The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1889-01-05

martial law was proclaimed, and the
sailors were called to man the vessels.
All prisoners guilty OF low grade oticnses
were released and put TO work wherever
needed. The creole ladies prepared their
elegant houses for hospitals The quad
room women, natural nurses, were organ
! lied and instructed. Old men and lads
were formed into a city reserve. The
free cClored men pledged their lives to
protect the city whether against the
| British in front or their black kinSmen
| in The rear. A force was sent across the
river, and Gen. Morgan was placed in
! command on that bank. All were OK
horted TO extra vigilance. And yet the
enemy stole march upon the outposts
| and made their first move a perfect sue
cess.
On the 18th the British light flotilla at
tackled, defeated and captured the six
gunboats Of Capt. Jones, each side losing
about sixty men in killed and wounded.
They then pushed their work with such
zeal that soon after dark of the 22d they
had eco men landed on Bayou Bien-
venue, near the southwest point of Lake
Borgne. They waded through the swamp,
captured the American picket and adj
vanced so silently to tho solid ground
near the river that they captured all the
people on the Where and Chalmette plan
tations. In short, they were within nine
miles of New Orleans and no one in the
city knew it. But Maj. Gabriel Where
escaped from their custody and brought
tie news to the city. At half past | on
the 23d jackson heard the details. Turn
ing to his aids he said:
Gentlemen, we must fight them to-
night"
Orders were rapidly given. and by
dark all available troops were at the
Rodriguez canal, six miles below
! the city. From the river to the
swamp may be anywhere from a hun
bred yards to ten miles; at this point it
is only a mile to very low ground, but
beyond that is cypress timber in II muddy
moraos. Along the canal at p. m. Of
the 23d Jackson had 2,l3l men in four
teen separate commands, with two six
Founders. The British had halted at the
Where plantation, two miles below, be-
cause the captured piCkcts had told them
that Jackson had 1900 soldiers in the
city. The men honestly believed it, hav-
ing talked the matter over and c-aggcr-
ated as militia do so, when ~
examined, they told the +" ~.
Gen Coffee was directed to str,I Tough
the cypress swamp and come IN On the
British right. The Carolina, in the river,
was to drop down opposite their camp
and sweep their position at random. At
the first sound of her guns jackson S men
were to advance, touching elbows, III the
dark and fire low"
Half-past Z; the pale moon barely
visible through the mist. The Carolina
discharges her biggest gun. BY a rare
chance it strikes the very center of
British bivouac and lays a hundred men
on the wet earth. The rest Of the bat
tie cannot be described. 1t was, says
Gen Coffee, "a war Of detachments and
duel5." Prisoners were taken and re-
taken-huth sides were confused. At 10
o'clock the Americans retired, having
lost q killed, 1l5 wounded and "a pris-
opers. The British loss was &c killed,
107 wounded and O. prisoners. But the
Carolina continued for days to throw
chance shots among them, inflictiug
much damage. Early next morning
jackson set his force and all the avail
abcs from the city to constructing the
noted Lrcastwork from the river to the
swamp.
Oh, for an Atlantic cahle Oh, for
some swift courier Of the air to bring the
news from Client; for if these brave men
could only have known it, they were no
longer enemies. Early on that very
morning Clay. Gallatin and Adams met
the British ploniFotentiaries for the last
act of the treaty Of peace, and before
noon it was signed.
All Christmas Day the Americans
toiled in The entrenchment, banking up
the soft sPongy mud Of the delta. All
day the Carolina continued to harass the
British. On the Goth they got up their
heaviest guns. At dawn on the 9th
they opened rain of hot shot. and in
half an hour the Cardinals crew aban-
doned her. Scarcely were they out of
danger when terrific explosion sent
her fragments high in air. 1t ratified the
window glass in New Orleans. 1t sent
burning fragments among the Americans
on both sides of the river. The Louis
lana succeeded in escaping up the river.
Then the British could erect their re-
doubts ard plant their batteries in peace.
On the 2Sth they made grand recon-
noissance, losing fifty Liilcd and
wounded. The Americans lost nine
killed and eight wounded.
A desultory diminishing Of outpoefs
lasted IL New Year Day, when C. regular