Omaha daily bee., 1885-01-08
THE BATTLE OF new ORLEANS.
The Cotton-BaIe Story Exploded
Jackson's Story of the Fight.
Washington Sunday Herald.

w AbnlUEbuH puuu"J ihSioAN'
General Harvey exploded one tradition
that has long been connected with this
fight, which was that the Americans
fought from behind breastworks of cotton
bales. 81 asked General jackson, Cen
eral Adair, and General Coffee, the latter
having the immediate command of a brig
ade of the Tennessee and Kentucky sharp
shooters, whose long rifles mainly did the
work of death, if there were any cotton
bales used at all, and they all answered
that the only works the Americans had
were of earth, about two and one-half feet
high, rudely constructed of fence rails and
logs twenty inches apart, and the space
between them filed with earth, and if
there had been any works constructed
from cotton bales they must have known
it. In 1926 | was promoted to captain of
the First infantry and sent to Nashville,
Tenn, to recruit for my regiment. While
there / met Generals jackson and Coffee
very often and obtained from the former
many details of the battle of Chalmette
that are now in print.
"'There was u very heavy fog on the
river on the morning of the fight said
Gen. jackson, and the British troops
were actually formed and moving before
| had my arrangements made. But the
instant l saw their formation, l said to
Coff'1: BY G., they are ours = Coffee's
part of our line was on the flank, which
extended into the swamp. About a quar-.
ter OF a mile from it there was a huge
plantation drainage canal, such as are
common In tho Louisiana lowlands.
Here Gen. Buckingham formed his first
attacking column. His formation was a
column in mass Of about fifty files front.
This was formed under the fire of the
few regular srtillerists l had In a little
redoubt In Coffee's front, and that of
some cannon taken from a man'of-war,
placed in a battery on the river and
served by sailors. Coffee, seeing the
direction of the attack, which was in
tended to turn his flank, dashed forward
and said to his men: ''Hold your Gre
until you can see their belt-buckles."
The rifemen were formed In two ranks
behind the works mentioned, and when
the first rank fred the second was loaded
and ready. There were about eighteen
hundred men behind this frail cover, all
of whom were dead shots, and each had
100 bullets in his pouch and the neLes-
sary powder In his horn. The British
troops came up to within 100 yards of
work without firing a muaket. 1t was a
beautiful sight to see. They marched as
steadily shoulder to shoulder as though
they were on review. At 100 yards dis
lance the order was given them to charge.
with q cheer and at double quick they
forward. They were about sixty
yards distant when q long blazing flash
ran all along our line. 1t was as pretty
voIley-fring as l ever heard or saw.
"'The smoke hung so heavy that for
the moment L could not make out just
what had happened, said Gen. jackson.
'In anotner instant there was another
ringing volley that proved that it
came from the riflemen. [ called Tom
Overton and Duncan, of my staff, and we
galloped over to Coffee's line. Just then
the smoke rose and l saw that the head of
the British column had literally melted
away. 1t front of our lines lay one with
ing, CHASTITY mass of dead and dying red |
coats. The column recoiled and fell back'I
to the canal, where they had started from,
and were there reformed. This time the
charge was led by Gen. Packenham in
person, CALAMITY mounted, and riding as
coolly and gracefully as if he We're OF
Just as he came within range of
mo rifemen l saw him reel and topple out
of his saddle, mortally wounded. I have
believed he fell by the bullet of a
fee man of color in the fight, who was a
celebrated rifle shot from the Attakapas
&c T,,;c;,po ~