured at Waterloo ! 
 
 General Lambert having consented to Jackson's pro- 
 positions, early in the morning of the 9th a line was 
 staked off, about three hundred yards from the Ameri- 
 can intrenchment, and detachments of soldiers marched 
 from both camps, who were stationed near this line, but 
 a few feet apart, to carry out the object of the armistice, 
 to wit, the burial of the dead. The dead bodies, which 
 were strewn so thickly over the field, were then brought 
 by the Americans to the lines, where they were received 
 by the British and borne to a designated spot on Bien- 
 venu's, which had been marked off as the cemetery of 
 " the Army of Louisiana." In carrying the dead the 
 Americans used the clumsy and unwieldy ladders 
 intended by the British to be employed in scaling the 
 American parapet. Many British officers assembled to 
 witness the ceremony. It was to them one of deep 
 mortification and sorrow. These feelings were increased 
 by the presence of several American officers, whose 
 natural sang froid was misinterpreted into untimely 
 exultation. This misconception led the British officer, 
 from whom we have already derived so much informa- 
 tion relative to this campaign, into the following burst 
 of feeling : 
 
 " An American officer stood by, smoking a cigar, and 
 apparently counting the slain, with a look of savage 
 exultation, and repeating, over and over, to each 
 individual that approached him, that their loss 
 amounted to eight men killed and fourteen wounded. 
 I confess that when I beheld the scene I hung down my 
 head, half in sorrow and half in anger. With my offi
 
 360 JACKSON AND NEW OELEANS. 
 
 clous informant I had every inclination to pick a quar- 
 rel ; but he was on duty, and an armistice existed, both 
 of which forbade the measure. I could not, however, 
 Btand by and repress my choler ; and since to give it 
 vent would have subjected me to a more serious incon- 
 venience than a mere duel, I turned my horse's head 
 and galloped back to the camp." The bearing of Gene- 
 ral Lambert's secretary, Major H. 0. Smith, of the 95th 
 rifles, who met a soldier's death at Waterloo, was more 
 manly and philosophic, if less honest and sincere. 
 Entering into a conversation with Captain Maunsel 
 White, who now survives, a respected and honored 
 planter and patriot, living on his magnificent estate 
 (Deerange), in the parish of Plaquemines, Major Smith 
 coolly remarked, looking very calmly upon the acres of 
 dead around him : " O ! it is a mere skirmish a mere 
 skirmish !" u One more such skirmish," replied Cap- 
 tain White, " and devilish few of you will ever get 
 back home to tell the story." 
 
 The bodies of the officers were first delivered to the 
 British. Those of Colonel Rennie, Major Whittaker, 
 Captain Henry, and Majors Wilkinson and King, being 
 familiar to both officers and men, were received with 
 sorrowful and tearful silence. They were chiefs and 
 heroes in the army, who left behind no superiors in that 
 band of veterans, who had signalized their valor in 
 many combats, and were ever amongst the foremost in 
 all perilous enterprises. Rennie was particularly 
 lamented, for throughout the operations on the Chesa- 
 peake and in Louisiana, he had proved to be the most 
 efficient light infantry officer next to Thornton in the 
 army. The dead officers were carried to headquarters, 
 and such as had friends to attend to the sacred duties of
 
 THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. 361 
 
 securing them a Christian burial were interred at night, 
 in Villere's garden, by the light of torches, with appro- 
 priate religious ceremonies. Others were disembow- 
 eled, and their bodies deposited in casks of rum, to be 
 carried to England. Such was the disposition of the 
 bodies of Packenham and Gibbs, and, we believe, of 
 Colonels Dale and Rennie.* But the remainder of the 
 dead, including hundreds of officers and men, were 
 hastily and imperfectly buried in the rear of Bienvenu's 
 plantation. The spot thus consecrated has never been 
 invaded by the plough or the spade, but is regarded to 
 this day with awe and respect by the superstitious Afri- 
 cans, and is now occupied by a grove of stunted cypress, 
 strikingly commemorative of the disasters of this ill- 
 fated expedition. 
 
 In estimating the loss of the British in this disastrous 
 affair, we are met by several conflicting statements. 
 Between these various estimates it is not, however, diffi- 
 cult to form an approximate calculation, which will not 
 full far short of the reality. That estimate will show 
 that the loss sustained in the attack on the left bank of 
 the Mississippi was the severest ever sustained in any. 
 battle by the British army. Deducting the reserve, 
 Lambert's, which was not under fire, the 14th dragoons, 
 who guarded the camp and hospital, and Thornton's 
 command, there could not have been more than six 
 thousand men engaged in the attack on Jackson's lines. 
 Of these, according to the estimate of Colonel Hayne, 
 who was designated by Jackson for this duty, there 
 were at least 2,600 placed hors de combat, to wit : 
 
 *Tbe tree, a noble Pecan, under which the viscera of Packenham were burled, still 
 stands in the yard of Villerd's, the subject of a superstition mach cherished by tht 
 Creoles, that ever since that occurrence it has ceased to bear fruit. 
 
 16
 
 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Killed TOO 
 
 Wounded 1400 
 
 Prisoners 500 
 
 The British reports do not vary essentially from this 
 report, except in the statement of the killed, which, in 
 the regular (British) returns, only embrace those who 
 were killed on the field, and not those who died shortly 
 after being carried off. 
 
 Their report is as follows : 
 
 STAFF. Killed. Wounded. Missing. Total. 
 
 Generals 21 03 
 
 Brigadier Major, 1 1 2 
 
 Deputy Ass. Qr. M. G 1 1 
 
 FOURTH FOOT. 
 
 Commissioned Officers, .... 2 24 1 27 
 
 Men 40 234 53 327 
 
 SEVENTH FOOT. 
 
 Officers 2406 
 
 Men 39 49 88 
 
 TwENTT-FlBST FOOT. 
 
 Officers 34 9 16 
 
 Men 67 153 227 449 
 
 FoETT-TniRD FOOT. 
 
 Officers 2215 
 
 Men 11 40 5 56 
 
 FORTY-FOURTH FOOT. 
 
 Officers 2 9 1 12 
 
 Men 33 154 79 266 
 
 NINETY-THIRD FOOT (Highlan- 
 ders). 
 
 Officers 39 3 15 
 
 Men 60 368 102 530 
 
 Garry over, 26T 1053 481 1803
 
 THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. 363 
 
 Killed. Wounded. Missing. Total. 
 
 Brought forward, ....267 1053 481 1803 
 
 iFTH FOOT (Rifles). 
 
 Officers 0707 
 
 Men 11 94 105 
 
 FIEST AND FIFTH WEST INDIA 
 REGIMENTS. 
 
 Officers 0605 
 
 Men 5 19 1 25 
 
 Total casualties of British on 
 
 left bank 283 1178 482 1845 
 
 On the right bank the loss was as follows : 
 
 TlHKTY-FlFTU FOOT. Killed. Wounded. Missing. TotaL 
 
 Officers 0202 
 
 Men 2 39 1 42 
 
 ROYAL MARINES. 
 
 Officers 0808 
 
 Men 2 13 15 
 
 ROTAL NAVY. 
 
 Officers 0202 
 
 Men 2 18 20 
 
 Total casualties on right bank, 8 77 1 84 
 
 Grand total of the British loss on the 8th of January, 
 1815: 
 
 Killed. Wounded. Missing. Total. 
 
 On the left bank 283 1178 482 1845 
 
 On the right bank 8 77 1 84 
 
 Grand Total ..291 1255 483 1929 
 
 Of the officers killed, there were two Generals 
 Packenham, Lieutenant General, and Gibbs, Major
 
 364 JACKSON AND IsTEW ORLEANS. 
 
 General ; three Colonels and Lieutenant Colonels Dale, 
 T. Jones, and Rennie ; three Majors 'Wilkinson, Bri- 
 gade Major, King, and J. A. Whittaker ; three Cap- 
 tains Henry, Hichins, and Muirhead ; four Lieuten- 
 ants and Ensigns Crowe, Donald McDonald, Davies, 
 and McLorkey. Of the wounded, there was one Major 
 General Keane ; one Deputy Quarter-master Gene- 
 ral Delacy Evans ; five Colonels and Lieutenant 
 Colonels Brooke, Faunce, Patterson, Thornton, and 
 Debbieg: all but the first and last being severely 
 wounded; three Majors Brigade Major Shaw, slight- 
 ly ; Williamson and Ross, severely. Captains Flet- 
 cher, Erskine, Page, Ryan, Boulger, McKenzie, 
 Ellis, Travers, Isles, Money (Navy), severely ; and 
 Craig, Elliot, and Mullens slightly, thirteen. Lieuten- 
 ants and Ensigns Brooke, Martin, Richardson, Squire, 
 Farrington, Marshall, Andrews, Benwell, Higgins, 
 Waters, Geddes, Meyricke, D. Campbell, Smith, Brush, 
 Philan, W. Jones, White, Hayden, Donaldson, Ur- 
 quhart, Gordon, Hay, Reynolds, Sir J. Ribton, Gosset, 
 Blackhouse, Barker, McDonald, Morgan, Pelkington, 
 and Wilson, severely, thirty-two ; Ellis, Parnal, Hop- 
 kins, Salvin, Boully, Hearn, Gerard, Fernandez, New- 
 ton, Richardson, Lorentz, McLean, Spark, McPherson, 
 Elliott and Morgan (Marines), Millar, slightly, seventeen ; 
 Total lieutenants and ensigns wounded, forty-nine. Of 
 the missing, there was Major McAfie, one ; Captains 
 Kidd, Simpson (severely wounded, and taken prisoner), 
 and Brady, Lieutenants Lavack, Carr, Quinn, Munro, 
 McDonald, and Graves, seven all severely wounded 
 and taken prisoners ; and Stewart, Armstrong, Fon- 
 blanque, Knight, and B. Johnson, five captured with- 
 out being wounded.
 
 THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. 366 
 
 Grand total of officers killed and wounded : 
 
 KILLED. 
 
 Generals 2 
 
 Colonels and Lieutenant Colonels, :j 
 
 Majors 3 
 
 Captains 3 
 
 Lieutenants and Ensigns 5 
 
 WOUNDED. 
 
 Severely. Slightly. 
 
 Major General 1 
 
 Deputy Quarter-master General 1 
 
 Colonels and Lieutenant Colonels 3 2 
 
 Majors 2 1 
 
 Captains 10 8 
 
 Lieutenants and Ensigns 32 17 
 
 Midshipman 1 
 
 Severely Wounded. Missing. 
 
 Captains 2 
 
 Major 1 
 
 Lieutenants 6 5 
 
 Considering the number of the wounded who after- 
 wards died, the total of mortality in this battle has been 
 estimated, by competent judges, at one thousand men. 
 Colonel Maunsel White, now a survivor of the war, with 
 another officer, counted the British dead on the field : 
 they were 356 ; and he thinks there must have been 
 others in the swamp. The Adjutant of the 93d, Mr. 
 Graves, who was found on the field, badly wounded, 
 was taken charge of by Colonel (then captain) White, 
 and attended by him during his confinement in tho 
 city, now resides in Brooklyn, 'N. Y. He states that the 
 93d mustered, on the morning of the 8th, one thousand
 
 366 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 men and twenty-four officer, and that after they had 
 retreated from the attack, and were collected in the 
 rear, there were ten or twelve officers and one hundred 
 and thirty men J 
 
 The Americans lost in their lines but two men killed ; 
 they were shot on the left one through the neck and 
 the other through the head. There were two others 
 killed in the redoubt on the right. The others, making 
 in all eight killed, lost their lives in the swamp by 
 unnecessarily exposing themselves ; or were shot after 
 the action by the British soldiers who were concealed 
 in the ditch, or in the bushes near the swamp. The 
 aggregate loss was eight killed and thirteen wounded, 
 which number, compared with that of the British, 
 exhibits a disparity without a parallel in ancient or 
 modern warfare.
 
 CLOSING INCIDENTS. 367 
 
 XYIIL 
 
 CLOSING INCIDENTS. 
 
 OUR task is nearly finished. The great battle lias 
 been fought. The dead have been buried, and gloom 
 and silence have settled over that field, now for 
 ever classic in American history. In sorrow, misery, 
 shame, and dejection, the British have withdrawn 
 further oft" from the scene of the most dismal disaster 
 their arms ever encountered. Every house for miles 
 along the river is occupied with their wounded, and the 
 labors of their surgeons are incessant and herculean. 
 But worse even than wounds, physical agony and sick- 
 ness, is that torment of " the mind diseased," for which 
 there is no minister the consciousness of defeat and 
 disgrace, that has entered, the soul of those hitherto vic- 
 torious veterans. These feelings alternately prostrate 
 their victims into a deep silent gloom, or break out in 
 fierce and fiery denunciation of those, whom their pas- 
 sions selected as the scapegoats of their disgrace. The 
 poor 44th came in for the chief share of the maledic- 
 tions. It had failed in its duty it had not brought up 
 the ladders and fascines. And even when the heroic 
 Packenham at last took the regiment out of the hands 
 of its imbecile colonel, it had flinched. So great was 
 this indignation, that the other regiments would not
 
 JACKSON AND NEW OKLEANS. 
 
 associate with any officer or private, wearing the uni- 
 form of the 44th. "Was this just or honorable ? That 
 Colonel Mullens should have obeyed, at all sacrifices, 
 the order given to him, there can be no question ; but 
 his disobedience was not even a cause, much less a 
 prominent one, of their defeat. The order was neither 
 a just, nor a wise one. To require a whole regiment to 
 stack its arms and bear ladders for the rest of the com- 
 mand, was unusual and inequitable. This duty ought 
 to have been imposed upon detachments from the 
 various corps, as the forlorn hope is organized. But, of 
 what avail would have been the prompt execution of 
 this order? The ladders and fascines were not necessary 
 to pass the paltry ditch, and scale the insignificant para- 
 pet of the Americans. A robust man could nearly have 
 leaped from the field to the mound, behind which the 
 Americans stood. The British must have imagined 
 that they had high walls to mount, like those of Bada- 
 joz and St. Sebastian. Their great difficulty was to 
 reach the ditch ; they could never have used their lad- 
 ders and fascines, if, instead of the 44th, every private 
 in their army had borne them. They were shot down 
 before reaching the ditch. The fascines and ladders 
 only impeded and harassed them. "With their heavy 
 knapsacks, these unwieldy articles only made them 
 "surer game" for the Tennessee marksmen. Colonel 
 Mullens and the 44th were not, therefore, the cause of 
 their repulse. The true cause was the skillfulness and 
 steadiness of the American militia, in the use of fire- 
 arms. Such was the sagacious conclusion of an eminent 
 French soldier, who visited this field many years after. 
 It was the Marshal Count Bertrand Clausel, the same 
 who had commanded the French division at Salamanca,
 
 CLOSING INCIDENTS. 369 
 
 which Packenham had routed. Settling in Mobile, 
 Alabama, this distinguished soldier, who had iigured so 
 conspicuously on so prominent an arena who had com- 
 manded at Bordeaux during the Hundred Days, and to 
 whom the Duchess of Angouleme surrendered as a pri- 
 soner now, with the characteristic philosophy of 
 Frenchmen, became an humble gardener, who furnished 
 the market of Mobile with vegetables, driving his cart 
 himself. Conceiving a desire to behold the field of the 
 defeat and death of his old and victorious foe, he 
 visited New Orleans in 1820, in company with the cele- 
 brated Count Desnoettes, Napoleon's faithful companion 
 in the retreat from Moscow the same whom the Empe- 
 ror selected, on his affecting parting at Fontainebleau, as 
 the dearest of all his friends. These gallant and distin- 
 guished Frenchmen being escorted to the battle-field of 
 the 8th of January, 1815, by some of their countrymen, 
 who had participated in that affair, were greatly puzzled 
 to know how such good soldiers as the English could be 
 repulsed^ by so weak a force from such trifling fortifica- 
 tions. "Ah!" exclaimed Marshal Clause'i,* after some 
 moments of reflection, "I see how it all happened. 
 "When these Americans go into battle, they forget that 
 they are not hunting deer or shooting turkeys and try 
 never to throw away a shot." And there was the whole 
 secret of the defeat, which the British have ascribed to 
 so many different causes. It is the agility with which 
 the Americans wield every species of firearm, and the 
 habit of cool, steady aim, which renders them so 
 
 * Marshal Clausel was restored to his position in the army by Louis Philippe and 
 became Governor of Algeria, and was the commander and military instructor of Gene- 
 ral Canrobert, the French commander in the operations before Sebastopol. 
 
 16*
 
 370 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 destructive in battles, where they are not restrained or 
 confused by any military manoeuvre or exigency. 
 
 It is no part of our design to give all the details of the 
 events wLlch followed the battle of the 8th ; nor shall 
 we turn adide to engage in those unprofitable discus- 
 sions, growing out of subsequent events, to which some 
 writers and politicians have assigned prominent places 
 in this drama. They will be barely glanced at. 
 
 The British were not left long to their gloomy reflec- 
 tions and bad passions. The American batteries again 
 resumed their tasks of incessantly annoying the hostile 
 camp, firing at every knot of men that could be dis- 
 cerned in the British camp, and keeping their sentinels 
 and outposts constantly on the guard, dodging and 
 ducking as the balls flew around them. Prominent 
 among those who were most active and earnest in this 
 annoyance to the British, was Commodore Patterson, 
 who relieved himself of the disgust and indignation, 
 which had been created in his bosom, by an uninter- 
 rupted fire at the British camp from a new battery he 
 had thrown up in advance of Morgan's position. 
 
 Save these regular and customary salutes of the Bri- 
 tish camp by the various batteries on both sides of the 
 river, nothing of great interest occurred until the llth, 
 when the curiosity of the Americans was excited by the 
 distant rumbling of artillery far down the river. It 
 was soon understood that this was the expected attack 
 on Fort St. Philip, a fortification on the left bank of the 
 Mississippi, about eighty miles below the city, and some 
 thirty from the mouth of the river. The fort, which 
 was a rude, irregular work, stood in a bend of the river, 
 so as to have a long sweep above and below it. It was 
 surrounded by an impenetrable morass, and on the
 
 CLOSING INCIDENTS. 371 
 
 lower side by the Bayou Mardi Gras. There were 
 twenty-nine guns mounted in the fort, of which there 
 were two thirty-twos, established in the curtain of the 
 fort on a level with the river. The others were twenty- 
 fours, one thirteen inch mortar, and several howitzers. 
 The fort had been in preparation some months before. 
 Jackson visited it in December, perceived its vast 
 importance and great strength, and gave orders to have 
 certain additions made to it. Several detachments of 
 troops were sent down to reinforce the garrison. A 
 number of negroes were employed to bring in timbers 
 and perform other work necessary to the solidity and 
 strength of the fort. 
 
 Among other sagacious preparations, the magazine 
 was completely disguised, and several smaller ones 
 established in various places. The garrison consisted of 
 two companies of United States artillery, 117, under 
 Captains Wolstoncraffc, Murray, and Walsh ; two com- 
 panies of the 7th infantry, 163, under Captains Brontin 
 and Waide; Lagan's Louisiana Volunteers, 54; and 
 Listeau's free men of color, 30 ; in all 366, To these 
 are to be added the crew of gun-boat No. 8, which had 
 been hauled into the Bayou. The whole force made 
 406 effective men under that staunch and able officer, 
 Major Overton, of the rifle corps. Below, a guard was 
 established to watch and announce the approach of the 
 enemy. 
 
 It manifests a palpable want of combination and 
 military skill in the British generals, that their plan of 
 advance upon the city was not so arranged as to secure 
 possession of the river before their land troops occupied 
 its banks. It ought to have occurred to them that their 
 flank would be exposed in case the Americans had com-
 
 372 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 mand of the river, as they must necessarily have vessels 
 which could be easily converted into floating hatteries, 
 to harass and impede, if not to arrest, their advance. 
 This error was brought home to them very painfully by 
 the sudden and destructive volley tired into their camp 
 on the night of the 23d by the Carolina. Whether 
 orders had been issued to the vessels, which undertook 
 to ascend the river to cooperate with the army, or they 
 were proceeding on their own account, we are unable to 
 say. But it is certainly true that these vessels did 
 not appear off the Balize, where the British had pre- 
 viously established themselves, until the 8th, and did 
 not come within sight of the obstacle to their progress 
 up the stream, until noon of the 9th. Overton's guard- 
 boat hastened to announce their arrival to the Fort. 
 The vessels consisted of two bomb-ships, the Herald 
 sloop-of-war, the Sophia, a brig, and a tender. Small 
 as this squadron was, had it arrived at Packenham's 
 camp and in time to cooperate in the attack on Jackson's 
 line, or even if it had arrived after that event, and 
 before the evacuation by the British, the consequences 
 might have been very serious to the American arms. 
 But they were not destined to surmount so easily the 
 obstacle in their path. Overton prepared to give them 
 a warm reception. Cunningham, of the gun-boat, with 
 his sailors, took command of the 32's ; Walsh com- 
 manded the right bastion ; Wolstoncraft the centre, and 
 Murray the left ; the infantry under Brontin stood in 
 the rear of the curtain to support the batteries, and act 
 as occasion might require. At three p. M. the bomb- 
 vessels, approaching within a mile and a half of the 
 Fort, as if to sound the left battery, opened on them ; 
 they then retired beyond the range of the Fort's guns,
 
 CLOSING INCIDENTS. 373 
 
 and anchoring behind a point of land 3T60 yards from 
 the Fort, turned broadsides towards it, and running up 
 their flags, commenced the action. Their first shell fell 
 short, the next burst over theFort, and the others which 
 followed fell into the soft earth, bursting, so deep in the 
 ground as to create only a tremulous motion. The ves- 
 sels remained some distance below the bombs. The 
 bomb-ships threw their shells all night one shell every 
 two minutes at the fort, but without effect. At night 
 they reconnoitered in small boats, and came so near that 
 their men could be heard talking. The wind was then 
 blowing up the river. The garrison were too intent 
 upon the vessels to notice these boats. During the 10th 
 and llth the bombardment was continued, the fort firing 
 a few shots to keep up the spirits of the men, but 
 without effect. On the llth, the flag-staff was struck 
 by several fragments of shell, and the flag was nailed to 
 the halyards ; another shell severed them, and down it 
 came. An hour was consumed in restoring the flag, 
 which was gallantly done by a sailor, over whose head 
 several shells burst while sitting on the crosstree, mak- 
 ing fast the flag. The contractor's house.was mistaken 
 for the magazine, and struck, killing one man, and 
 wounding another. On the 12th, 13th, and 14th, the 
 firing was kept up incessantly, many shells bursting 
 over the fort, killing one man, and wounding several 
 others, and damaging one of the 32's. The men in the 
 fort were busily employed, and much exposed in repair 
 ing these damages and strengthening the fort. In the 
 meantime, heavy rains fell daily, and the interior of the 
 fort was a sheet of water, and the men were constantly 
 wet and almost frozen. On the 13th, having received 
 shells and ammunition from New Orleans, the fort
 
 374: JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 opened its fire, and threw several shells over the bomb- 
 ship. One of these took effect, and created much con- 
 fusion on board. But on the 17th, they began to fire at 
 the fort with more accuracy, and lodged several shells 
 in the parapet, one of which burst in passing through 
 the ditch into the angle of the centre of the bastion. 
 This was their farewell shot. The next day at early 
 dawn their ships were observed descending the river 
 with all sails set. The garrison gave three cheers, and 
 fired a volley as a salute to their foiled and mortified 
 foe. This bombardment had been incessant from the 
 9th to the 18th of January, during which they fired 
 1,000 shells, being seventy tons of iron ; and twenty 
 thousand pounds of gunpowder, besides small shells. 
 The casualties were only two killed and three wounded. 
 At least a hundred shells fell within the fort, damaging 
 and battering the shops and stores, and tearing up the 
 earth within, and for many yards around. 
 
 Here was another able and decisive repulse of the 
 British, which constituted an important link in the 
 defence of the city, and reflected the highest credit 
 upon the garrison and its gallant commander, who, as 
 General Overton, long resided in the northwestern part 
 of Louisiana, one of its most esteemed and honored 
 citizens. There were other detached operations, which 
 were attended by a like success. 
 
 Purser Shields, of the Navy, a well-known citizen of 
 New Orleans, and Dr. Morrel, an esteemed physician, 
 headed a brilliant little affair against the British lines 
 of communication on the Lake. It will be remembered, 
 that these gentlemen had been sent, after the battle of 
 the gun-boats, to the succor of the American wounded, 
 who were captured on the occasion. Arriving at the
 
 CLOSING INCIDENTS. 375 
 
 time the British were preparing to land their troops, the 
 Vice- Admiral Cochrane thought proper to detain them 
 until the army had executed the design in which it was 
 then engaged. These gentlemen protested that they 
 had come under a flag of truce, and that their detention 
 was a breach of the rules of war. But it was in vain. 
 Finally, when the British had been repulsed, they were 
 released on the 12th January, and arrived in the 
 American camp. During their detention by the 
 British, these gentlemen were very badly treated ; their 
 flag was not respected; they were robbed of their 
 clothes and other property ; they were not permitted to 
 see their wounded countrymen ; and the sailors of the 
 boat that brought them to the fleet, were compelled to 
 work on the British boats. Such conduct was charac- 
 teristic of Yice- Admiral Cochrane, who was a rough, 
 brutal, and overbearing officer. It may be well con- 
 ceived that high-spirited gentlemen like Mr. Shields and 
 Dr. Morrel, did not bear very patiently the remem- 
 brance of the inoTignities to which they had been 
 subjected in the British fleet. Hence, on their arrival 
 in Jackson's camp, they busied themselves in getting 
 up an expedition, by which they might obtain some lit- 
 tle satisfaction for their injuries, and some compensation 
 for their exclusion from the honors and glories of the 
 defence of the city. Organizing a little band of volun- 
 teers, they proceeded with four boats, one having a 
 carronade in its bows, out of the Bayou St. John into 
 the Lake, and thence to the fort and encampment at 
 Petites Coquilles. Here, being reinforced by two other 
 boats, they glided stealthily along the shores of Lake 
 Borgne, towards the Kigolets, in pursuit of any stray 
 boats of the enemy. On the 20th, they perceived a
 
 376 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 large barge, full of soldiers, on its way from the Bayou 
 Bienveim, and immediately the boats commenced pur- 
 suit. The carronade being brought to bear on the 
 barge, she quickly surrendered,, the men on board 
 throwing their arms into the Lake. It proved to be a 
 British barge, having on board thirty-seven British 
 soldiers of the 14th dragoons, under Lieutenant Brydges 
 and Cornet Hammond, who were on their way to the 
 British squadron. These prisoners were placed in 
 charge of five armed men, and were conducted to the 
 American camp at Chef Menteur. Shields and Morrel 
 then made another sortie and captured several boats, a 
 schooner and sixty-three prisoners, but owing to the 
 wind and high currents, their boats became separated, 
 and the schooner unmanageable, and their prisoners 
 refractory. So they concluded to set fire to the 
 schooner. The h're having attracted the notice of 
 the British boats, several of them approached her. 
 Shields and Morrel landed near the mouth of the 
 Rigolets. The British attempted to cut them off by 
 landing a party above them, but Morrel, with a party 
 of twenty men, having approached, suddenly opened 
 upon them from the high reeds, and after three volleys, 
 caused them to leave in haste. Finally, the party 
 being in great danger of capture from the British 
 boats, which several times attacked them, but were 
 beaten off, Dr. Morrel was sent over to Petitea 
 Coquilles for reinforcements. Shields, left alone with 
 the prisoners and a small guard, seeing a gun-boat in 
 the distance, bearing up towards him, concluded that 
 he would retire, and so discharging his prisoners on 
 parole, hurried to meet Morrel and Newman, who were 
 preparing to join him with a reinforcement at Petites
 
 CLOSING INCIDENTS. 
 
 Coquilles, where lie arrived safely with twenty-two 
 prisoners. The result of this brilliant little enterprise 
 shows how much the British could have been annoyed 
 if our gun-boats could have got under the fort of Petites 
 Coquilles and escaped capture on the 14th December. 
 There were other exploits performed by detached par- 
 ties, which we are prevented from describing, by the 
 apprehension of rendering these sketches too voluminous. 
 Their glory and splendor, which, in any less brilliant 
 campaign, would have secured high renown to those 
 participating in them, are lost in the superior radiance 
 of those greater events, that have rendered the Defence 
 of New Orleans, in 1814, the most complete and bril- 
 liant campaign in modern history. 
 
 On the 17th January, a cartel for the exchange of 
 prisoners having been agreed upon, the 18th was tixed 
 for the pleasing ceremony of receiving some of the best 
 citizens of New Orleans, whose long detention in the 
 British fleet had produced much anxiety among their 
 friends. The ceremony was a joyous and exciting one. 
 A detachment of Plauche's battalion and the whole of 
 Beale's rifles were formed in column, and, preceded by 
 the splendid brass band of the volunteers, marched, 
 under Captain Roche, to the line indicated near the 
 British outposts ; there they were formed as if for a 
 review. Presently the American prisoners were escorted 
 by detachment of the British 95th rifles, and the officers 
 in command saluting Captain Roche, delivered to him 
 a roll of the prisoners, which, being called out, all 
 answered to their names. Roche then called out, " For- 
 ward, Americans !" and the whole band advanced down 
 the line of the battalion under a salute. Open column 
 was then formed, and the ex-prisoners being placed in
 
 378 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 front, the procession inarched towards the American 
 Jines, the band playing a lively air. As they approached 
 the lines, there was a simultaneous shout of joy from the 
 whole American army, and when they had got within 
 the entrenchment, there were hundreds of personal 
 friends who rushed forward to embrace and welcome 
 them. Most of these ex-prisoners were leading gentle- 
 men of the city, who had been captured on the night 
 of the 23d. Jackson sent for them, and on their arrival 
 at his headquarters, congratulated and complimented 
 them in very warm terms. Though it had been a source 
 of great mortification to these gallant men, to be absent 
 from the army during its great trial, their detention in 
 the fleet had been rendered quite tolerable, if not, plea- 
 sant, by the kindly and courteous conduct of the British 
 naval commander of the Royal Oak, on which ship most 
 of the prisoners had been detained, and by other naval 
 officers. 
 
 We pass over many minor incidents of the campaign, 
 in order to approach the great event which relieved 
 Louisiana of the presence of the foe that had so long 
 desecrated her soil, and threatened her honor and safety. 
 
 After the battle of the eighth, Lambert was not long 
 in arriving at the conclusion, that the expedition had 
 signally failed, and all that was left to him was to 
 collect the fragments of the army and retire as speedily 
 as possible, from the scene of so many sad disasters and 
 painful associations. With this view, he proceeded with 
 great prudence and caution, in making the necessary 
 arrangements for the withdrawal of the army. As 
 scores of his men were daily deserting, he had reason 
 to apprehend that his watchful foe would harass his 
 jretreat, and omit no opportunity to inflict further injury
 
 CLOSING INCIDENTS. 379 
 
 upon him. To retire as they had come, in boats, was 
 impracticable. There were not boats enough, and it 
 would not be safe to divide the army in the presence 
 of an enemy emboldened by recent victories. To moot 
 this exigency, he directed the engineers to extend the 
 road, which ran for some distance along the bayou, 
 through the swamp to the lake shore, keeping as near 
 as possible to the bank of the bayou. 
 
 This was a very severe and difficult task, which 
 occupied the engineers and strong working parties for 
 nine days. It was finally completed, and an apparently 
 tolerable good road was made along the bayou, crossing 
 it by bridges of boats from the right to the left bank, 
 until it reached an elbow of the bayou, when the road 
 took a direct course through the prairie until it terrm% 
 nated on the lake shore, near the Fishermen's Village. 
 This road was made of reeds, made up into bundles, 
 and stamped down. But for the continued rains it 
 would have been a very good way. At the confluence 
 of the Bienvenu and Jumonville, and of the former with 
 the Mazant, small works were thrown up to cover the 
 retirement of the army. Having completed this road, 
 the whole of the wounded, except those which could 
 not be removed, were placed in boats ; then all the civil 
 officers, the contractors, surveyors, &c., together with 
 all the field artillery, stores, &c., followed, and were 
 dispatched to the fleet. The large ship-guns were 
 gpiked, their carriages broken, and then left on the field. 
 
 And, now, all that were left were the infantry. Hav- 
 ing relieved himself of all incumbrances, Lambert pre- 
 pared, on the night of the 18th, to steal off with his 
 army. 
 
 Accordingly, the whole army was silently and steal-
 
 380 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 thily formed in column, the engineers, sappers and 
 miners in front. The camp fires were lighted anew. 
 The piquets were all stationed as usual. Each sentinel 
 was prepared with a stuffed paddy to place in his stead. 
 The piquets were directed to form, as the column 
 reached the bayou, into a rear-guard, and follow the 
 army. Thus, while darkness covered the field, the 
 army took up its line of march, in silence and dread. 
 Not a cough or sneeze could be heard in the whole 
 column, and even their steps were so planted as to create 
 no sound. Thus they proceeded for some distance along 
 the bayou in a pretty good road ; but when they began 
 to diverge from its banks into the swamp, the continual 
 tramping made the road very bad, and the rear of the 
 column had to march up to their knees in mud. With 
 no other light but the faint twinkle of the stars, this 
 fine army which, but a few weeks ago, had advanced 
 along the same road so full of pride and hope, now 
 stealthily slunk through the dark, damp swamp, full of 
 alarm, shivering with cold, and depressed by defeats, 
 hunger and exposure. They marched all night, and 
 just as the break of day began to relieve the surround- 
 ing darkness by a faint glimmer of light, they reached 
 the desolate shores of Lake Borgne, and drew up on its 
 banks exposed to a keen western wind that came across 
 the broad surface of the lake. Nor did their arrival 
 here improve the spirits or prospects of the men ; they 
 were now sixty miles from the fleet. Suppose, from 
 high winds or other causes, the boats should not arrive, 
 they might starve there for want of provisions, or from 
 cold for there was no fuel but the dry weed, that 
 burnt up like tinder. 
 
 Here the army remained in this desolate situation
 
 CLOSING INCIDENTS. 381 
 
 imtil the 27th, when the whole reembarked and finally 
 reached the fleet, with a few casualties, and after much 
 suffering and distress. 
 
 This retreat was the ablest feature of the campaign, 
 and reflects high credit upon the commander of the 
 British and the discipline of the army. 
 
 During the campaign, which was thus terminated on 
 the part of the British, the Jamaica Gazette contained 
 the following article, which was extensively copied 
 throughout the States : 
 
 " The British are, no doubt, before this time in possession of New 
 Orleans. They have eight thousand regular troops and two thou- 
 sand sailors and marines. The enemy's force are the 7th and 44th 
 regiments, and 10 or 12,000 militia, who are compelled to serve. 
 It is said that General Jackson sent a message to Sir Edward Pack- 
 enharn, saying that he felt for the awkward predicament into which 
 the British army had been brought, and not being desirous to take 
 advantage of it, he would allow Sir Edward ten days to reembark 
 with the whole of his force. If this offer had been rejected, he 
 could not be answerable for the consequences. Sir Edward answered 
 in a laconic style, that in ten days he would give him an answer." 
 
 " There is many a truth, that is said in jest." If 
 not in the exact terms of this British journal, a mes- 
 sage of that import, conveying the idea here expressed, 
 was delivered by Jackson, from his lines, on the 8th of 
 January 1815. Precisely in ten days thereafter, the 
 successor of Packenham gave a very different answer 
 from that ascribed to Sir Edward, by withdrawing the 
 army from its position, and acting on the sensible hint, 
 which proved to be no idle bravado, of the American 
 general. 
 
 Early on the morning of the 19th, rumors of the 
 retreat of the British began to circulate through the
 
 382 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 American camp. Officers and men collected in groups 
 on the parapet to survey the enemy's camp, and much 
 discussion arose as to whether they had really gone, or 
 were only " playing possum " to use a common Ameri- 
 can phrase laying in wait to entice them from their 
 entrenchment. Their camp presented pretty much the 
 same appearance ; their huts were standing, flags were 
 flying, and sentinels were posted. - General Jackson and 
 his staff surveyed the camp through the powerful teles- 
 cope stationed in the window of Macarte's. The general 
 was not satisfied that they had gone. His aids were of the 
 same opinion. At last the veteran Humbert, was called 
 on for his opinion. He took a view through the tele- 
 scope, and immediately exclaimed " they are gone !" 
 When asked his reason for this belief, he called the 
 attention of the general to a crow flying very near to 
 one of their sentinels. This showed that they were 
 images, stuffed paddies. The whole plot was now un- 
 derstood. Jackson ordered a reconnoitering party 
 to proceed to the front. "Whilst it was forming, a flag 
 of truce was seen approaching the lines. It was borne 
 by a medical officer of the British army, who announced 
 that he had a letter from General Lambert to General 
 Jackson. Eagerly the general broke the seal and pe- 
 rused the letter, which was a courteous one, announcing 
 that the British army had departed, and their corn- 
 man der-in-chief solicited the kind attentions of General 
 Jackson to the sick and wounded, whom, to the number 
 of eighty, he was compelled to leave behind. Soon the 
 intelligence flew through the camp, and loud hurrahs 
 1 were heard in every direction. But Jackson's vigilance 
 was not to be lulled by even this gratifying incident. 
 He ordered Colonel Laronde, who understood the coun-
 
 CLOSING INCIDENTS. 
 
 try, to proceed with Colonel Kemper and a detachment 
 of Hind's dragoons, and harass the enemy's rear, and 
 directed Major Villere", with a small party, to scour the 
 woods about his father's house. Owing to the precau- 
 tions of the British to protect their rear with redoubts, 
 these attempts were not productive of any advantage, 
 except to warn the too impetuous of the Americans 
 from undertaking what so many recommended the 
 pursuit of the enemy by the whole army. Never were 
 the sagacity and wisdom of Jackson more conspicuously 
 displayed than in checking this impulse of the army. The 
 counsel of Themistocles, in the assembly of the Grecian 
 chiefs, against destroying the bridge across the Helles- 
 pont, so as to cut off the retreat of the discomfited 
 army of Xerxes, did not display a profound er wisdom 
 than the refusal of Jackson to pursue, with his raw 
 troops, a desperate and powerful army like Lambert's. 
 It was a sharp reproval of an impetuous young officer, 
 who, advocating the pursuit, declared that " if he had 
 ten thousand Tennesseeans or Kentuckians, he could 
 march into London," " And when you make the at- 
 tempt," said Jackson, " I should like to be there to 
 command you." 
 
 Dispatching Dr. Kerr, surgeon-general of the army, 
 with the British surgeon, to the hospital at Jumonrille's, 
 Jackson rode forth, accompanied by his aids, to inspect 
 the British camp. He found fourteen pieces of large 
 cannon left behind, many implements of war, and a 
 great quantity of private as well as public property of 
 the British army. Yisiting v the British officers at their 
 hospital, he assured them of his sympathy and of every 
 attention, which their condition needed. One of these 
 wounded officers was Lieutenant D'Arcy, of the 43d,
 
 384 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 whose legs were carried away by a cannon ball, some 
 days after the 8th. The circumstances of these wounded 
 men being made known in the city, a number of ladies 
 rode down in their carriages with such articles as were 
 deemed essential to the comfort of the unfortunates. 
 One of these ladies was a belle of the city, famed 
 for her charms of person and mind. Seeing her noble 
 philanthropy and devotion to his countrymen, one of the 
 British surgeons conceived a warm regard and admira- 
 tion which subsequent acquaintance ripened into love. 
 This surgeon settled in New Orleans after the war, espous- 
 ed the Creole lady, whose acquaintance he had made 
 under such interesting circumstances, and became an 
 esteemed citizen, and the father of a large family. This 
 was the late Dr. J. C. Kerr, recently deceased, whose gal- 
 lant son, Yictor Kerr, was murdered by the Spanish 
 authorities at Havana, in the party of Colonel Critten- 
 den, in 1851, uttering as his last words, " I die like a 
 Louisianian and a freeman 1" 
 
 Jackson now turned his attention to the distribution 
 of his troops, so as to command all the approaches of 
 the city and guard against the return of the enemy. 
 He then prepared to re-enter the city, which in so brief 
 a campaign, and by such brilliant courage and wise 
 prudence, he had rescued from dishonor and disgrace, 
 to receive the homage of a grateful and devoted people.
 
 THE FINALE. 385 
 
 XIX. 
 
 THE FINALE. 
 
 DN tlie 20tli of January Jackson entered the city for 
 the first time since the 23d of December, when lie 
 marched forth to meet the enemy. lie was received 
 with boundless demonstrations of joy. The people at- 
 tended him in crowds to his quarters in the Faubourg 
 Mflrigny, in the fine old Spanish edifice which now 
 stands a conspicuous monument of the past. The first 
 display of popular feeling was too wild to be controlled 
 by any regular method or system. At Jackson's request 
 the Abbe" Dubourg, Apostolic Prefect of the State of 
 Louisiana, appointed the 23d as a day of public thanks- 
 giving to the Almighty, for his signal interposition in 
 behalf of the safety and honor of the country. That 
 day was ushered in by a discharge of artillery, which 
 caused many a citizen and soldier to leap from his plea- 
 sant couch, under the delusion that it was all a dream, 
 that his toil was over and the enemy had really de- 
 parted. New Orleans, never before or since, exhibited 
 BO gay and happy a scene, as on that bright 23d of 
 January, 1815. All the contentions, horrors, sufferings, 
 and troubles of the war were forgotten, and a spirit of 
 unrestrained happiness, of cordial harmony and good- 
 will, pervaded the whole population. 
 
 Fully to appreciate the animation and enthusiasm of 
 
 17
 
 386 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 that memorable day, it is necessary to listen to the glow 
 ing details of the surviving veterans who participated 
 in chose joyous scenes, and whose declining days are 
 constantly made happy by those proud reminiscences. 
 
 The old cathedral was burnished np for the occasion. 
 Evergreens decorated the entrance and the interior. The 
 Public Square, or Plaza, blazed with beauty, splendor 
 and elegance. In its centre stood a graceful triumphal 
 arch, supported by six Corinthian columns and festooned 
 with evergreens and flowers. Beneath the arch stood two 
 young children on pedestals, holding a laurel wreath, 
 whilst near them, as if their guardian angels, was a 
 bright damsel, representing Liberty, and a more sedate 
 one personifying Justice. From the arch to the en- 
 trance of the cathedral the loveliest girls of the city 
 had been ranged in two rows, to represent the various 
 States and Territories. They were dressed in pure 
 white, with blue veils and silver stars on their brows. 
 Each bore a small flag, inscribed with the name of the 
 State she represented, and a small basket trimmed with 
 blue ribands and full of flowers. Behind each a shield 
 and lance were stuck in the ground, with the name, 
 motto and seal of each of the States. The shields were 
 linked together with verdant festoons, which extended 
 from the arch to the door of the cathedral. 
 
 Precisely at the appointed time, Gen. Jackson ap- 
 peared with his staff at the gate of the plaza fronting 
 the river. He was received with salvos of artillery. 
 Entering the square, he was conducted to the arch, 
 where the two little girls, reaching forward with blush- 
 ing, smiling faces, placed the laurel wreath on his brow. 
 What a benign smile relieved the sternness of that heroic 
 countenance, when the innocent faces of the pretty little
 
 THE FINALE. 387 
 
 ones arose to his view, as with so much pride and delight 
 they performed the high task assigned to them. Who 
 would not be stern and heroic in defence of those dear 
 ones ? Who would not incur every peril, as well against 
 the jealousy and discontent of friends, as against the 
 open hostilities of foes, in such a cause ? 
 
 Such were, no doubt, the reflections that passed 
 through a mind, which combined in an extraordinary 
 degree the strong and tender traits of humanity. And 
 now, with the laurel on his brow, amid the enthusiastic 
 shouts of the people, he descends 1he stairs of the arch, 
 and is met by a lovely young lady, radiant with all the 
 charms of Creole beauty with face, form, manners 
 and expression, such as the most aspiring artist might 
 have dreamed of as the model for his Venus. Fit repre- 
 sentative of Louisiana, this beautiful damsel addresses 
 the laureled chief in a speech glowing with gratitude 
 and eloquence. All the rigor has faded from that stern 
 countenance, and the victorious General humbles him- 
 self at the shrine of female beauty and innocence, and 
 replies in words that thrill with emotion, that his merits 
 have been exalted far, far above their real worth. But 
 the modest confession is drowned by a shower of flowers, 
 amid which, the Hero, supported by his staff, is led to 
 the entrance of the Cathedral. Here he is met by the 
 patriotic and revered Abbe Dubourg, clad in pontifical 
 robes and supported by a college of priests. The 
 reverend gentleman addresses him in a speech of more 
 than ordinary eloquence, in which, whilst due praise 
 is accorded to the Hero, the ascription of the higher 
 glory is given to that Divine Source of all wisdom 
 and goodness, by whose inspiration and influence those 
 signal services were directed to the salvation of the
 
 388 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 country and the confusion and defeat of her enemies. 
 Jackson replies briefly, tastefully and modestly. He is 
 then conducted into the Cathedral and escorted to a 
 conspicuous seat near the altar. Te Deum is then 
 chanted in the grand and impressive manner in which 
 that melodious outburst of gratitude is usually rendered 
 by the choirs of the Roman Catholic church. The 
 people join in the noble hymn. The gallant battalion 
 d'Orle'ans guards the entrance of the Cathedral and tills 
 the aisles. The war-worn countenances of the young 
 Creoles next to the person of the General, are objects of 
 warmest regard to the hundreds of mothers, wives, 
 sisters and lovers, who crowd the interior of the Cathe- 
 dral on this joyful occasion. 
 
 The ceremony being concluded, Jackson retired to 
 his quarters. That night the whole city was illuminated. 
 At last, the people, wearied by the wild enthusiasm and 
 inexhaustible joyfulness of the great event, sunk into 
 slumbers that were no longer disturbed by dreams of 
 sack, ruin, bloodshed and devastation. And so con- 
 cluded the triumphal festivity of New Orleans, which 
 had been so miraculously saved from dishonor and 
 destruction. 
 
 The next day Jackson resumed his severe cares and 
 toils. The enemy had not yet abandoned the shores of 
 Louisiana. Even whilst the city resounded with the 
 notes of rejoicing and triumph, the powerful remnant of 
 his army lay shivering on the banks of Lake Borgne. 
 Jackson's force was still weak. It is true, troops were 
 daily pouring into the city, and the long expected arms, 
 sent by the Federal authorities, had arrived. But the 
 British, too, had been reinforced. They might attempt 
 the attack in another quarter. They 1/ad their honor
 
 THE FINALE. 389 
 
 to redeem, and would be desperate in the attempt. This 
 was no time to relax his vigilance and discipline. Mar- 
 tial law, which had been so effectual in the preservation 
 of the city, must be continued. As an evidence of the 
 presence of the enemy in their neighborhood, the fact 
 was made known that a detachment, under Hinds, 
 Humbert and Latrobe, having gone to reconnoitre the 
 British rear, was fired upon, and one man killed. It 
 was not, in truth, until the 27th, that all the British 
 army had reembarked ; and then they did not leave the 
 bays adjacent to New Orleans, but proceeded to Dau- 
 phin Island, near the mouth of Mobile Bay, where their 
 ships came to anchor, and the troops being landed on 
 the island, formed the first regular camp. 
 
 Now ensued the most vexatious and disagreeable task 
 of the General, to reconcile the militia to longer deten- 
 tion from their homes and families. Flushed with 
 victory and pride of their exploits, impatient to rejoin 
 their friends and participate in the public rejoicings, 
 many of Jackson's army, assigned to the most important 
 trusts, manifested a restlessness and disregard of whole- 
 some restraint, which it was necessary to check. Mar- 
 tial law had been declared on the 15th December. It 
 had been the shield and buckler of the city its pro- 
 clamation the clarion which had hushed all discord, and 
 called all classes to the common defence. Jackson 
 could never have educed such order, energy, harmony 
 such complete and glorious results, from the chaos 
 in which he found affairs when he arrived in the city, 
 except by taking the control entirely in his own hands, 
 and thereby quieting the conflicts and divisions between 
 the various parties and authorities that had previously 
 claimed to administer the government and police. This
 
 390 JACKSON AND NEW OKLEAN8. 
 
 declaration of martial law, we have said, had received 
 the approbation of the leading official and prominent 
 characters of the State. Its necessity and utility need not 
 be based, as has erroneously been done, on a suspicion 
 of infidelity and treachery among the population and 
 officials. Such a suspicion was groundless; it was the 
 offspring of the gross misrepresentation of zealous 
 partisans, and of a too easy credulity. No such feel-- 
 ings had ever entered the hearts of any Louisianians, 
 nor of the foreign population then identified with the 
 State. But for other reasons and objects this declaration 
 of martial law was necessary, in order to produce 
 harmony and efficiency in a great emergency, for which 
 the ordinary processes and institutions of the constitu 
 tion and laws were inadequate. We need no better 
 illustration of its necessity than when, after the repulse 
 of the British, soine of Jackson's men began to falter, 
 and shrink from duties, the importance of which was 
 so clearly perceived, and so deeply felt by him, who 
 bore the great responsibility of preserving the laurels 
 already gained. In extenuation of this impatience, it 
 should be remembered that sickness prevailed among 
 the militia, and their stations were exceedingly exposed 
 and uncomfortable. Murmurs loud and open were 
 uttered by them, which were caught up by their over 
 anxious friends in the city, and echoed through its 
 public resorts ; and several of Jackson's most efficient 
 soldiers, Frenchmen who had not become naturalized, 
 were induced to claim the protection of their consul ; 
 and were thus enabled to abandon their posts. They 
 were willing arid eager to fight, but not to incur the 
 more trying duties of the camp. Disgusted and irritated 
 by these desertions, Jackson ordered all French citizens
 
 THE FINALE. 391 
 
 who claimed this exemption, out of the city. This 
 order excited some indignation. 
 
 Jackson, who, under the representations of Governor 
 Claiborne and others, had been led to suspect the 
 fidelity of the Legislature, had incurred the hostility of 
 some of its members, who were eager to embrace any 
 opportunity of impairing his hold on the popular esteem. 
 His apparently harsh measure against the French citi- 
 zens was made the pretext for publications which were 
 calculated to produce disaffection and ill-feeling in the 
 army. Jackson traced one of these publications to 
 Mr. Louaillier, a member of the Legislature, and ordered 
 him to be arrested, and tried under martial law, for this 
 act of mutiny. Louaillier had been a very active and 
 useful citizen during the defence of the city, and his 
 arrest on that account excited considerable sympathy. 
 Application was made for a habeas corpus to Judge 
 11 all, of the United States Court, and the application 
 being granted, Jackson deemed it a violation of his 
 jurisdiction under martial law, and ordered the arrest 
 of the Judge. He was accordingly arrested, and con- 
 ducted beyond the limits of the city. We content our- 
 selves with stating the main facts of these unhappy 
 conflicts, without entering into the details, or the dis- 
 cussion of the questions of law which have grown out 
 of them. 
 
 On the 4th February, Jackson dispatched a commis- 
 sion composed of his Aid, Edward Livingston, Captain 
 Maunsel White, of the Louisiana Blues, and R. D. Shep- 
 herd, Esq., Aid of Commodore Patterson, to the British 
 fleet. This mission had several objects. Livingston's 
 duties referred to the negotiations of a cartel for a 
 further exchange of prisoners, and the return of the
 
 392 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 slaves of the planters which had been taken away by 
 the British army. Captain White being a relative of' 
 the planters who had lost the largest number of their 
 slaves, was authorized to receive them in case they were 
 delivered. These gentlemen arrived in the British fleet 
 at an inoportune juncture. It was on the 7th February, 
 just after General Lambert and Admiral Cochrane had 
 commenced their preparations to take Fort Bowyer. 
 Admiral Cochrane stated that their visit was an un- 
 timely one, but received them courteously on the flag 
 ship, the Tonnant, where they remained for several 
 days. Quite an agreeable intimacy sprung up between 
 these gentlemen and the chiefs of the British army and 
 navy, which was marked by many incidents of a highly 
 gratifying character to the Americans. One of these 
 was the presentation of a sword, which had been found 
 on the battle-field, and was claimed by General Keane, 
 as the gift of a very dear friend. It was generally 
 believed that this was Packenham's sword. The Bri- 
 tish prisoners declared that it was the commander-in- 
 chief s, and the officers on the occasion of the presenta- 
 tion manifested great surprise that it should be claimed 
 by Keane. It is well known that Packenham was 
 struck in the sword arm some minutes before he received 
 his mortal wound, and that when he was advancing 
 near the American lines he had no sword, but waved 
 his cap in his left hand. Jackson, however, could not 
 resist the claim so warmly urged by Keane, and Mr. 
 Livingston was instructed to deliver the sword, which 
 lie did on board of the Tonnant, accompanying the act 
 with some appropriate and eloquent allusions to the 
 value which a gallant soldier must attach to the weapon 
 he had worn sO honorably in so many perils and con-
 
 THE FINALE. 393 
 
 filets. General Keane responded in handsome terms. 
 The hilarity which followed the scene, prompted some 
 of the younger officers, who had not been in the action 
 of the 8th, to twit, in a familiar manner, the gallant 
 General for the very equivocal circumstance, of losing 
 his sword in battle. The General, who was as quick- 
 witted as brave, promptly replied, " My young friends, 
 if you had been where I was on the 8th of January 
 last, you would have lost your heads as well as your 
 swords." 
 
 In the unrestricted intercourse and conversation, 
 which arose between the Americans and the British 
 officers, the former ascertained that both the British 
 officers and soldiers were exceedingly disgusted with 
 the expedition which had terminated so ingloriously 
 that the war was one that did not from the first engage 
 their feelings or satisfy their consciences, and that they 
 looked to the conclusion of peace between the two 
 countries, as an event that would give them unalloyed 
 delight and satisfaction. The younger officers consoled 
 themselves by dwelling on the sad disappointment of 
 the civilians who had come over to administer the civil 
 offices of the new colony of Louisiana, and particularly 
 the indescribable distress of the unfortunate gentleman 
 who had resigned the profitable appointment of Collec- 
 tor of Barbadoes, and with bag and baggage, includ- 
 ing five marriageable daughters, had come over 
 to assume the Controllership of the finances of the 
 expected territorial acquisition. The young ladies, 
 being well educated and quite fashionable, were to take 
 the lead in the gay assemblies in New Orleans. Oh ! 
 how keen must have been the chagrin of these gentle 
 
 17*
 
 394 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 maidens, to be compelled thus to return to the dull 
 circles of Barbadoes ! 
 
 It was whilst these Americans were detained on the 
 Tonnant, that the British landed a large force on the 
 tongue of land at the extremity of which stands Fort 
 Bowyer, and surrounded it on the sea-side by their 
 squadron, and by gradual approaches, by cutting off all 
 reinforcements, and bringing a powerful force of rifle- 
 men to bear on the fort, from trenches, which were 
 extended within fifty yards of the guns, and by estab- 
 lishing several redoubts, with heavy eighteen and 
 twenty-four pounders, during all of which operations 
 the fort kept up a brisk fire, succeeded in compelling 
 Colonel Lawrence to capitulate on honorable terms. 
 Lawrence had less than four hundred men, his provi- 
 sions were greatly reduced, and the rude and ill-made 
 fort was entirely indefensible against an attack by land. 
 Lawrence had gained glory enough in his brilliant 
 defence on the 15th September, 1814, to save his capi- 
 tulation from the slightest suspicion or censure. A 
 whole British brigade, composed of the 4th, 21st, and 
 44th regiments, and the 95th rifles, cutting off commu- 
 nications with Mobile, whence a reinforcement had been 
 sent to his relief, under Major Blue, and the presence of 
 the powerful squadron in their front, would have ren- 
 dered further resistance rash and vain. The capture of 
 Fort Bowyer was a preparatory measure to an expedi- 
 tion against Mobile, with the possession of which, the 
 British hoped to obliterate the shame of their failure 
 before New Orleans. Lawrence marched the garrison 
 out of Fort Bowyer with all the honors of war. The 
 capitulation was so arranged as to enable some of the
 
 THE F1HALE. 395 
 
 naval commanders to get up a drama which might add 
 to the importance of the achievement. A great dinner 
 was given on the occasion, on board the Tonnant, at 
 which Admiral Codrington took the head of the table, 
 and the Americans were seated on his right. After a 
 sumptuous repast, and as the dessert and wines were 
 brought on the talkie, the curtains of the cabin were 
 drawn aside, and a full view of Fort Bowyer presented 
 to the company at the very moment when the American 
 flag descended the staff, and that of Great Britain, 
 ascending under a salute of artillery, waved in its 
 place. "Well, Colonel Livingston, you perceive," 
 remarked Admiral Codringtou, " that our day has com- 
 menced," pointing to the British flag. 
 
 " Your good health," replied Mr. Livingston, touch- 
 ing glasses with the exultant Briton. " We do not 
 begrudge you that small consolation." 
 
 Small it proved, indeed, as the opening fortunes of 
 the British were suddenly closed by an event which 
 occurred on the 13th, just two days after the surrender 
 of Fort Bowyer. On that day Mr. R. D. Shepherd 
 was standing on the deck of the Tonnant conversing 
 with Admiral Malcolm, a gentleman of the most amia- 
 ble and genial manners, when a gig approached with 
 an officer, who coming aboard the Tonnant, presented 
 to the Admiral a package. On opening and reading 
 the contents, Admiral Malcolm took off his cap and 
 gave a loud hurrah. Then turning to Mr. Shepherd, 
 lie seized his hand and grasping it warmly, exclaimed, 
 " Good news ! good news ! We are friends. The 
 Brazen has just arrived outside, with the news of peace. 
 I am delighted!" adding, in an under tone, "I have 
 hated this war from the beginning."
 
 396 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Thus, was the design against Mobile happily nipped 
 in the bud.^ Mr. Livingston and his companions 
 returned to General Jackson, with the news of the peace, 
 on the 19th February. Jackson announced the news to 
 his army, but warned them that the treaty had not been 
 officially announced, and they must not be thrown off 
 their guard by the mere report. The ratification of the 
 treaty, by our Government, was essential to its validity. 
 
 Another incident which marked the intercourse of 
 the Americans and British, during the sojourn of the 
 latter on Dauphin island, is worthy to be here inserted. 
 It is related in an address, delivered by a surviving 
 veteran of Plauche^s battalion, who now commands the 
 brigade of which that battalion was the origin and 
 nucleus, Brigadier-General H. W. Palfrey. Whilst the 
 British were on Dauphin island, a young corporal who 
 belonged to one of the most respectable Creole families, 
 attached to the Carabiniers, was sent with a flag of 
 truce to the British camp, to endeavor to persuade the 
 slaves, who had been taken off by the British, to return 
 to their owners. 
 
 The young corporal, then in his citizen's dress, carried 
 strong letters of recommendation from General Jackson 
 to the Commander-in-chief, General Lambert, and to 
 the Admiral of the fleet, and from Edward Livingston, 
 Esq., to Admiral Cochrane. The answer of the British 
 General was, that he could not compel any of the slaves 
 to return ; that they had followed the army against his 
 will; but that any of them who would voluntarily 
 return, might do so, and for that purpose he would 
 facilitate an interview with them, both on the island 
 and on board of the fleet lying in and off the Mobile 
 Bay, which was done. Many of those slaves had 

 
 THE FINALE. 397 
 
 sailed a day or two before, for some of the West India 
 Islands ; and of those remaining, forty or fifty consenUxi 
 to return, and did return. 
 
 On the night of the 23d December, the late Landrj 
 Lacoste was taken by surprise, at his brother's planta 
 tion, below town, by General Keane's Division, when 
 the General gave him his word of honor that all pro- 
 perty of Louisianians would be respected, and that all 
 cattle used by the army would be paid for. After the 
 retreat of the army, Mr. Lacoste having ascertained his 
 loss of cattle, prepared a statement of the same, amount- 
 ing to about $350, and placed it in the hands of the 
 young corporal, with a request that he would demand 
 payment of the same from General Keane. The corpo- 
 ral accordingly called upon the General, at his quarters, 
 and found him leaning on a large pine tree he not 
 having recovered from a wound received in the thigh, in 
 the battle of the 8th January. On being presented 
 with the account, the General colored and immediately 
 said 
 
 "Sir, this is a most extraordinary demand. When 
 the promise was made to pay such claims, it was under 
 the belief that the Creoles would have sided with us, or 
 at least remained neutral ; and they have, on the con- 
 trary, shown themselves our bitterest enemies ; for such 
 of them as have been our prisoners, have deceived us in 
 every information given by them." 
 
 To which the corporal answered : 
 
 " Thank you, General, for this declaration, that among 
 the Creoles you have not been able to find a traitor, for 
 I am one of them. The message I have brought is from 
 a triend who merely requested me to remind a British
 
 398 JACKSON AND NEW OELEAN8. 
 
 officer of his word of honor. I have fulfilled my prom- 
 ise to him, and have nothing more to say." 
 
 With this remark, the corporal retired, and was about 
 one hundred yards from the pine tree when stopped by 
 one of the General's aids, with a polite request to return 
 to him ; to which the corporal answered 
 
 " Say to your General, if he has any message to send 
 to me, that I will receive it under that flag," pointing to 
 the vessel which had brought him to the island. 
 
 An hour after, a small bag of money, containing three 
 hundred and fifty dollars, in English money, was placed 
 in the hands of the corporal. About twenty-five years 
 afterwards, Mr. Landry Lacoste having died, the very 
 same bag was brought by his executor to the corporal, 
 then a merchant, to ascertain the value of that money 
 in New Orleans. 
 
 While on the island, the Commander-in-chief gave a 
 splendid dinner to the young corporal in the cabin of 
 the old Dauphin island pilot Lamour. He was seated 
 between General Lambert and Admiral Cochrane, in 
 full uniform, with their brilliant staff. Among the 
 guests was Colonel Burgoyne, of the corps of engineers, 
 Major Smith, who fell in the field of Waterloo, Captain 
 D'Este, son of the late Duke of Sussex, and a young 
 American officer of the Navy, sent out by the Commo- 
 dore of the New Orleans station to arrange an exchange 
 of prisoners. This was the dinner party at which the 
 young corporal had found himself; nor had he ever 
 drunk wines or liquors of any sort before. Challenged 
 by every one of the company to a glass of wine, he 
 thought that good breeding required that he should 
 drink bumpers, and it was not long before he felt as if
 
 THE FINALE. 399 
 
 the number of guests around the table was doubling, 
 and the cabin dancing. His blood was aroused by some 
 indiscreet remarks made by Captain D'Este, who, per- 
 ceiving from his dress that he was not an officer of high 
 grade, rather abruptly asked him his rank in the army. 
 
 " Corporal !" was the prompt response. 
 
 After a short pause, to see the effect upon the com- 
 pany, the corporal continued 
 
 " I have told you, sir, my rank in the army, and I 
 will now tell you the rank in society of an American 
 volunteer corporal. Whenever our country is attacked, 
 every citizen becomes a soldier. The moment it was 
 known you intended invading Louisiana, the whole 
 country prepared to meet you ; we knew that we would 
 do so with a bold heart, but we also knew that we were 
 ignorant of the art of war ; so that in organizing we 
 elected for our leaders, not the exalted in social position, 
 or worldly wealth, but such as were known to have 
 military experience. And so it is that most of the 
 volunteers who met you on the 23d of December and 
 8th of January, were commanded by mechanics and 
 tradesmen, emigrant veterans of the French army, 
 whilst the ranks numbered the elite of the city. Sir, 
 what do you think of our citizen soldiers?" 
 
 General Lambert at once replied, 
 
 " I know all this ; and had Captain D'Este inquired, 
 I could have enlightened him on that subject?" 
 
 After this, the gallant young corporal was mu&h feted 
 among the officers of the British army and navy. 
 
 At length, on the 13th of March, General Jackson 
 received official confirmation of the ratification of the 
 treaty, which he communicated to General Lambert, 
 and announced to the army, in a general order, revoking
 
 400 JACKSON AND NEW OKLEANS. 
 
 the general order relative to martial law, ordering a 
 final cessation of hostilities against Great Britain, and 
 proclaiming a general pardon for all military offences, 
 and the enlargement of all persons confined for the 
 same. The following day Jackson discharged his 
 militia, after a warm tribute to their gallantry and 
 devotion. These patriotic men, after passing through 
 the campaign with little loss, began to suffer greatly, in 
 their camps, from dysentery. At least five hundred 
 fell victims to it in the course of one month. The Bri- 
 tish suffered from the same cause, in their encampment 
 on Dauphin Island. There were as many as two thou- 
 sand on the sick list at one time. 
 
 After the revocation of martial law, occurred the affair 
 which has been so much discussed in political circles, the 
 imposition of a fine of one thousand dollars, by Judge 
 Dominick Hall, upon General Jackson, for a contempt 
 of Court in imprisoning the Judge. An exceedingly 
 angry discussion grew out of the matter, which was 
 handed down to the succeeding generation, and only ter- 
 minated a short time before the death of the General. 
 Suffice it to say, respecting a controversy, which is now 
 ended, that the Judge regarded his arrest as an unjusti- 
 fiable outrage upon the dignity of his court, and required 
 Jackson to show cause why he should not be punished. 
 Jackson responded, and besides many legal exceptions, 
 contended that martial law had been rendered necessary 
 by the emergencies of the State, that he had been advised 
 to declare it by the leading dignitaries of the country, 
 including Judge Hall ; that it had proved to be a most 
 beneficial measure ; that under this law he had arrested 
 and imprisoned Louallier for creating mutiny and disaf- 
 fection in the camp ; that Judge Hall had disregarded
 
 THE FINALE. 401 
 
 the martial law and undertaken to take cognizance of a 
 military offence, and restore the arrested party to his 
 liberty and to the power of producing further difficulty. 
 For this he had directed his arrest. The reasons were 
 deemed insufficient, and the General was condemned to 
 a fine of one thousand dollars. The court, when this 
 order was entered up, was crowded with the friends and 
 admirers of Jackson. They were disposed to manifest 
 their dissatisfaction in a turbulent manner.* But they 
 were soon silenced by the noble demeanor of Jackson. 
 He immediately drew a check for $1000, handed it to 
 the Marshal, and retiring from the court-room, was 
 greeted by loud cheers from the crowd in the streets. 
 Conducted to Maspero's coffee-house (at present the St. 
 Louis Exchange), he addressed his friends, urging upon 
 them to manifest their appreciation of the liberty for 
 which they had so gallantly fought, by imitating that 
 prompt submission which it was the duty of a good 
 citizen to render to the authorities of his country. Im- 
 mediately a subscription was started to refund the thou- 
 sand dollars paid under the orders of Judge Hall. The 
 amount was raised in a few minutes, a generous struggle 
 and rivalry arising among the citizens to subscribe the 
 requisite sum. It was deposited in the Bank upon 
 which Jackson had drawn his check, but the stern soldier 
 refused to receive the amount, and desired that it should 
 be placed at the disposal of the ladies, to be expended 
 in providing for the widows and orphans of those who 
 had died in the defence of the city. Thirty-seven years 
 after these occurrences, when Jackson had* approached 
 the limits of human life, and was totteiiug to the grave, 
 the remembrance of this incident embittered his 
 thoughts and clouded the declining our of Li& lifp. He
 
 402 JACKSON AND NEW OELEANS. 
 
 had outlived all the reproaches, censures, hostilities and 
 jealousies which his eventful life had provoked. A 
 grateful people had manifested their affection aud grati- 
 tude by elevating him to the highest honors of the 
 Republic ; his political and civil battles had been 
 crowned with as great and brilliant victories as that 
 which closed his military career; and now this spot 
 alone lingered on his escutcheon, and blurred the bright 
 pages of his history ! Softened by religion and age, the 
 old hero responded to the solicitations of his friends, that 
 it would add to the calm dignity and quiet of his pas- 
 sage from this to another and better world, if this single 
 reproach upon his character could be obliterated. The 
 Congress of the Nation honored itself and gratified the 
 people by refunding this fine, and thus enabled the 
 Hero of New Orleans to sink into the long-yawning 
 grave, beneath the oaks of the Hermitage, with a plaeid 
 dignity worthy of his great career. 
 
 But we anticipate. The chagrin of this judicial fine 
 was more than compensated by the tokens of public 
 gratitude, which were showered upon Jackson from every 
 part of the country. Congress, taking the lead, passed 
 resolutions full of eloquent gratitude to Jackson and his 
 comrades in arms. The legislatures of the various 
 States followed with equally earnest and eloquent ex- 
 pressions. There was but one Legislature which with- 
 held from Jackson this tribute, and that was the Legisla- 
 ture of the State which he had rescued from invasion 
 and dishonor. A sense of dignity more than a want of 
 gratitude prompted this omission. The Legislature had 
 been harshly dealt with, not by Jackson, but by those 
 who, having the command of Jackson's ear, sought to 
 enlist his power anct influence against their political
 
 THE FINALE. 403 
 
 foes. Hence the stories about the treachery and infi- 
 delity of the legislators, which, though recorded in all 
 the histories, have no other source but party malice or 
 idlo gossip. The calumny has obtained a place in all 
 the volumes written in reference to this affair, that the 
 Legislature had really discussed and considered the expe- 
 diency of surrendering the State to the British. There- 
 is- not a tittle of proof to sustain this charge. The Legis- 
 lature, reflecting the state of parties among the people, 
 was divided into various personal and partisan factions. 
 There was a French, or Creole, and an American party ; 
 there was a party for, and a party against, Governor 
 Claiborne. There were representatives of the old Fede- 
 ral and Republican parties. But there was no party 
 that was friendly to the British, or indisposed to a 
 vigorous resistance. Governor Claiborne imparted to 
 Jackson's mind some anxiety about the fidelity of the 
 Creoles. The want of confidence which they had mani- 
 /rsted in the Governor was ascribed by him to disloyalty 
 fo the Republic, of which they had become citizens. 
 Others of " the American party" confirmed this appre- 
 hension. But it was founded on error, misconception, or 
 blind jealousy. The whole population of New Orleans 
 was true and loyal. None were more ardent and bitter 
 in their opposition to the British than the descendants 
 of their hereditary foe the gallant sous of La Belle 
 France. 
 
 It is not necessary to the greatness or fame of Jack- 
 son that the population of New Orleans should be 
 calumniated and falsely accused. It is time, indeed, 
 that those who have committed this error of logic, of 
 truth and justice, should acknowledge and retract a slan 
 der.and suspicion so peculiarly unjust and inapplicable
 
 404 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 to the city which gave the most brilliant proof of loyalty 
 and devotion to the Union and Republic that can be 
 found in history. 
 
 It has been said that there were spies who communi- 
 cated to the British the state of aifairs in the city. We 
 have shown in one of our early chapters who they 
 were. A few poor miserable fishermen, of no nationally, 
 who lived in the swamps and bayous, were moved by 
 their necessities and the glitter of what, to them, seemed 
 untold wealth, to act this base part. 
 
 The circumstance of the Legislature being excluded 
 by an armed force from their halls has been grossly mis- 
 represented. That occurrence sprung from a grave 
 misconception. The Speaker of the House of Repre- 
 sentatives, a French refugee, from St. Domingo, who 
 had lost a large property by the English invasion of 
 that island, including one of the militia colonels, spoke 
 with great concern and alarm of the reported threat of 
 Jackson, in case his lines were carried, to fall back upon 
 the city, fire it, and fight the enemy amid the flames. 
 The militia colonel reported the conversation to one of 
 Jackson's aids, with the expression of his belief or sus- 
 picion, that the Legislature was about to discuss the 
 policy of surrendering the city. The aid mixed the 
 tacts and his suspicions together, and communicated 
 them to Jackson, whilst he was riding along the lines in 
 the midst of the cares, perils and excitements of the 
 camp. Jackson sent his aid to Governor Claitorne, 
 and directed him to inquire and ascertain the truths of 
 tlfe statements, and if they were correct, to blow up the 
 Legislature. The Governor, on receiving this message, 
 adopted a middle course. He could find no facts to 
 justify the charge, but deemed it prudent to occupy the
 
 THE FINALE. 405 
 
 Hall of the Legislature with troops, and set a guard 
 over jthe representatives. It \vas a harsh, unjust, un- 
 called-for measure. After one day's suspension, the 
 Legislature met, and its first action was to vindicate its 
 honor, which it did, with dignity and manliness. For 
 this reason the Legislature, not so much for the indig- 
 nity offered to it, but because it looked to Jackson for 
 defence and reparation against the calumnies of which 
 it had been the object, omitted in its resolution of thanks, 
 and in the letter of congratulation addressed to the 
 several chiefs, the tribute to him who was the great 
 hero and chief over all. The modest and noble Coffee, 
 in responding to the letter of thanks addressed to him, 
 by order of the Legislature, reproved, with exquisite 
 delicacy, this unworthy omission : " While," he said, 
 " we indulge the pleasing emotions that are thus pro- 
 duced, we should be guilty of great injustice, as well to 
 -merit as to our own f tilings, if we withheld from the 
 ('mmander-in-chief, to whose wisdom and exertions 
 we are so much indebted for our success, the expression 
 of our highest admiration and applause. To his iirm- 
 , his skill, his gallantry to that confidence and 
 unanimity among all ranks, produced by those quali- 
 ties, we must chiefly ascribe the splendid victories, in 
 which we esteem it a happiness and an honor to have 
 been a part." Praise from such a source the tribute 
 of one hero to another will amply compensate for the 
 silence, or even the censure of the legislators of that 
 epoch, or of those who sought to perpetuate their ani- 
 mosities. 
 
 Tim gratitude which Jackson had so profoundly ex- 
 cited in the bosom of the great popular masses, recon- 
 ciled him to all the mortifications which the necessities
 
 406 JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 of his position had elicited. "With his soldiers, the gal 
 lant militia and regulars, who had shared his toils, this 
 feeling warmed into the wildest enthusiasm, like tinder 
 touched by the spark, at the indication of ingratitude, 
 by their political representatives. A glorious demon- 
 stration of this feeling was afforded on the plains of 
 Macarte, on the old camp ground, where all the troops 
 then in the city assembled on the 16th March, little 
 over two months since the battle, to fight over that 
 glorious fight realize the brilliancy of their achieve- 
 ment, and for the last time survey the arena of their 
 glory and gallantry. General Edmund P. Gaines, the 
 hero of Fort Erie, appeared on the field, at the head of 
 the 3d, 7th, and 44th regulars and the uniformed volun- 
 teers of the city. The army was reviewed by Jackson. 
 An address was then presented to him, signed by the 
 commanders of the volunteer companies, which glowed 
 with affection, devotion and gratitude. 
 
 And thus Jackson parted from his comrades in arms, 
 leaving in the hearts of them all, feelings, which still 
 animate the souls of the few remaining veterans of that 
 epoch, who linger among their descendants, as beacons 
 to guide and excite the patriotism of the present gene- 
 ration. 
 
 After transacting other duties of an unimportant char- 
 acter, Jackson handed over the command to General 
 Gaines, and left the city for his residence at Nashville. 
 The honors he there received the further transactions 
 of his life his political and civil career, surpassing in 
 grandeur his brief military service, do not fall within 
 the scope of these sketches. We cheerfully resign these 
 themes to abler hands. Our ambition will be satisfied 
 if we have succeeded in bringing more distinctly before
 
 THE FINALE. 407 
 
 the minds of our readers, the events of the campaign, 
 which has indissolubly blended, in undying glory, the 
 names of JACKSON AND NEW ORLEANS.
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. 
 
 THE war with the Seminole Indians on the southern 
 frontiers of Georgia again called him from his retire- 
 ment, in the winter of 1818. Shortly after the breaking 
 out of hostilities, he was ordered to assume the com- 
 mand of the forces operating in that quarter. On 
 the ninth of March, 1818, he joined General Gaines at 
 Fort Scott, with nine hundred Georgia militia. Early 
 m April, he was reinforced by one thousand volunteers 
 from West Tennessee, and fifteen hundred friendly 
 Creek Warriors, under their chief, Mclntosh. 
 
 General Jackson now found himself at the head 
 of four thousand five hundred men, with whom he 
 marched to the Indian town of Mickasauky, which 
 he laid waste. The hostile savages fled into Florida, 
 whither he followed them, and took refuge in the neigh- 
 borhood of St. Marks, the Spanish authorities of which 
 endeavored to protect and shelter them. Accordingly, 
 the American commander took possession of the town, 
 and sent the garrison to Pensacola. On the sixteenth 
 of April, he destroyed the Suwanee villages, and then 
 returned to St. Marks, where two of the principal insti- 
 gators of the Indian outrages, whom he had captured, a 
 Scotchman and an Englishman, whose names were 
 
 409 

 
 CESSION OF FLOBIDA. 4:09 
 
 Arbuthnot and Ambrister, were tried by a court mar- 
 tial, sentenced to death, and executed. Not long after, 
 intelligence was received that the governor of West 
 Florida, at Pensacola, in violation of the treaty with 
 Spain, was affording countenance and protection to the 
 fugitive Seminoles. General Jackson- proceeded thither 
 without delay, seized Pensacola, on the twenty-fourth 
 of May, and on the twenty-seventh Fort Barrancas sur- 
 rendered to his authority. St. Augustine was also cap- 
 tured by a detachment under General Gaines. The 
 seizure and occupation, by the American troops, of 
 these places of refuge for the hostile Indians put an end 
 t the outbreak, and in the month of June, General 
 Jackson, whose health had become seriously impaired 
 by the unfriendliness of the climate, returned home, 
 and subsequently resigned his commission. 
 
 The Spanish posts in Florida seized by General Jack- 
 son were afterwards ordered to be restored, but his con- 
 duct was approved by President Monroe, and a resolu- 
 tion of censure, offered in the House of Representatives, 
 was voted down by a large majority. Any difficulty 
 with Spain that might have grown out of his pro- 
 ceedings was obviated, by the cession of Florida to the 
 United States, in the winter of 1819. General Jackson 
 was very appropriately selected by the American 
 Executive, as the commissioner to receive the territory, 
 and on the first of July, 1821, he issued a proclamation 
 at Pensacola, officially announcing its annexation to the 
 United States. His administration of the executive 
 affairs of the hew territory, owing to the bad state of his 
 health, was quite brief ; during it, however, he came in 
 collision with the Spanish ex-governor, in an effort
 
 4:10 JACKSON ELECTED PRESIDENT. 
 
 which proved successful, to protect the rights of several 
 orphan females. His firm and unyielding will, and his 
 determined purpose, were never exhibited in a more 
 characteristic, or more creditable manner. His health 
 continuing to grow worse, he transferred the authority 
 with which he had been clothed, to his secretaries, on 
 the seventh of October, 1821, and immediately set 
 out for Nashville. 
 
 The gallant soldier was not forgotten. In August, 
 1822, he was nominated for the presidency as the suc- 
 cessor of Mr. Monroe, by the legislature of Tennessee. 
 In 1823 he declined the appointment of minister to 
 Mexico, tendered to him by the President, and, in 
 the same year, he was elected to the Senate of the 
 United States. On becoming a prominent candidate for 
 the presidential office, he resigned his seat. At the 
 election in 1824, he received a plurality of the electoral 
 votes, but as there was no choice by the colleges, 
 the question was referred to the House of Representa- 
 tives, by whom his principal competitor, John Quincy 
 Adams, was elected to the office. In 1828, he was 
 again a candidate, and received one hundred and 
 seventy -eight of the two hundred and sixty-one electoral 
 votes. In 1832 he was elected for a second term, by a 
 still larger majority. 
 
 It is not within the scope of this work, to notice 
 in detail the political services of General Jackson. 
 A brief recapitulation of some of the most important 
 acts of his administration must suffice. On the twen- 
 tieth of May, 1830, he vetoed the Maysville road bill, 
 and on the tenth of July, 1832, the bill to recharter the 
 United States. Bank. On the sixteenth of January, 

 
 RETIRES TO PRIVATE LIFE. 411 
 
 1833, his celebrated nullification message, recapitu- 
 lating the facts, and many of the arguments, contained 
 in his proclamation of December previous, was issued. 
 In October, 1&33, the public deposits were removed 
 from the United Stales Bank, On the fifteenth of 
 April, 1834, he protested against the resolutions of cen- 
 sure adopted by the Senate, which were afterwards, in 
 January, 1837, expunged from their journal ; .and on the 
 fifteenth of January, 1835, his warlike, but patriotic mes- 
 sage, in regard to the refusal of the French government 
 to pay the stipulated indemnity, made its appearance. 
 
 His long public career finally terminated on the third 
 of March, 1837, when he issued a farewell address to 
 the people of the United States, and retired forever 
 from the harassing cares and responsibilities of an offi- 
 cial position, to the peaceful shades of his own quiet 
 Hermitage. The wife whom he had so ardently loved, 
 no longer lived to bless him with her affection, and 
 cheer him with her smiles ; she had been taken from his 
 side, by death, in December, 1828, yet her memory was 
 ever a sweet solace throughout the closing hours of his 
 earthly pilgrimage. 
 
 General Jackson had gained a world-wide reputation 
 by the bravery and skill displayed in his Indian cam- 
 paigns, and in the war with Great Britain. Lafayette 
 was a guest at the Hermitage, on his visit to this coun- 
 try in 1825, and, twenty years later, the portrait of the 
 general was painted, when almost in a dying condition, 
 to adorn the gallery of Louis Philippe, the King of the 
 French. He was known and honored by the great and 
 good in every land. "Whatever may be* said of the 
 domestic policy of his administration, in his intercourse 

 
 412 DEATH OF JACKSON. 
 
 with foreign nations he inspired or enforced respect, 
 and few, perhaps none, of our presidents, Washington 
 alone excepted, ever commanded greater consideration 
 abroad. 
 
 A peaceful close was vouchsafed to the stormy and 
 eventful life, the prominent incidents of which have 
 been briefly portrayed in this sketch. The Imperial 
 prisoner of St. Helena died amid a raging storm, shout- 
 ing, in imagination, to his marshalled legions, while the 
 winds howled and shrieked above his head ; the words, 
 Tete cParmee ! were the last to leave his lips, as his eye 
 glazed in death, and his frame was convulsed with 
 the last agony. At the close of a Sabbath afternoon, in 
 the bright summer time, when Nature had spread 
 her richest garniture over her wide domains, and grove 
 and forest were vocal with sweetest melody; in the 
 presence of his family and friends, by his own fireside, 
 on the eighth of June, 1845, Andrew Jackson calmly 
 yielded up his spirit. For weeks and months he had 
 suffered under a painful disease, yet not a murmur 
 escaped him. His heart was stayed on a noble hope 
 a hope sure, steadfast, and unfading the priceless hope 
 of the Christian ! 
 
 " Serene, serene, 
 
 He pressed the crumbling verge of this terrestrial scene, 
 Breathed soft, in childlike trust, 
 
 The parting groan ; 
 Gave back to dust its dust 
 To Heaven its own /" 
 
 In person General Jackson was tall and thin. His 
 frame was well knit, but gaunt. He had an iron
 
 CONCLUDING REMARKS. 413 
 
 risage and a commanding look. His eyes were a 
 deep blue, bright and penetrating. He was frank 
 and easy in his manners, courteous and affable in his 
 address. 
 
 His character was decidedly pronounced. It was 
 full of salient points, remarkable for their strength, and 
 the fitness and harmony of their combination. He was 
 kind and affectionate, benevolent and humane ; pure 
 and earnest of purpose ; inflexibly honest ; physically 
 and morally brave ; ardent and sincere in his patriot- 
 ism ; direct in his professions ; and resolute and 
 unflinching in determination. He possessed a firm will, 
 was clear in judgment, and rapid in his decisions. His 
 temperament was restless, though not mercurial. He 
 had an abundance of what the French call fortes 
 emotions. His passions were intense, and what he 
 did, he did with all his might. Like Cicero, he was a 
 new man / and, by his own unaided exertions, raised 
 himself from comparative obscurity, to the highest dis- 
 tinction. He was a good hater, but he never forgot his 
 friends ; and there are many who still prize his friend- 
 ship, bestowed while in life, as a favor from heaven. 
 
 All these traits and characteristics were strikingly 
 exhibited, both in his civil, and military career. His 
 style as a writer partook of his mental peculiarities ; it 
 was rugged and uneven as the mountain torrent ; yet it 
 had a nervous eloquence, that never failed to produce a 
 deep impression, and indicated a powerful grasp of 
 thought. As a soldier, he was fruitful in expedients ; 
 he had the genius, perseverance and skill, of Hannibal 
 the indomitable will and energy, without the selfish- 
 ness, of Napoleon. He was persevering, cool, and
 
 4:14 CONCLUDING EEMABK8 
 
 intrepid hardy in endurance, and gifted with rare 
 courage. In a word, as the historian Alison remarks of 
 the Trench soldier of fortune " He was not a great 
 man because he was a great general : he was a great 
 general because he was a great man !" 
 
 THE END.
 
 & 
 
 POPULAR BIOGRAPHY. 
 
 GENERALS OF ThE REVOLUTION 
 
 Site Yols., 12mo. Illustrated, $1 25 each. 
 
 Life of George Washing- 
 ton, by John Marshall. 
 
 Life of General Francis 
 Marion, by W. Gilmore Simms. 
 
 JLlfe of General Nathaniel 
 Greene, by W. Qilmore Simms. 
 
 Life of General Lafayette, 
 
 by Wm. Cutter. 
 
 Life of General Israel Put- 
 nam, by O. L. Holley. 
 Life of General Daniel 
 
 IM organ, by James Graham. 
 
 Life of tlie Emperor Na- 
 poleon Bonaparte, by P. 0. 
 
 Headley, 12mo. ....Cloth 125 
 
 Life of the Empress .lo- 
 sephine Bonaparte,by P. 0. 
 
 Ueadley, 12mo 1 28 
 
 Pictorial Life of Benja- 
 min Franklin, Including his 
 Autobiography, 8yo t 00 
 
 Lives of the Discoverers 
 and Pioneers of Amer- 
 ica, containing Columbus, Vespu- 
 cius, De Soto, Kalelgh, Iludson, 
 Smith, Standish, Arabella Stuart, 
 Elliott, and 1'enn, 1 elegant volume, 
 illustrated, over 12mo Cloth, 1 00 
 
 Lii'eofGcn. Sam Houston. 
 
 The only Authentic W eiaoir of him 
 ever published, illus. , 12ino.. . Cloth, 1 M 
 Lives of Eminent me- 
 chanics, together with a. Collec- 
 tion of Anecdotes, Descriptions,&c., 
 relating to the Mechanic Arts, illus- 
 trated with fifty Engravings, 12mo 
 
 Cloth, gilt back, 1 09 
 
 Lives of the Signers of the 
 Declaration of American 
 Independence, with a Sketch 
 of the Leading Events connected 
 with the Adoption of the Articles 
 of Confederation, and the Federal 
 Constitution, by B. J. Lossing, steel 
 frontispiece, and fifty portraits, 
 12mo Cloth, 1 00 
 
 Life of General Andrew 
 Jackson, including an Au- 
 thentic History of the Memorable 
 Achievements of the American 
 Army, under General Jackson, be- 
 fore New Orleans, hi the Winter of 
 1814-15, by Alexander Walker, with 
 a frontispiece, 12mo Cloth, 1 91 
 
 Life of James Buchanan, 
 by R. G. Horton, 12mo. Cloth, 1 00 
 
 Life of John C'. Fremont, 
 by John Bigelow, 12mo Cloth, 1 00 
 
 Life of Patrick Henry, by 
 
 William Wirt, with portraits on 
 
 steel, 12mo Cloth, 126 
 
 Life of Charles XII., King 
 of Sweden, by Voltaire, 12mo. 
 
 Cloth, 78 
 
 LIBRARY OF TRAVELS AND ADVENTURE. 
 
 Adventures of Gerard the 
 Lion Killer, comprising a His- 
 tory of his Ten Years' Campaigns 
 among the Wild Animals of North- 
 ern Africa, translated from the 
 French, by Charles E. Whitehead, 
 Illustrated, 12mo Cloth, 1 28 
 
 Travels and Adventures 
 in the Far West, by S. L. Car- 
 valho, illustrated, 12mo Cloth, 1 00 
 
 The \Var in Kansas ; or, a 
 Rough Trip to the Bor- 
 der, airing New Homes and a 
 Strange People, by George Douglas 
 Brewerton, author of " A Ride with 
 Kit Carson," Ac., illustrated, 12mo. 
 
 Cloth, 1 
 
 ^ll Smith's Travels 
 Abroad, illustrated, 12mo. Cloth 1 00 
 
 Hunting Adventures in 
 the Northern Wilds : or, a 
 Tramp in the Chateauguay Woods, 
 over Hills, Lakes, and Forest 
 Streams, by S. H. Hammond, with 4 
 colored illustrations, 12mo. .. Cloth, 1 00 
 
 Indian Battles, Captivi- 
 ties, and Adventures, from 
 the earliest periods to the present 
 time, by John Frost, LL. D., with 
 illustrations, 12mo Cloth, 1 00 
 
 Cnmming's Hunter's Life 
 among Lions, Elephants 
 
 and other Wild Animals, edited by 
 Bayard Taylor, colored illustra- 
 tions, thick 12mo Cloth, 1 00 
 
 Female Life Among the 
 Mormons, with illustrations, 
 12mo Cloth, 1 00 
 
 Lay aril's Popular Disco- 
 veries at Nineveh, illus- 
 trated, 12mo Cloth, 1 ;JO 
 
 The ;rcen Mountain Tra- 
 veller's Entertainment, 
 by Josiah Barnes, Sen., colored 
 frontispiece, 12mo Cloth, 1 00 
 
 Travels in Greece and 
 Turkey, by the late Stephen 
 Olin, P.D., illustrated, 12mo. Cloth, 100 
 
 II ii in holt! I *s Travels in 
 Cuba, with an Essay, by J. S. 
 Thrasher, 12mo Cloth, 129
 
 DERBY & JACKSON'S 
 
 HPUBLIOA.TIONS. 
 
 Any of our Publications not for sale in the reader's locality will le forwarded 
 
 by Mail, post paid, on receipt of price. 
 
 >_ . 
 
 ** The JHott Superbly Illustrated Book ever JP reduced in America." 
 
 THE COURT OF NAPOLEON; 
 
 OB, 
 
 & acids totter % Jfirst Empire. 
 
 WITH SIXTEEN PORTRAITS OF ITS BEAUTIES, WITS, AND HEROINES. 
 
 BY FRANK B. GOODRICH (Dick Tinto). 
 Royal Quarto. Turkey Antique, $12 60. 
 
 (1) CHARLOTTE CORDAY. 
 
 (2) MADAME ROLAND. 
 
 (3) MADAME TALLIES. 
 
 (1) MADAME RECAMIER, whose love was 
 sought by Napoleon and Lucien Bo- 
 naparte, Bernadotte, Murat, Junot, 
 the Montmorencies (father and son), 
 Augustus, Prince of Prussia, and Lord 
 Wellington, and " whose beauty threw 
 at her feet every man who had once 
 looked upon her." 
 
 (5) PAULINE BONAPARTE, the most beautiful 
 
 princess in Europe, and whose fantas- 
 tic and uncontrollable caprices gave 
 her brother constant annoyance. 
 
 (6) CAROLINE BONAPARTK, wife of Murat 
 
 and Queen of Naples. 
 
 ' 
 
 (9) HORTENSE DE BEAUHARNAis, daughter 
 of Josephine and mother of Louis 
 Napoleon and the Count de Morny. 
 
 (10) GRACE INGERSOLL, the Belle of New 
 
 Haven, transferred by marriage to 
 Prance, and subsequently one of the 
 beauties who frequented the Court of 
 the Tuileries. 
 
 (11) M'LLB DU COLOMBIER, Napoleon's first 
 
 love, with whom he used to eat cher- 
 r'es at six in the morning. 
 
 The publishers respectfully invite attention to the above PRESENTATION 'JOCK, which 
 ! they believe is the most popular, desirable, and successful Gift Book, for its size and price, 
 yet produced in this country. 
 
 The book is printed by Russell (from stereotype plates made by Tinson, a font of pica 
 type having been cast purposely for it), upon extra-sized and calendered paper, made 
 to order by Rice, Kendall & Co., and bound in real Turkey antique by Somerville. 
 
 The Illustrations, from original portraits in the galleries of the Luxembourg and Ver- 
 uilles, sixteen in number, are executed by M. Jules Champagne, the most celebrated 
 i Artist. In his line, in Paris. 
 
 (12) MADAME REGNACLT DE ST. JEAN D'AN- 
 GKLY, a peerless beauty, one of whose 
 replies to Napoleon has become his- 
 torical. Napoleon said to her at a 
 ball, "Do you know, Madame Reg- 
 nault, that you are looking much 
 older ?" She answered at once, and in 
 the hearing of an hundred ladies and 
 gentlemen, "The observation which 
 you have done me the honor to make, 
 sire, might possibly have given m 
 pain, had I arrived at a period when I 
 youth is regretted." She was twenty- ' 
 eight years old. 
 
 (18) MADAME JCNOT, DUCHESS D'ABRANTES. . 
 This lady refused Napoleon's brother ; 
 in marriage ; her brother would not 
 accept Napoleon's sister, Pauline, and ' 
 her mother, Madame de Permon, re- ' 
 fused Napoleon himself. The first 
 daughter, Josephine Junot, was Na- 
 poleon's first god-child. 
 
 (14) MADAME DE STAEL, the first literary 
 
 woman of the age. 
 
 (15) M'LLE LENORMAND, the sibyl of the 19tb 
 
 century, and the intimate confidant 
 of Josephine ; of whom it was said 
 that "she contrived to obtain cre- 
 dence in an age which neither believed 
 in God and his angels, nor the devil 
 and his imps." 
 
 (16) M'LLE GEOBGES, the tragic actress and 
 
 protegee of Napoleon.
 
 STANDARD HISTORICAL LIBRARY. 
 
 Twelve Volumes, &vo., Library Style $2 per volume- Half Calf Antique, 
 $3 ptr volume. 
 
 Rolling's Ancient History. 
 
 The Ancient History of the Egyp- 
 tians, Carthaginians, Assyrians, 
 Babylonians, Medes and Persians, 
 Grecians and Macedonians ; in- 
 cluding a History of the Arts and 
 .Sciences of the Ancients, with a Life 
 of the Author, by James Bell. Only 
 complete American edition, nume- 
 rous Maps and Engravings, 2 vola. 
 
 ITallani's Middle Ages. 
 
 State of Europe during the Middle 
 Ages, by Henry llallam. 
 
 Russell's Modern Europe. 
 
 History of Modern Europe, with a 
 View of the Progress of Society 
 from the rise of Modern Kingdoms 
 to the Peace of Paris in 1768, by 
 W. Russell, with a Continuance of 
 the History by William Jones. En- 
 gravings. 8 vota. 
 
 Fergusson's History of 
 Koine. The History of the Pro- 
 gress and Termination of the Ro- 
 man Republic, with a Notice of the 
 Author by Lord Jeffrey, uniform 
 with Gillies' History of Greece. 
 
 Gillies' History of Greece. 
 
 Its Colonies and Conquests to the 
 Division of the Macedonian Empire, 
 including the History of Literature, 
 Philosophy, and the Fine Arts, com- 
 plete in one volume, illustrated. 
 
 Robertson's Discovery of 
 America. History of the Dis- 
 covery of America, by William 
 Robertson, LL. 1)., with an Account 
 of his Life and Writings, with Ques- 
 tions for the Examination of Stu- 
 dents by John Frost, A. M. En- 
 gravings. 
 
 Robertson's Charles V. His- 
 tory of the Emperor Charles V., 
 with a View of the Progress of 
 Society in Europe to the beginning 
 of the Sixteenth Century, with 
 Questions for the Examination of 
 Students by John Frost, A.M. En- 
 gravings. 
 
 Robertson's Scotland and 
 Ancient India. History of 
 Scotland and Ancient India. A His- 
 tory of Scotland during the Reigns 
 of Queen Mary and King James VI., 
 till his Accession to the Crown of 
 England, with a Review of the Scot- 
 th-h History previous to that period. 
 Included in the same volume is a 
 Dissertation concerning Ancient 
 India. 
 
 Plutarch's Lives, translated 
 from the original Greek, with Notes 
 and a Life of Plutarch, by John 
 Langhorne, M. D., and William 
 Langhorne, A. M. Portrait 
 
 THE NEW CABINET LIBRARY SERIES. 
 
 With Keel lUuetrationt. Twelve Volumes ISmo., Neat Cloth, Fifty Cnt each. 
 
 Gregory Chapone and Pen- 
 uington on the Mind. 
 
 Beattie's Minstrel and Bloom-* 
 
 field's Farmer Boy. 
 The Sorrows of Werter. 
 Cowper's Olncy Hymns. 
 Letters of Laurence Sterne. 
 
 Johnson's Rasselas. 
 Dean Swift's Tale of a Tub. 
 Sterne's Sentimental Joutney. 
 
 Hogg's Mountain Bard and 
 Forest Minstrel. 
 
 Locke on the Understanding, 
 
 and Cacon's Essays. 
 
 Christian Poets of England 
 and America. 
 
 Sabbath Poems and Holiday 
 Recreations.
 
 $ iackson'a 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS. 
 
 Star Papers^ or, Experi- 
 ences o'i Art ami .\at ure, 
 
 by Henry Ward Beecher, 2Gth edi- 
 tion, 12mo Cloth, 1 25 
 
 Turkey morocco, antique, portrait, 8 50 
 
 Leo 1 11 r I'M to Young Men 
 on various Important 
 Subjects, by Henry Ward 
 Beecher, 26th thousand, 12mo. Cloth 75 
 
 An Encyclopedia, of In- 
 struction on IHan and 
 
 TtS aimers, by A. B. Johnson, 
 author of "Physiology of the 
 Senses," 12nw> 1 86 
 
 Physiology of the Senses; 
 or, How and What we 
 
 Hear, See, Taste, Feel 
 and Smell, by A. B. Johnson, 
 I2mo T5 
 
 Webster'* Family Encyclo- 
 paedia of Useful Know- 
 ledge; or, Book of 7,233 
 Receipts and Facts. A 
 
 whole library of subjects useful to 
 every individual, illustrated with 
 nearly one thousand engravings, 
 1,238 pages, Svo. illuminated backs 
 
 or sides m gilt, 8 00 
 
 This is a valuable and truly useful 
 work, comprising everything 
 needful to be known in domestic 
 economy essential to the comfort, 
 convenience, utility, and enjoy- 
 ment of a family. In fact, there 
 is nothing in the entire range of 
 the domestic economy of a family 
 that cannot be found in this book. 
 It contains nearly 1250 pages, with 
 a copious index, and is profusely 
 illustrated. It is a work which 
 every husband should buy for 
 his wife, and every father for his 
 daughter. 
 
 \Vtin Bun ; or, Til e " Early 
 Day" in the Northwest, 
 
 by Mrs. John H. Kinzie, of Chicago, 
 illustrated, Svo 2 25 
 
 Country Margins and Sum- 
 mer Rambles, by 6. II. Ham- 
 mond, and L. W. Mansfield, 12mo. 
 
 Neat cloth, 1 00 
 
 Ewba nit's Hydra lilies and 
 Mechanics, containing De- 
 scriptive and Historical Accounts 
 of llydraujic and other Machines 
 for raising Water, with Observa- 
 tions on various subjects connected 
 with the Mechanic Arts, illustrated 
 by nearly 800 engravings, Svo. 
 
 Cloth, gilt back, 2 80 
 
 Spirit Rappiugs Unveiled, 
 
 by Rev. H. Mattisen, 12mo. Cloth, 75 
 
 The Enchanted Beauty; 
 or, Tales, Essays and 
 Sketches, by William Elder, 
 12mo Cloth, 1 00 
 
 Camp Fires of the Bed 
 Men; or, A Hundred 
 Years Ago, by J. 1C Orton, 
 Illustrated 12mo Cloth, 1 25 
 
 My Courtship and its Con- 
 sequences, by Henry W'ikoff. 
 A true account of the Author's Ad- 
 ventures in England, Switzerland, 
 and Italy, with Miss J. C. Gamble, 
 of Portland Place, London, 12mo. 
 
 Cloth, 1 25 
 
 The House I Live In ; or, 
 The Human Kody, by Wm. 
 
 A. Alcott, M.D., 1 vol. ISmo 63 
 
 The American Gift Book. 
 
 A Perpetual Souvenir, with six 
 elegant steel engravings, 12mo. 
 
 Cloth, 1 00 
 
 The Sultan and His Peo- 
 ple, by C. Oscanyan, with nume- 
 rous illustrations, 12mo Cloth, X 25 
 
 The American Bevolution 
 and Beauties of Ameri- 
 can History, 12mo Cloth, 100 
 
 The Husband in I tali, ed- 
 ited by Maria Ward, author of " Fe- 
 male Life among the Mormons," 
 12mo . . .Cloth, 1 00 
 
 The Philosophy of Skep- 
 ticism and Ultraism, by 
 
 Rev. J. B. Walker, author of " The 
 Philosophy of the Plan of Salva- 
 tion," 12mo Cloth, 1 25 
 
 Buchaii's Domestic Med- 
 icine and Family Phy- 
 sician, 12mo ..Cloth, 1 95 
 
 Walker on Female Beauty, 
 
 12mo Cloth, 1 00 
 
 Fox's Rook of Martyrs, Il- 
 lustrated, 12mo 1 25 
 
 Captain Molly. The Story of 
 a Brave Woman, by Thrace Tal- 
 mon, 12mo r 1 00 
 
 The Prisoner of the Bor- 
 
 der,by P. Hamilton Myers, author 
 of " The Let of the HuronJ," Ao, 
 Ifcno. 1*
 
 MISCELLANEOUS. 
 
 A. S. ROE'S WORKS. 
 
 The Star and tlie Cloud; 
 or, A i: a Hy liter's Love, by 
 A. S. Roe, 12mo Cloth, 1 25 
 
 A Long Look Ahead; or, 
 The First Stroke and the 
 I. list, by A. S. Roe, 12mo.. Cloth, 1 25 
 
 I've Been Thinking'; or, 
 The Secret of Success, by 
 
 A. S. Roe, 12mo , Cloth, 1 00 
 
 To Love and to be Loved, 
 and 'J'iine and- Tide ; or, 
 Strive to Win, by A, 8. Roe, 
 two volumes in one, 12mo. . . Cloth, 1 25 
 
 Mary and Hugo. A Christmas 
 legend, by Mrs. E. Oakes Smith, 
 lustrations by Darley, l'2mo. Cloth 75 
 
 Bertha and Lily; or, The 
 l*arsonage of Beech 
 Glen, by Mrs. E. Oakes Smith, 
 4th edition, 12mo. illustrated, Cloth, 1 00 
 
 The Newsboy, by Mrs. K. Oakes 
 Smith, 12th edition, 12mo. illus- 
 trated,. Cloth, 1 00 
 
 Is lira's Child, by Harriet A. 01- 
 cott, 6th edition, 12mo Cloth, 1 25 
 
 Tlii- Torchlight: or, 
 Through the Wood, by 
 11. A. Olcott, 12mo Cloth, 1 25 
 
 A I one, by Marion Harland, 24th 
 
 edition, 12mo Cloth, 125 
 
 The Hidden Path, by Marion 
 
 . Harland, Author of "Alone," 23d 
 edition, 12mo Cloth, 1 26 
 
 Victoria; or, The World 
 Overcome, by Caroline Chese- 
 bro'I2mo Cloth, 125 
 
 Susan, The Fisherman's 
 Daughter; or, Getting 
 Along. A book of Illustrations, 
 by Caroline Chesebro', 12mo. Cloth, 1 25 
 
 The I ast of the Foresters; 
 or, Humors of the Bor- 
 d'r. A Story of the old Virginia 
 Frontier, by John Esten Cooke, 
 author of "The Virginia Comedi- 
 ans," 12mo 1 25 
 
 The Green Mountain Girls. 
 
 A Tale of Vermont, by Blythe 
 White, Jr., illustrated, 12mo. Cloth, 1 25 
 
 Tailing and Hoping. The 
 
 Story of Little Hunchback, by 
 Jenny Marsh, 12mo 1 00 
 
 The Heart of ITIabel Ware. 
 
 A Romance, 12mo Neat cloth, 1 25 
 
 My Confession. The Story of 
 a Woman's Life, 12mo 75 
 
 Sil vcrwond. A Book of Memo- 
 ries, by a Lady of Virginia, . . Cloth, 1 09 
 
 Daisy's Necklace ; and 
 What Came of it, by T. B. 
 
 Aldrich, author of "BabieBell and 
 other Poems," 12mo 76 
 
 Married, not Mated : or, 
 How they I i ved at Wood- 
 side and Tli roc km ort on 
 Hall, by Alice Cary, ISmo. Cloth, 1 00 
 
 The Lost Hunter. A Tale of 
 Early Times, 12mo Cloth, 1 25 
 
 Knight of the Golden Mc- 
 
 lii'C. A Historical Romance, by 
 the author of "The Lost Hunter," 
 12iao 1 25 
 
 The American Gentle- 
 IIIHII'S Guide to Polite- 
 ness and Fashion, by Harry 
 Lunettes, Izmo Cloth, 125 
 
 The Kainbow Around the 
 Tomb. A Book for Mourners, 
 by Emily Thorn well, 12mo. . .Cloth, T5 
 YOIIIIU Lady's Guide to 
 Perfect Gentility. A New 
 Book of Etiquette, by Emily Thorn- 
 well, 12mo Cloth, gilt back, 75 
 
 Young Lady's Own Kook. 
 An Offering of Love and Sympathy, 
 by Emily Thornwell, illustrated, 
 
 12mo Cloth, gilt back, 1 00 
 
 Stephen's Egypt and the 
 Holy Land. With Maps and 
 
 Engravings. 8 vo Cloth, 2 Oft 
 
 One of the most brilliant and fasci- 
 nating books of travel ever pub- 
 lished. The account of the visit 
 to the city of Petraea, which is 
 excavated in the solid rock, and 
 had not before been visited for 
 centuries by any European tra- 
 veller, is most deeply interesting. 
 
 The Merchant's and Bank 
 er's Annual Ilcgisfer for 
 1 8 5 7, by J. Smith Homans, editor 
 of " The Banker's Magazine," 8vo. 1 00 
 
 Cotton is King. The Culture of 
 Cotton and its relation to Agricul- 
 ture, Manufactures and Commerce, 
 and also to the Free Colored People 
 of the Unlted5tates, and those who 
 hold that Slavery is In itself sinful, 
 by David Christy. Second and re- 
 vised and enlarged edition, with 
 Tables, 12mo Ti 
 
 The Rifle, Axe, and Saddle- 
 Kags. and other lectures, by Key. 
 W. H. Milburn, the eloquent blind 
 Preacher. With an Introduction by 
 Rev. John McCIintock, D.D. With 
 a portrait on steel, 12mo Cloth, 1 M
 
 , Tie best Painter of Sea Characters since Smollett !" Edinburgh 
 RE-PUBLICATION OF 
 
 DUODECIMO LIBRARY EDITION. 
 
 TEE UNDERSIGNED HA VE JUST READY 
 
 THE FIRST COMPLETE AMERICAN EDITION 
 
 OF THE CELEBRATED NAUTICAL NOVELS OF CAPTAIN MARRY ATT. 
 
 THEEK has long been an active demand among the thousands of 
 admirers of this favorite author, for a uniform and "readable edition of 
 his popular and delightful novels ; that demand is now supplied by 
 the issue of this new and beautiful edition ; the type is open and 
 clear, paper and binding faultless ; in size, matching the new editions 
 of Irving and Cooper ; each work illustrated with a new steel frontis- 
 piece, and complete in one volume, as follows : 
 
 PETER SIMPLE, JACOB FAITHFTTL, 
 
 THE KING'S OWN, PACHA OF MANY TALES, 
 
 MIDSHIPMAN EASY, JAPHET IN SEARCH OF A FATHER, 
 
 SNARLEYYOW, THE PHANTOM SHIP, 
 
 NEWTON FORSTER, THE POACHER, 
 
 THE NAVAL OFFICER, PERCIVAL KEENE. 
 
 " Captain Marryatt's writings depict life at sea with the same fidelity, and with far 
 more spirit, than any of the fashionable novels portray a rout, a ball, or a breakfast, and 
 we much prefer the subjeov. as well as the talent of the nautical novels ; a storm at sea is 
 more animating than a crash at St. James' ; we prefer a shipwreck to a ruin at Crock- 
 ford's ; the sly humor of the old sailor is more amusing than the exclusive slang of Bond 
 Street, and a frigate action calls up higher feelings and qualities than a hostile meeting in 
 Battersea Fields. Captain Marryatt's productions are happy in more senses than one : 
 he employs neither the effort nor the prolixity of Cooper; his conception of character Is 
 so facile and felicitous that his personages immediately become our intimate acquaint- 
 ance and astonish us by their faithful resemblance to whole classes of beings similarly 
 situated. Captain Marryatt's humor Is genuine, It flows naturally, and insensibly com- 
 municates to the reader the gaiety the author seems himself animated with." West- 
 minister Review. 
 
 Price, per Volume: 
 In Cloth, $1 ; Library Sheep, $1 25 ; Half Calf, Gilt or Antique, $2. 
 
 DERBY & JACKSON, Publishers, 
 
 119 Nassau Street, New York. 
 
 The whole or any of the above Works sent by mail, poft paid, on 
 rteeipt of price. 
 
 W. H. T.Mcn. 42 Centre it.

 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 Los Angeles 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 
 
 DEC 13 i: 
 
 ID-UR6 
 
 JHN3 01983 
 
 Form L9-32m-8,'58(5876s4)444
 
 31158008339672 
 
 
 '