The St. Louis Republic., 1901-01-06
BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS.
January 8 the Anniversary Of a
Crest American Victory.

snarpsnoOtng 1rOnfiersmen from the states
and Territories south OF ths Ohio River
fought one Of the famous battles Of tho
world January 8. 1915. The battle OF New
Orleans was ths only great land victory
Of the War Of 1sl2 A few thousand Ameri-
cans. unframed in military arts. defeated
q much larger force Of British regulars.
men who had fought in ths Peninsular
Wars under the Iron Duke OF Wellington.
The account OF the battle OF New Or
leans is incomplete unless reference is made
TO the spirited campaign that led up TO
II. Andrew Jackson. the man who fought
the Seminole War and brought Florida
into the American Union. was in command
Of the American forces in the then South
west.
On August a. 1914. the English captured
Washington and burned the public build
ings. Jackson could not obtain either as
sistance or orders. September IA the Eng
lish attacked Fort Bowyer. on Mobile Point.
and were rspulsed. They retired to Pensa-
cola. Without orders from Washington.
Jackson advanced on Pensacola with 1000
men. Pensacola was then a Spanish pos
session. He stormed the town. the Span
iards surrendered and the British blew up
their fort near by and departed. Fearing
an attack at Mobile Jackson returned TO
that place. This energetic action against
Pensacola. which timid commander would
have hesitated to take. although the pro-
priety could not be seriously questioned.
was the second great step in the war IN
the Southwest. II the Creeks had not
been subdued. Mobile could not have been
defended. II Pensacola had not been cap
tured New Orleans could not have been
defended three months later.
On December 2. 1914. Jackson reached New
Orleans. where he expected the next blow
TO fall. Nothing had been done there to
prepare for defense, and no supplies were
there-not even arms. Edward Livingston
and a Frenchman named Louaillier were
alone active in preparing even the minds
Of the people for defense. jackson declared
martial law as a means OF impressing SOL
dlers and sailors
In his article on the campaign against
New Orleans In his Great Battles OF the
World published by the Lippincotts.
Stephen Crane wrote:
The peril of the situation bewildered the
people of New Orleans; It did not stir
them to action.
But the spirit OF energy itself arrived
in the person OF Andrew Jackson. Since the
Creek War the nation had had much con-
fdence in jackson. The sallow, gnarled,
crlisty man came I'll to his great work. He
should have been in bed. But the amount
Of vim he worked into a rather nabby COM
munity in a short time looked like a mir
acle. The militia Of Louisiana were called
out; the free negroes were armed and
drilled; convicts whose terms had nearly
expired were enlisted. and down from Ten
he TYNE nF @kaK
always pictures as winning the battle-the
iorg. lank woodsman brown as leather.
hard as nails. hlseparable from his rife, In
his head the eye Of q hawk
'On the afternoon OF December q Major
General Gabrielle Villere. one Of the gaudy
creole soldiers. came to see jackson at
headquarters. and announced that about
ZOO British had landed on the VilIere
plantation. nine miles below the cty. Jack
son was still feeble, but this news warmed
the old passion in him He pounded the table
with his fist.
by the Eternal" he cried; they shall
not sleep on our soilr
They were not allowed TO sleep that
night Jackson's men harried them all night
long.
During the days following the two armies
-
but indecisive. One Of these meetings Is
called the battle OF the Bales and Hogs
heads.
jackson employed cotton bales In
strengthening his position. and the British
advanced and built q redoubt, chiefly of
hogsheads containing sugar and molasses
Later Jackson moved his line fifty yards
back from his cotton-bals position. Here
he built defensive work on the northern
brink OF an old sawmin race known as the
Rodriguez Canal. The line of defense was
4 mile in length. 1t began on the river
bank and ended In q swamp, where during
the battle the Americans stood knee deep
in mud or on floating planks and logs
moored to the trees. The main defenses
OF the position were built Of earth. logs
and fence rails. IN some places twenty feet
thick. It barred the way to New Orleans.
''On January 7.' says Stephen Crane,
jackson stood on the top Of the taIlest
building within his lines and watched the
British at work. At the same time Paken-
ham was in the top Of q pine tree regard
ing the American trenches. For the mo-
ment. and indefinitely, Il was a question
Of eyesight Jackson studied much the
force that was to assail him; Pakenham
studied the POSITION which he had decided
TO attack. Pakenham's eyesight may not
have been very good.
"As the British advanced to the attack
they made a gallant martial picture. The
motley army OF American planters. woods
men. free negroes. ex-convicts and pirates
watched them in silence. Here tossed the
bonnets Of a fierce battalion OF Highland
ers: here marched q bottle-green regiment,
the officers wearing furred cloaks and GRIM
son sashes: here was a steady line Of blaz-
ing redcoats. Everywhere rode the gener-
al officers in their cooked hats. their short
red coats with golden epaulettes and en-
broideries their skin-tight white breeches,
their high black boots. The ranks were
kept locked In the manner Of that day. II
was like a grand review.
But the grandeur was extremely brief.
The force was well within range OF the
American guns when Pakenham made the
terrible discovery that his orders had been
neglected; there was neither fascine nor
ladder on the field. In a storm OF rage and
grief the British General turned to the
guilty officer and bade him take his men
back and fetch them. When. however, the
ladders and fascines had been brought into
the field a hot infantry engagement had
already begun an the bearers. becoming
wildly ratified. scattered them on the
ground
'Tt was now that Sir George Pakenham
displayed that quality Of his nation which
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