Jean Lafitte National Parks
Chalmette National Battlefield Park
 Gen. Andrew Jackson’s stunning victory over crack British troops at Chalmette plantation on January 8, 1815, was the greatest
American land victory of the War of 1812. Commonly called the Battle of New Orleans – the last battle of the last war ever fought between
England and the United States – it preserved America’s claim to the Louisiana Territory, prompted a wave of migration and settlement along
the Mississippi River, and restored American pride and unity. It also made Andrew Jackson a war hero.
The War of 1812 was fought to vindicate U.S. maritime rights, secure the western frontier from provocative British influence with the Indians,
and pave the way for the annexation of Canada. It was pursued half-heartedly by both sides, and with little success for either. England, battling
Napoleon’s armies in Europe, could spare few troops to fight in the United States and did little more than help to defend Canada. American
victories were few, and these mostly at sea. When England defeated Napoleon in the spring of 1814, the character of the American war changed
dramatically. Thousands of battle-tested British soldiers sailed for the United States, and invasion thrusts were planned via Lake Champlain, the
Chesapeake Bay, and later the Gulf Coast.
 Battle of New Orleans
The first thrust ended when Comm. Thomas MacDonough defeated the British fleet in the Battle of Lake Champlain in September 1814. The second
was turned back about the same time at Fort McHenry, the main defense of Baltimore, but not before the British had burned the White House and the
Capitol at Washington. The third began in late December when 36-year-old British Maj. Gen. Sir Edward M. Pakenham led a 10,000-man army overland
from Lake Borgne to attack New Orleans. The capture of this important port was Britain’s main hope for exacting a favorable peace settlement from
the Americans. By controlling the mouth of the Mississippi River, England could seriously threaten the economic well-being of the entire
Mississippi Valley and hamper U.S. westward expansion.
Andrew Jackson
Defending New Orleans were about 5,000 militia and volunteer soldiers (including a contingent of Jean Lafitte’s Baratarians) under 47-year-old
Maj. Gen. Andrew Jackson. On December 23, when Pakenham’s troops were within nine miles of the city, Jackson halted their advance in a fierce
night attack that caught the British off guard. The Americans then withdrew behind the banks of the Rodriguez Canal.
 The Rodriguez Canal formed the boundary between the Chalmette and Macarty plantations and marked the most narrow strip of dry
land between the Mississippi River and an impassable cypress swamp. The stubbled sugar cane fields provided an excellent field of fire for
American artillery and small arms. Jackson’s men widened and deepened the canal and partially filled it with water. Behind it they built a
mud rampart shoulder-high and thick enough to withstand cannon shot. Then they waited for the British to attack.
Pakenham tried to dislodge the Americans on December 28 with an infantry attack and again on January 1 with artillery fire. When these efforts
failed he knew he must either withdraw, risking the demoralization of his men and an American attack, or assault Jackson’s line, trusting to good
leadership and the general superiority of the British soldier. Instinctively, he chose to attack.
On January 8, 1815, Pakenham sent 5,400 soldiers head on against the American positions. The withering fire from Jackson’s artillery and small
arms tore through their ranks with devastating effect. Gen. Samuel Gibbs’s brigade came under tremendous fire from Gen. John Coffee’s Tennesseans
holding the American left flank near the swamp, and many of the British officers, including Gibbs, were killed.
Gen. John Keane, attempting to come to Gibbs’s aid, ordered the 93rd Highlanders to march diagonally across the Chalmette field
from near the river. This movement exposed the regiment to a raking fire from the American line that inflicted frightful casualties, one of whom
was Keane. Pakenham rode forward to rally his men for another attack and was mortally wounded. Col. Robert Rennie’s British units nearest the
river actually gained the top of the mud rampart before being repulsed.
The Battle of New Orleans lasted less than two hours, with the major fighting confined to about 30 minutes. British casualties exceeded 2,000;
the Americans reported only 13. On January 18 the British retreated to Lake Borgne, ending the Louisiana campaign and ensuring the United States
of a bright future for the lower Mississippi Valley.
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