I think this is one of the most fascinating stories in American history and the whole think could have been avoided by one text message [which of course couldn't happen at the time]:
Though the War of 1812 was effectively over two weeks earlier with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, December 24, 1814, news had not yet reached New Orleans.
On January 8, 1815, in the last battle of the War of 1812, nearly 10,000 British soldiers advanced under cover of darkness and heavy fog, intending to surprise General Andrew Jackson’s Tennessee and Kentucky sharpshooters, aided by French pirate Jean Lafitte and his men.
As the British neared, the fog suddenly lifted and in just a half hour 2,042 British were killed or wounded, while there were only 71 American casualties.
General Andrew Jackson wrote on January 26, 1815, to Robert Hays regarding the victorious Battle of New Orleans:
“It appears that the unerring hand of Providence shielded my men from the shower of balls, bombs, and rockets, when every ball and bomb from our guns carried with them a mission of death.”
General Jackson told his aide-de-camp Major Davezac of his confidence before the Battle:
“I was sure of success, for I knew that God would not give me previsions of disaster, but signs of victory. He said this ditch can never be passed. It cannot be done.”
Andrew Jackson wrote to Secretary of War James Monroe, February 17, 1815:
“Heaven, to be sure, has interposed most wonderfully in our behalf, and I am filled with gratitude, when I look back to what we have escaped.”
The Treaty of Ghent was ratified by the U.S. Senate, February 16, 1815.
All British troops were immediately brought back to Europe as Napoleon had escaped from the Island of Elba, February 26, 1816.
For one hundred days, events in Europe cascaded toward the massive Battle of Waterloo.
President James Madison proclaimed for the United States a National Day of Thanksgiving Devout Acknowledgment to Almighty God on March 4, 1815.
via American Minute for January 8th.
Melody Beattie
