![]() “I owe to Britain a debt of retaliatory vengeance,” he once told his wife, “should our forces meet I trust I shall pay the debt.”Īfter British forces were sighted near Lake Borgne, Jackson declared martial law in New Orleans and ordered that every available weapon and able-bodied man be brought to bear in the city’s defense. ![]() ![]() The General had no love for the British-he’d spent time as their prisoner during the Revolutionary War-and he was itching for a chance to confront them in battle. Nicknamed “Old Hickory” for his legendary toughness, Jackson had spent the last year subduing hostile Creek Indians in Alabama and harassing the redcoats’ operations along the Gulf Coast. Standing in the way of the British advance was Major General Andrew Jackson, who had rushed to New Orleans’ defense when he learned an attack was in the works. If it could seize the Crescent City, the British Empire would gain dominion over the Mississippi River and hold the trade of the entire American South and the West under its thumb. Following military victories against Napoloeon in Europe earlier that year, Great Britain had redoubled its efforts against its former colonies and launched a three-pronged invasion of the United States.Īmerican forces had managed to check two of the incursions-at the Battle of Baltimore (the inspiration for Francis Scott Key’s “ Star-Spangled Banner”) and the Battle of Plattsburgh-but now the British planned to invade New Orleans-a vital seaport and the gateway to the United States’ newly purchased territory in the West, procured through the Louisiana Purchase. In December 1814, even as diplomats met in Europe to hammer out a truce in the War of 1812, British forces mobilized for what they hoped would be the campaign’s finishing blow. ![]()
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