University of South Carolina Libraries
From the Knickerbocker, for July. THE BATTLE OF NEW OBLEAftS The English had determined at an earl period to obtain posessionofNew Orlcan: and their Danish descents in the Chess peak were merely feints to divert attei tion from the main object. The plan wa excellent. A defenceless coast, an unfoi tified town; a total want of munitions c oil rfisaflltcted n?<rro slaves: a DODt' Iation half French, and half Spanish; ever circumstance seemed favorable; and the already exulted, when considering th value ofthe-prize winch was to benbtaii ed so easily. The great market of th Mississippi and Ohio valleys was willii their reach; and animated by their succes at Washington, they regarded the exped tion rather as a promenade mililaire, i quest of "beauty and booty," than as a invasion in which plunder was to b bought with blood. Rumors of their ir tentions had already reached Louisian; and excited much alarm and a shiftles desire to do something for defence. Lt fHte, the smugler, whom the British a tempted to buy over, warned the author ties repeatedly of the approaching dahge and though a foreigner, a pirate, and a outlaw, offered to serve with all his ban against the enemies of America. Yet littl was accomplished; the government, as re miss here as elsewhere, had provided ne therarms nor amunition. Even a frigat of small draft, destined to the defence c the lake, remained unfinished, despite th earnest solicitation of Commodore Pattei son. Nothing was ready except the Ger Andrew Jackson. His military talent were fully equal to the occasion. In vs rious expeditions against the Creeks, h had already evinced that iron energy, ir domitable perseverance, and ceaseless ac tivitv, so necessary to a commanding off cer. He whs the general tor an emurgui cy. Not one of the wavering, bat a ma who would keep his object as steadily be fore him, as the manner his port, an trample down and crush without remors whoever barred the path. A charade indispensable in a chief, for in war, espe ciallv, success is the only thing worth con sideration. On the 2d of December, 18 14, Genera Jackson arrived in New-Orleans, on hi return from Pensacola. The city was ii -great confusion. Committees of all kind were disputing, qnareling, and more desi rous to fight each other than the cnciny.His appearance restored tranquility, fo he had that strength about liiin on whic men in dangerwillingly rely. The Gei: lost no time in tardy deliberations. Mat tial law was proclaimed; the writ of habe r as corpus suspended; free men of coin and prisoners enrolled; the Baratarian welcomed to the ranks; and every poin which he thought menaced by the attacl visited and fortified. On the 14th, new came of the capture of the six gun-boat! ' on lake Borguc, the only protection of thi coast in the absence of the unfinished frig ate. The invaders were at the door, an< men knew that the hour of trial had arri ved. Some ragged fisherman, who earned i miserable livelihood on the shores of tin lake, went over to the British, and advis ed them to land at the Bayou Cataline one of the thousand creeks which intersec the swamps of Louisiana. The Bayoi was well chosen, for the Mississippi at thi point was not more than six miles distan from the lake. On the 16 of Dccembei the army was conveyed in boats to Pirn Island, 'a miserable swamp not only de void of all human habitations, but ban even of trees and shrubs.'* On this wast< they remained five days, suffering all th< hardships of an exposure to cold and rain Many of the black troops, unaccustomer to a change of climate, fell asleep besid< their fires, and expired. On the 22d tin avant-guard, consisting of sixteen hundrer men, under the command of Genera 'Keane, was re-embarked, and rowed t( the Bayou, a distance of sixty miles, with out even an awningto protect them agains the showers which fell during the nighl Bodily discomfort was forgotten in ih certainty of success; and when the boat I? took the ground under the high recd-cov crcd banks of the Bayou, the troops leap ed ashore with alacrity, and pushed for ward through the swamp, where the c.y press and the conqueror's laurel grew sid by side in boundless profusion, to Villiere' plantation,-on the left bank of the Missis sippi. Thus far every thing had gone well, i quick marcn 01 ten miles over a levei roa would have placed the prize within thei grasp. Col. Thornton, the second in com mand, earnestly pressed an immediat advance; sixteen hundred men, he mair tained, were fully adequate to the task c surprising an unfortified city; and no tim was to be lost in delays, for the escape ( several prisoners would soon announc their arrival to the Americans, and pr< pare them for defence. Gen Kean however, thoug t it safer to wait for tl second detachment, and to reserve the a< f .1 -i , r* . vance ior me nexi nay. i>uiiscijugiii the order was passed 10 bivouac. T1 troops, in high spirits, piled their arm lighted their fires, and dispersed in scan of provisions, fully impressed that "as tl Americans had never yet dared to attac Sn^tern in America. * ?' a ". v*- v" ' v?? - there was no great probability of their do- L ing so on the present occasion."* The pf >. following proclamation was posted in dif- m y fcrent places along the high road: tli s, "Louisianiansl?remain quiet in your fli i- houses;your slaves shall be preserved to 0 i- you, and your property respected. We ar is make war only- against Americans." fr - All other hostile demonstrations were bt >f reserved for the morrow. di i- One Itey, who had contrived to escape th . from the English, arrived in New-Orleans hi y at nobn on the same day, and announced ar c the disembarkation of the troops. Gen. i- Jackson immediately despatched a party hi t<t rponnnnitrft lhfi erternv. Before two tl< W * " " wwvr.... -,.. ' J - n hours had elapsed, the scouts came in, a 01 js night attack was planned, and orders is- in i- sued to the corps who were to take part lii ii in it. The armed schooner, Carolina, was h< n directed to drop down the river, and to la c take up a position abreast of the enemy's T i- camp. About seven o'clock the Carolina pi i, came leisurely to an anchor before the le- tli is vee. So great was the security of the r? l- British that they were gathered in crowds p t- upon the bank, watching with an idle cu- r? i- riosity the manoeuvers of the vessel, which 01 r, thfey took for an ordinary coaster. Sud- w n denly the trumpet was heard from her o d decks: "Give them this, for the honor of lo c America!" and the darkness of the winter w ?- evening was lighted up by the flash of her I ti kmnrUidp ns shf. nniireda shower offfrape. I fc e and round shot among the astonished L >f Rnglishmen. More than one hundred th e were killed before they recovered froin n: p. their panic. The survivors crouched be- tl; i* hind the levee for protection: am! here A :s they lay an hour, listening in silence *'to re i the pattering of grape shot among 'their th e huts, and to the shrieks and groans of those bi i- who lay wounded beside them."f st A discharge from the picquets on the gi i- right summoned them from their shelter, ai i- Two thousand Americans, led on by Gen, fi< n Jackson, in person, had forced their way rc s- into the camp, and were bearing all before pi d them. In the obscurity of the night, the al e ranks were broken; Americans and En- tii r glish mingled together, legit que virum vir. th Every man fought for himself alone, as in te i- the old Homeric conflicts. Musket and hi pistol were laid aside for sword and bayo- w ,1 net. and the western rifle wielded with S s both hands like a war club. After two 0 a h ?urs of hard fighting, the English were | ec s reinfi>rced by the second detachment from ' sj. i- the ships, and succeeded in beating off the J es - attack. General Jackson withdrew his. sj r men. and the enemy retreated once more; vt h to the welcome shelter ofthe levee. In th 1.1 this affair the British lost four hundred in ai - killed, wounded, and taken; the Americans sc i- twi? hundred and fifty. The prisoners b< r captured by Keane, consisted almost en- le s tirely of lawyers. The members of the v; it bar of New Orleans had enrolled them- c< c, selves in a volunteer corps, and accompa- a s nied General Jackson in this expedition, re 3, They were entrapped by the English and e< e seized to a man. | fa Jackson's measures were as well plann- fi< d ed as prompt; and the employment of the fr i- schooner in particul r, merits all p- aise.? pi This vessel alone kept the enemy chained ra a to their position for three days. During i hi e this all-precious interval, the famous em- j e\ bankment of cotton bales on Rodriguez ju i, Canal wa< commenced, which was destin- m i ed twice to foil every effort of the inva- hi 1 ders, and to give the death blow to all T s their hopes of conquest. sa t The whole of the next day the British w r remained beneath the bank, suffering the rii 1 extremes of cold and hunger as soon how- ar - ever, as it was dark, the army filed off and di 2 took up a position on the right, out of the i reach of the Carolina's guns. By giving Pi 3 ner Droaasiue agreaieievauon,me scuoon- cr . er succeeded in throwing shot among them T 1 causing great annoyance, though little T 5 execution. * tir 3 On the 25 Sir Edward Packenham ar- A 1 rived in camp, and assumed the command. A 1 The next day a battery of ten guns was ca o erected on the bank, and a fire of hot shot cc - opened on the Carolina. The second ball di it took effect, and in fifteen minutes she was w L abandoned by her crew, with the loss of te e only one killed and six wounded. th s On the 28th, the British Army, under w - the command of Generals Gibbs and ri< ? Keane, advanced in two columns about ly - three miles, when they came in sight of th - the American troops posted behind the T e unfinished breast-work. The left column in s on the river was instantly greeted with a in tremendous fire from the guns of the frig- as ate Louisiana and those already mounted it \ on the lines. "Scarce a bullet passed th J ? r,v 11 nU/\?4 r\f i#a mart hut all cf ri. m u over ui icu aiwuui >w uUv ? > w..?. r king full in the midst of our ranks, oc- th i- casioncd terrible havoc."J The column tr e was soon forced by the carnage to deploy al i- into lines of battalions, and finally to halt ly if and lie down in the ditches which inter- p< e sected the plantation. On the right the ai >f attack might have succeeded, had it been th :e energetically directed, for the works were m i- unfinished, and only a few guns mounted; a e, but the loss suffered by the left division di >e was so great as to induce the commanding tr J- officer to order a halt. In the ditches they tfl ly remained until late in the afternoon, when S je the different regiments filed off", man by gi is, man, amid shouts and showers of balls s( :h from the American lines. A few guns a le which had been directed against the k. e British Officer. . < , c tBritbh Officer. tMajorLitoar*! War. ouisiana, were carried off by hand, by a; < irty of sailors. The loss which the eue- i y suffered in this affair is astonishing, t e more so when compared with the tn- i ng injury they caused their antagonists, t nly ten men were killed within their lines \ id but one wounded on board of the t igate, whose guns fired eight hundred i ills during the engagement. The same sproportion is remarkable throughout ] e invasion. Many a gallant Briton laid i s bones beneath the cypresses of Louisi- I la. t " ? . V J * try i uenerai racKennam am ikh iciui iu , s old position, but encamped on the bat- I 3 ground on the 23 of December; his < itposts extending in some places to with- 1 three hundred yards of the American i les. Finding the works so well defended i i determined to consider them as a regu- i r fortification, and to breach them.? I he 28th, 29th, 30th, and 31st were em- i loyed in bringing up heavy guns from I le fleet. The labor and hardships incurid in the transportation of twenty-four I ounders by hand through a quacking mo- 1 iss, can scarcely be conceived. Through- < Jt this period the position of the British < as anything but enviable. The scarcity f provisions had reduced them to half al- { wance, & driven them tostill their hunger < ith the sugar they found on the planfa- I ons. Astheynaano lenis, nicy wcic reed to sleep upon the ground; and l ouisiana in December is not exactly . ie spot one would select for passing the l ight al fi esco. Even the enjoyment of i 10 damp earth was denied them. The . .mericans did not grant them a moment's I ;pose. From the day of their landing I ley had been engaged in one continued attle. Beside the shot that were con- | antly thrown among them from guns < really elevated on the lines, the American "tillerymen would advance with a few ild-pieces within range, fire half a dozen i >unds, and retreat so rapidly as to .baffle i jrsuit, while bands of riflemen lurked I >out the picquets, and shot down the sen- | nels. The English had a great dread of ie Tennesseeans, whom they denomina- 1 d "Dirty Shirts," from the color of their J anting-frocks. These night excursions i ere very popular among the "Dirty hirts;" they termed them hunting parties, i ?ne of these worthies is said to have kill- i i and stripped three sentinels on the same i lot in one evening, and to have made his i icape into camp with the booty.f This ( 'stem of warfare, although much in- 1 ;ig led agai.qst by English writers, we i link both j'usti.iable and wise. When . nnies meet on foreign ground to decide < ime state question,about which they may i 3 supposed to know little and to care t iss, we can understand that a kind of chi- I ilric understanding should exist Deiween ? )mba ants. Such wars are but duels on ( large scale, and the courtesy which di- ' sets antagonists in affairs of honor ought 1 ;rtainly to be exercised. The case is J r otherwise with invaders. Then a man jhts for his native soil; for his family and I lends; for his posessions, which would be ( undered; for his home, which would be i insacked and destroyed. He considers i s foes in the light of house-breakers, and t rery man slain, one enemy less, and very i stly. This system, too, succeeded ad- '< irably in a military point of view, by t irassing and discouraging the English, t he repulses they had met with, the inces- ( nt labor and constant excitement in f hich they were kept by the ever-recur- s )g attacks, had disheartened the troops, c id made them heartily sick of the expe- i ition. < On the night of the 31st December, i ickenham's men were employed in ( ecting batteries for thirty heavy guns. < fie work was accomplished oetore aawn. i lie sun rose behind clouds, and for some i ne the mist was so thick that the merican lines could not bedi-tinguished. < t eight o'clock the white tents of the < imp became visible, and the cannonade t immenced. The fire was principally ' rected against M'Carty's chateau' which t as occupied by Jackson as his head quar- 1 rs. Although the house was pierced 1 rough repeatedly, the staff escaped t ithout a wound. The American batte- t 2s responded feebly at first, but gradual- < grew brisker, and at length surpassed r e British both in rapidity and precision, i he enemy had rolled hogsheads of sugar I to the parapet of his battery, under the s ipression that it would be as effectual ( i sand in deadening the force of balls; but ' proved otherwise, for the shot crashed i rough the casks as if thoy had been ( npty, dismounting the guns and killing c e gunners. Cotton bales, on the con- J ary, proved a much better defence; and t though some of them were rather rude- r knocked about by the twenty-four t lund shot, but little execution was done s nongthe Louisianians. At three o'clock t ic fire of the English had slackened very ] iucIi; and while the Americans, reserving 1 few guns to return, their feeble salutes, I reeled the remainder against the infan- i y, who consequently retired in precipi- 1 ition, leaving many dead on the field. < oon after, the enemy ceased firing alto- < ether, and abandoned his gunB. Jack- < )n's loss did not exceed fifty in killed < nd wounded. > The Americans had good reason to be i lated by their success. That thirty pie- I es of cannon should be silenced by fif- j sen, only five of which were of otjual ' :alibre, was far more encouraging to th< nvaded than any advantage they bad ye )btained. Satisfied with the result ofth tffair, they made no attempt to carry ol he guns, which were accordingly remc red by the English, with much labor, o he ensuing night. Five however, wer lltimately left behind. Once more frustrated in his hopes, Si Sdward Packenham changed his plan < ittack. It was now determined that )ody of troops should cross the river, an hat an advance should be made on bot >anks at once. A canal two miles i ength by six feet in breadth was commei ;ed, in order to convey the boats froi he Bayou to the river. It would seei lever to have occurred to the teneri 1 ' 1 - - * ? U L a o nai snips, ana Doais cuuiu uc puai^u. u oilers over land in half the time it woul :ake to dig such a canal. Meantime & work was continued, arid completed c :he evening of the seventh. Jackson had not been idle dunng the? five days. The Rodriguez breast-woi was now raised to the ordinary altitud covered by a ditch, and fifteen guns pi; ced at proper distances along the line; an and moreover a battery mounting eightee *uns had been erected on the other sid [>f the river, so as completely to enfilac Lhe English bivouac. No precaution w; ammitted nor labor spared to strengthe the position and toharrass the enenv Major General Lambert's arrival wii two regiments had increased the Britis ' * - .1 1 Tl army 10 nine muusauu eweuuvc men. * u Americans although rated at twenty-fh ihonsand by the British Officer," mu tered but four thousand men on the line Fascines and scaling-ladders had bee prepared by the invaders for the troof an the left bank, who were to advance i the sound of Thornton's guns on the opp< site side. The Louisianians were full apprized of the approaching attack by tb activity and turmoil they had remarked i :he enemy's camp, and were ready at a points to encounter it. On the 8th of January took place th last desperate effort of the British to obtai posession of the prize they had bee taught to deem so easy. General Keane with twelve hundre men was to make a sham attack on th iver bank, while General Gibbs, with th main body, was to storm the works on th ight, in the direction of batteries six an seven. Fascines and scaling laddei svere entrusted to the Forty-Fourth Reg ment, and success was considered certau fackson, on the other hand, lay snugl intrenched behind his embankment ( mud and cotton bales,his Jeft appuye o he swamp, his right on the Mississipp General Coffee and- the Tennessoean iccupied the extreme left of the line, an he batteries were served by the Unites States artilerists and militiamen, excep Vo. 3, commanded by privateer captain ind served by Lafitte's men. The attack was to have taken plac lefore sun-rise but owing to the caving i >f the canal, the army did not arrive with n musket range until dawn. They wer eceived by a well directed volley, whic hrew them into disorder; but they soo allied, arid were advancing steadily 'o th issault, when Packenham discovered tht he Forty-Fourth Regiment had come int he field without the fascines and ladder: Colonel Mullens was ordered to retur or them, but losing all command of hin lelf, forsook his men. Packenham imme iiately despatched an aid to bring ?hei ip. This officer found them in the grca: 5st confusion. The General, upon heai ng this, placed himself at their head, an mlered the column to press on at doub! juick time. Twicc they charged, expose o a murderous fire of musketry a d car ion, which mowed them down by rank l'he deeds ot tnc uiiny-iwu j^puuucis ai ispecially commemorated: "One singl lischarge," says the "Subaltern," "serve o sweep the centre of the attacking fore nto eternity." The officers exerte hernselves to the utmost to rally their met )ut all efforts wore useless. Two or thr*1 jundred gained the ditch, and endea rorcd to climb the parapet, but the sol :arth gave way beneath their feet, an >nly seventy succeeded in the attempt, a >f whom were captured. The death c Sir Edward Packenham, who fell like >rave man at the head of the Forty-Four! ind the mortal wound received by Get Jibbs, completed the univeisal dismay.The column turned and fled. On th iver the advance of General Keane letachment stormed an unfinished batter >ccupied by a rifle corps; instead of suf >orting his men, and entering the lines a hat point. General Keane marched wit lis column across the plain to the aid c he main body. Such a movement onl icrved to increase the confusion. H roops caught the general panic, an Keane himself was borne, desperate! - - - 11# l wounded, from tne new. iucamimc m jrave band that had taken the batter jnsupportcd by their friends and, unabl to retreat, perished to a man by the rifle af the Louisianians. On the right ban! Colonel Thornton carried all before him drove the Americans from two entrench ed positions; and was in full pursuit, whe a messenger brought the news of the dii aster of tne main army, and the orde for an immediate retreat, which he aflfee ed without opposition. It appears evider from all statements of this affair, and frot t 5; Jackson's address, that the Conduct 0/thd i ,t militia on the right bank formed a striking e contrast to the bravery of the troops on ff the Rodriguez Canal. ?- Here the carnage had been awful. ?A n space of ground extending from the ditch e' of the American lines to that on -^Inch ' the enemy drew up his troops, two hunir dred and fifty yards in length by about >f two hundred in breadth, was literally cova' cd with men, either dead, or seVerly _woupd' ded." At least three thousand bmve fel* h'j lows lay stretched upon the plain, and alt n, wearing the British Uniform; for the Aitterii-l can loss did not exceed twenty-five - rite* . n [ in killed and Wounded. n General Lambert, on whom the .comtl j mand had devolved, abandoned all hopes *1 ? of taking New Orleans. A quick andsqfe Id j retreat was the only object aimed at. Du le j rin? his preparations he was hari^sed. as m before by the Americans, but nothfrtgr serious was attempted. The British were-' ;e 8till too powerful to be driven to despair* k | Matters remained thus until the 17tb, when e,;the prisoners were cxchangd on -both i- sides; on the 19th every Englishman ha3';;^^ id vanished. ? in The war was now virtually endcd^f^^ le . The details of Lambert's skilful retreat; ; le' the nine days bombardment of the fort at is j Plaque-mines, the taking of Fort Bowyenjl^'^^j n, the disputes concerning negro slaves; the I -i . r r* , - ?_'? '. y. tnumpnai entry 01 uenerai jacKSOD/ h and the usual addresses and iiluminatioris; ih and finally,the ratification of peace,"fok ie lowed hard upon each other, and have' . re little bearing on the great feat of. arms s-; we^wished to commemorates. of December, nine thousand-/,En^Sli sok in diers, who had served with success in Eu-^ >s rope, landed on the territory of the Unipn.K ~ it One month after, the swrvivors, worn out > baffled, disheartened, fheirtwd coraman-' ly ders slain, were re-embarking at the same le place, leaving three thousand gallant com- . n rades to moulder beneath theoy presses of .11 Louisiana. ^There is scarcity an instanc&v . in modern history, perhaps none, iw wbicfc ie men, unaided by contagion, have repelled n an attack with so little injury to tfien? n selves, and such fearful slaughter to' thBur opponents. d To Jackson belongs the honor of the^v.-; , ie victory. The promptitude with^hr<dk'\ e he planed the attack of the 23d, the skill e displayed in his dispositions, and the enerd gy with which they carried out on that s eventful night, saved New Orleans from i- destruction. The next morning the Britl. ish would have. blown his force to the> * *>' v winds, and have seized the city as easily >f as they had anticipated- But awed by n the boldness of a foe the)' had' hitherta v:r i. despised, and heltijn check by the guns off : s th 2 Carolina, th$^. gave the Americana d time to complete the famous breast-work ^-,v d before which, as before an alter ef Liberty . > >t | England's bravest and best were- sacrififs ced. We ovye Andrew Jackson a lon^ debt e of gratitude, not only for having repelled n an invasion the results of which might ha*e i* been most disastrous, but also havingptove ed to Great Britain,(what hitherto- shell had-maintained to be problematical,) thafv/* n the American militia could and would e fight, ifski I fully commanded. it Years after, the General finds himself * *=*"' o at the head of the nation he defendedvand . s. makes more enemies by a word than he. n'had-ever beaten off with his sword.? . l- Perhaps he possessed too little of the pfia- i bility of his emblematic tree for a states- , n man, and would better have left the China t- closet of politics to one who had less'of the j r- headstrong and headlongbull in his nature, d But posterity will decide on this also.? le Our bussiness with him was as command d ding officer at New Orleans on tfte tsttior l- January, 1815;a day on which he earned s. his title to a seat at Washington's right e hand. P Fr. Fla.vecr. d ^ ? lljf'We are authorized to d announce WILLIAM CARLISLE, Esq. # ; as a candidate for Sheriff, of this District "' e at the ensuing election. T /, l- : J |l3=Tlie friends of George v II Q. McIntosh. announce him as a Candii dale for Sheriffat the next election. "" r- . >f - . : a Id"5* are authorized to announce THOMAS BALLARD, as a l' Candidate for Sheriff, at the ensuing ./ r Election. ? ApriM4. __ y We are authorized. to ad'* nounce Capt JOSEPH BASKIN, as a can didate for Shawof this District, at the en-.;r '^ h suing election. 1 'f-J?Jf-^sfRAyr is South Carolina?Lancaster District. j Tolled before me, a's an estray, h dark bav MARE, with black legs, mane and y mil, fourteen hands high, and anuui ten 10 years old, her shoulders marked by the }y collar, and a saddle mark upon her back. : e Appraised at forty-five dollars.; Said e?? :s tray nioy be found at David Taylor's three l> miles from Lancaster C. H. The. owrier '5 is requested to prove property, pay char* '* ge8, and lake her away. n J. WILLIAMS, Magistrate. 3- Lancaster C. H. June 21. I Real French Wiiite Wine Vinegar, it For sale at G2 1-2 cents per gallon, byn Aug. 1. " - II. LEVY. ;