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200 years ago, January 7-8, 1815, the U.S. defeated the British in the Battle of New Orleans. It was one of the greatest and most important battles we've ever fought. It saved America. It's a topic I find interesting. In the Battle of New Orleans Andrew Jackson faced an invading British force of 8,000 professional soldiers. Jackson commanded a rag tag force of 4,500 assembled from the Louisiana Militia, a group of pirates, free blacks from New Orleans, Choctaw warriors, Kentucky riflemen and Jackson's own Tennessee militia. Jackson was outnumbered nearly two to one. His hastily assembled ragtag militia had never fought together. Many had no battle experience at all. British military power was at its apex. Having defeated Napoleon months earlier in the Battle of Waterloo, the British turned their attention to the American problem. The British fleet landed east of New Orleans near Lake Pontchartrain. After ferrying their soldiers, supplies and weapons to shore the invading British forces prepared to march up a peninsula and take the city of New Orleans. The Battle of New Orleans began with an artillery duel. The British artillery was reputed to be the best in the world, having fought in numerous European battles. They were undefeated. But conditions were different in the muddy bayous. The dred pirate Jean Lafitte commanded the U.S. cannons—cannons stripped from his own pirate ships which Lafitte had volunteered for the battle. The pirate cannons were smaller and easier to maneuver in the muddy bayou conditions. And Lafitte's pirate crews were deadly accurate. The pirate cannons tore the previously undefeated British artillery apart. Jackson's battle lines remained intact. In preparation for the battle Andrew Jackson had his troops built an earthworks wall across the peninsula to repulse the British forces. As the artillery duel ended, the British columns marched in formation towards the thin American line, moving up the battlefield under the cover of fog. Jackson's forces could hear them advancing, marching up the muddy peninsula, but could see nothing in the heavy fog. As the British forces neared the American positions the fog miraculously lifted, exposing the British directly in front of the U.S. lines. The ragtag American forces rained down a hell of rifle and cannon fire on the neatly formed British columns. The British formations broke, and regrouped, attacking the Americans time and again. The Battle of New Orleans resulted in 2,042 British casualties. The Americans lost 71 soldiers. The Battle of New Orleans sent the mighty British Military back to England, tails between their legs, ending the War of 1812. General Pakenham, commander of the British forces, was killed in battle. His body, riddled with bullets, was packed in a pickle barrel for the journey back to England. If Andrew Jackson hadn't won the Battle of New Orleans the U.S. would likely have been defeated by Britain. British occupation of New Orleans would have put a stranglehold on the U.S. economy. And the British military was far stronger than it had been 30 years before during the American revolution. LINK Here's a couple decent books on the topic, if anyone is interested: LINK1 LINK2 edit: "landed east of New Orleans near Lake Pontchartrain", per BRBuster.