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by the force of overwhelming numbers the British, after a combat of almost an hour, gained a complete victory It was at the cost of several of their barges, that were shattered and sunk, and about three hundred men killed and wounded. The Americans lost only six men killed and thirty-five wounded Among the latter were Lieutenants Jones, M'Keever, Parker, and Speddon. The British commander (Lockyer) was severely wounded; so also was Lieutenant Pratt, who, under the direction of Cockburn, had fired the national buildings of Washington City a little more than a hundred days before.

They were commanded by Lieutenant (late barges. The Alligator was captured early, and Commodore) Thomas Ap Catesby Jones, who sent two gun-boats, under the respective commands of Lieutenant M'Keever and SailingMaster Ulrick, to Dauphin Island, at the entrance to Mobile Bay, to catch the first intelligence of the foe. They discovered the great fleet on the 10th of December, and hastened to report the fact to Commodore Jones. Patterson had ordered that officer to take such position as would enable him, in the event of the enemy making his way into Lake Borgne, to cut off his barges and prevent the landing of troops. If Jones should be hard pressed he was to fall back to the mud-fort of Petites Coquilles, near the mouth of the Rigolets, between Lakes Borgne and Pontchartrain, and shelter his vessels under its guns.

The capture of the American gun-boats gave the British complete control of Lake Borgne ; and the lighter transports, filled with troops, immediately entered it. Ship after ship got aground, until at length the troops were all placed in small boats and conveyed about thirty miles to the Isle des Pois (or Peas Island), at the mouth of the Pearl River, and that desert spot was made the place of general rendezvous. There they landed between the 16th and 20th of December, and there General Keane organ

When, on the afternoon of the 10th, the fog that succeeded the storm had cleared away, and the British fleet were in full view, Jones made for the Pass Christiana with his little flotilla, where he anchored and awaited the approach of the invaders. He was discovered by the enemy on the 13th, much to their astonishment. It was evident that the Americans were acquaint-ized his army for future operations. ed with the intentions of the British, and had made preparations to meet them. Cochrane immediately gave orders for a change in the plan of operations. It would not do to attempt the landing of troops while American gun-boats were patrolling the waters of Lake Borgne. So he prepared a flotilla of almost sixty barges, the most of them carrying a carronade in the bow and an ample number of armed volunteers from the fleet, and sent them, in command of Captain Lockyer, to capture or destroy the American vessels. These were observed by Jones at four o'clock in the afternoon, when, in obedience of orders, he proceeded with his flotilla toward the Rigolets. A calm and adverse water currents would not allow him to pass the channel between Point Clear of the main and Malheureux Island, and there he anchored at two o'clock on the morning of the 14th. Jones's flag-ship was a little sloop of eighty tons, and the other vessels of his tiny squadron were commanded respectively by sailing-masters Ferris and Ulrick, and Lieutenants M'Keever and Speddon. The aggregate number of men was one hundred and eighty-two, and of guns twenty-three.

With a cool morning breeze the British barges, containing twelve hundred men, bore down upon Jones's flotilla, while the tender Alligator was in the distance, vainly endeavoring to join the Americans. The barges, with six oars on each side, formed a long parallel line, and in that order swept rapidly forward, while Jones reserved his fire until they were within close range. Then M'Keever hurled a thirty-two pound ball over the water, and a shower of grape-shot, which broke the British line and made great confusion. But the invaders pushed forward, and at half-past eleven o'clock the engagement became general and desperate. At one time Jones's boat was attacked by no less than fifteen

Cochrane had been informed by some former Spanish residents of New Orleans that at the northwestern extremity of Lake Borgne there was a bayou called Bienvenu, navigable for large barges to within a short distance of the Mississippi River, just below New Orleans. He sent a party to explore it. They followed this bayon, and a canal across Villeré's plantation, to a point half a mile from the Mississippi, and nine miles below New Orleans, and hastening back reported that the transportation of troops through that bayou was feasible. Vigorous measures were immediately adopted for an advance upon New Orleans, where, the British troops were assured, wealth and ease awaited them. They were encouraged by ex-officials of the old Spanish government of Louisiana, who went to the British camp from New Orleans, and represented Jackson as an ignorant tyrant, detested by the people, and void of any efficient means for defending the city.

Jackson was informed of the capture of the American gun-boats early on the 15th, when returning from a tour of observation in the direction of the River Chef-Menteur, northeastward of the city. He at once perceived the importance of securing the passage of the ChefMenteur Road, that crosses the plain of Gentilly in that direction from the city to the strait between Lakes Borgne and Pontchartrain, and he ordered Major Lacoste, with his militia battalion of colored men, and the dragoons of Feliciana, to proceed at once with two pieces of artillery, take post at the confluence of Bayou Sauvage and the River Chef-Menteur, to guard the road, cast up a redoubt at its terminus, and watch and oppose the enemy. He also proceeded to fortify and strengthen every point of approach to the city; sent messengers to Generals Coffee, Carroll, and Thomas, urging them to hasten to

uttering cheering words. Martial music was continually heard, and New Orleans appeared more like a military camp than a quiet mart of commerce. Business was mostly suspended, and the Legislature passed a law for prolonging the term of payment on all contracts until the 1st of the ensuing May. Military rule was complete. Able-bodied men of every age, color, and nationality, excepting British, were pressed into the service; suspicious persons were sent out of the city, and no one was allowed to pass the chain of sentinels around it without a proper official permission.

New Orleans with their commands as quickly as possible, and forwarded a dispatch to General Winchester, in command at Mobile, directing him to be on the alert. Then he appointed the 18th of December for a grand review of all the remaining troops in New Orleans, in front of the old Cathedral of St. Louis, in the Place d'Armes, one of the yet remaining relics of the Spanish dominion in Louisiana. It was a memorable day in New Orleans. The whole population were out to witness the spectacle. The impending danger was great, while the military force was small and weak. Strength and resolution were communicated to it by stirring sentences from the lips of Jackson, and a thrilling and eloquent appeal which was read by his aid-de-camp, Edward Livingston. The enthusiasm of the soldiers and citizens was intense; and Jackson, taking advantage of that state of public feeling, silenced the distracting voices of faction by de-all their exertions, and after pressing the capclaring martial law and the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus.

When the review was over Major Plauché was sent with his battalion to the Bayou St. John, northward of the city; and at its mouth, on Lake Pontchartrain, Major Hughes was in command of Fort St. John; the Baratarians, on the urgent solicitation of their chief, Lafitte, were accepted as volunteers, mustered into the ranks, and drilled to the performance of important services, under the command of Captains Dominique, You, Bluche, Songis, Lagand, and Colson, at Forts Petites Coquilles, St. Philip, and St. John. The people cheerfully submitted to martial law, and in the languages of England, France, and Spain, the streets were made to resound with "Yankee Doodle," the "Marseillaise Hymn," and the "Chant du Depart." The women were as enthusiastic as the men; and at windows, on balconies, in the streets and public squares, they applauded the passing soldiers by waving of scarfs and handkerchiefs and

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While these preparations for the reception of the invaders were in progress, the British were making unceasing efforts to press forward and take New Orleans by surprise. They had determined to make use of the Bayou Bienvenu and Villeré's Canal for the purpose; but with

tured gun-boats into the service, they could not
muster vessels enough fitted to navigate that
bayou to carry more than one-third of the army.
Keane felt so confident of success, even with a
small part of his force, that he could not brook
further delay; and on the morning of the 22d
of December-a rainy, chilly, cheerless morn-
ing-a flotilla filled with troops set out; the ad-
vance, comprising eighteen hundred men, com-
manded by Lieutenant-Colonel Thornton, who
had been wounded at Bladensburg. These were
accompanied by General Keane and his staff,
and other important officers, and followed by
the remainder, and Admiral Cochrane in a
schooner, at a proper distance, to watch and
direct the squadron. All day and all night
they were out upon the lake in open boats. A
clear sky and biting frost came at sunset, and
the wet clothing of the soldiers was stiffened
into iciness by the cold night air.
comforts ended in a measure at dawn, when they
reached the Fisherman's Village (inhabited by

Their dis

Spanish and Portuguese, who were spies and traitors), at the mouth of the Bayou Bienvenu. They were only twelve miles from New Orleans, and not a soul in that city suspected their approach.

Yet there were vigilant eyes, wide open, watching the invaders. At the head of the Bayou Bienvenu was the plantation of General Villeré, the commander of the first division of Louisiana militia. Jackson had instructed his son, Major Gabriel Villeré, to watch that bayou with a competent picket-guard.He did so faithfully; but when the British landed at Fisherman's Village they captured the most of them.

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barges at about the same time, and brought into camp a regiment of young, brave, wellarmed, but inexperienced soldiers, expert in the use of the rifle, and eager for battle. They landed on the 22d of December, and were hailed by Jackson with great joy. A troop of horse, under the dashing young Hinds, raised in Louisiana, came at about the same time.

It proved to be a fortunate circumstance; for | Carroll, who had left Nashville in November these men so magnified the number of Jack-with Tennessee militia, arrived in flat-boats and son's troops, and the strength of the defenses around New Orleans, that they moved cautiously, and failed to surprise the vigilant hero in the city. They moved slowly up the bayou; but when they reached Villeré's Canal the active Thornton pushed forward with a detachment, surrounded the mansion of the plantation, which is in sight of the Mississippi, and succeeded in capturing Major Villeré. He soon escaped, fled to the house of his neighbor, the gallant Colonel de la Ronde, and in a boat they hastened across the Mississippi. There, at the stables of M. de la Croix, one of the Committee of Public Safety of New Orleans, they procured fleet horses, and with that gentleman rode swiftly up the levee on the right bank of the river, and crossed again at New Orleans to warn Jackson of the approach of the foe. Augustus Rousseau, an active young creole who had been sent by Captain Ducros, was already there. He had reached Jackson's head - quarters in Royal Street, with the startling intelligence, at about one o'clock, and a few minutes after-only nine miles distant, these troops were all in ward Major Villeré and his party entered. "Gentlemen," said Jackson to the officers and citizens around him, "the British are below; we must fight them to-night." He then ordered three discharges of cannon to give the alarm, and sent marching orders to several of the military commanders.

Jackson's call upon Coffee, Carroll, and others had been quickly responded to. Coffee came speedily over the long and tedious route, from Fort Jackson on the Alabama River, to Baton Rouge, and was now encamped, with his brigade of mounted riflemen, on Avart's plantation, five miles above New Orleans. The active young

When, in the afternoon of the 23d, Jackson issued his marching orders, Coffee's brigade was five miles above the city; Plauche's battalion was at Bayou St. John, two miles distant; the Louisiana militia and half of Lacoste's colored battalion were three miles off on the Gentilly Road, and the regulars (Forty-fourth) under Colonel Ross, with Colonel M'Rea's artillery, a little more than eight hundred strong, were at Fort St. Charles, on the site of the present United States Branch Mint in New Orleans, and in the city barracks. Within an hour after Jackson was informed that the invaders were on the direct road to the city along the river, and

motion under special orders. Carroll and his Tennesseeans were dispatched to the upper branch of the Bayou Bienvenu; further up the Gentilly Road Governor Claiborne was stationed, with the Louisiana militia; and Coffee's brigade, Plauché's, and D'Aquin's battalions, Hind's dragoons, the New Orleans rifles, under Captain Beale, and a few Choctaw Indians, commanded by Captain Jugeat, were ordered to rendezvous at Montreuil's plantation, and hasten to Canal Rodriguez, six miles below the city, and there prepare to advance upon the foe. Commodore Patterson was directed to proceed down the Mississippi to the flank of the British at Villere's.

with such armed vessels as might be in readiness. Such was the scanty force with which Jackson proceeded to fight a foe of unknown numbers and strength.

While Jackson was assembling his troops the invaders were making ready to march on New Orleans that night and take it by surprise. They sent forward a negro to distribute a proclamation, signed by General Keane and Admiral Cochrane, printed in French and Spanish, which read thus:

"Louisianians! remain quietly in your homes; your slaves shall be preserved to you, and your property respected. We make war only against Americans."

The British were bivouacked on the highest part of Villeré's plantation, at the side of the levee, and on the plain; and in the court between Villeré's house (in which Keane and some of his officers made their head-quarters) and his sugar-works they had mounted several cannon. They were in fine spirits. Full one-half of the invading troops had been brought to the banks of the Mississippi, only nine miles from New Orleans, without firing a gun after capturing Jones's flotilla, and they believed their near approach to be wholly unknown, and even unsuspected, in the city. They were soon undeceived.

At seven o'clock in the evening the schooner Carolina, the only vessel in readiness at New Orleans, commanded by Captain Henley, dropped down the river, and anchored off Villeré's, within musket-shot distance of the centre of the British camp. At half past seven she opened a tremendous fire from her batteries, and in the course of ten minutes killed or wounded at least a hundred men. The British extinguished their camp-fires, and poured upon the Carolina a shower of bullets and Congress rockets, but with no serious effect. In less than half an hour the schooner drove the enemy from their camp, and produced great confusion among them. The American troops in the mean time, startled by the concerted signal of the Carolina's cannonade, were moving on, guided by Colonel De la Ronde, who was a volunteer with Beale's riflemen, and Major Villeré, who accompanied the Commander-in-chief. The right, under Jackson, was composed of the regulars, Plauche's, and D'Aquin's brigades, M'Rae's artillery, and some marines, and moved down the road along the levee; while the left, under Coffee, composed of his brigade, Hind's dragoons, and Beale's rifles, skirted the edge of a cypress swamp, for the purpose of endeavoring to cut off the communications of the invaders with Lake Borgne. Such was the simple plan of the battle, on the part of the Americans, on the night of the 23d of December, 1814.

The alarm and confusion in the British camp, caused by the attack of the Carolina, had scarcely been checked when they were startled by the crack of musketry in the

direction of their outposts. Keane now gave full credence to the tales of his prisoners about the large number of troops-"more than twelve thousand"-in New Orleans, and gave the dashing Thornton full liberty to do as he liked. Thornton at once led a detachment, composed of the Eighty-fifth and Ninety-fifth regiments, to the support of the pickets, and directed the Fourth, five hundred strong, to take post on Villeré's Canal, near head-quarters, to keep open the communication with Lake Borgne. Thornton and his detachment were soon met by a resolute column under the immediate command of Jackson. He had made the Canal Rodriguez, which connected the Mississippi with the Cypress Swamp, his base of operations. He advanced with about fifteen hundred men and two pieces of artillery, perfectly covered with the gloom of night. Lieutenant M'Clelland, at the head of a company of the Seventh, filing through De la Ronde's gate, advanced to the boundary of Lacoste's plantation, where, under the direction of Colonel Piatt, the Quarter-Master-General, he encountered and attacked the British pickets, who were posted in a ditch behind a fence, and drove them back. These were speedily reinforced, and a brisk engagement ensued, in which Piatt received a wound, and M'Clelland and a sergeant were killed.

In the mean time the artillerists advanced up the Levee Road, with the marines, when the British made a desperate attempt to seize their guns. There was a fierce struggle. Jackson saw it, and hastening to the spot in the midst of a shower of bullets, he shouted, "Save the guns, my boys, at any sacrifice!" They did so, when the Seventh Regiment, commanded by Major Peire, advanced, and being joined by the Forty-fourth, the engagement became general between them and Thornton's detachment. Plauché and D'Aquin soon joined their comrades, and the tide of success turned in favor of the Americans. The British, hard pressed, fell sullenly back to their original line unmolested; for the prudent Ross, commanding the

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LACOSTE'S MANSION.

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not allow a pursuit. Had it been permitted it would, as we afterward discovered, been most disastrous to the invaders. This conflict occurred not far from La Ronde's garden.

General Coffee in the mean time had advanced to the back of La Ronde's plantation, where his riflemen were dismounted and their horses were placed in charge of a hundred men at the canal that separated La Ronde's from Lacoste's farm, the latter now the prop

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erty of D. and E. Villeré. The ground was too much cut up with ditches to allow successful cavalry movements, and Major Hinds and his men remained at one of them near the middle of Lacoste's. Coffee's division extended its front as much as possible, and moved in silence, while Beale and his riflemen stole around the enemy's extreme left on Villere's plantation, and, by a sudden movement, penetrated almost to the very heart of the British camp, killing several and making others prisoners. By a blunder, made in consequence of the darkness, a number of Beale's men were captured. In the mean time Thornton, with the Eighty-fifth, fell heavily on Coffee's line, and for some time a battle raged fiercely, not in regular order, but in detachments, squads, and often duels. In the darkness friends fought each other, supposing each to be a foe. The Tennesseeans and British riflemen were almost equally expert as sharpshooters; but the short weapons of the English were not so efficient as the long ones of the American backwoodsmen. The Tennesseeans also used long knives and tomahawks vigorously. At last the British fell back, and took shelter behind the levee, more willing to incur the danger of shots from the Carolina than bullets from the rifles of the Tennesseeans.

During the engagement the Second division of the British arrived from Bayou Bienvenu, and were in the thickest of the fight with Coffee for a while; but the fear of being cut off from communication with the lake and their ships made the enemy too cautious and timid to achieve what their superior numbers qualified them to perform. They kept within the lines of their camp, and by concentration presented a strong front. Jackson perceived that in the darkness, intensified by a fog that had suddenly appeared, he could not follow up his victory

DE LA RONDE'S MANSION.

with safety; so he led the right division back to the main entrance to La Ronde's plantation, while Coffee encamped near La Ronde's garden. It was about half past nine when the conflict ceased, and at half past eleven, when all was becoming quiet in the respective camps, musketry was heard in the direction of Jumonville's plantation, below Villeré's. It was caused by the advance of some Louisiana drafted militia, stationed at a sharp bend of the Mississippi, called the English Turn, under General David Morgan, who had insisted upon being led against the enemy when they heard the guns of the Carolina early in the evening. They met some British pickets at Jumonville's, exchanged shots with them, encamped there for the night, and at dawn returned to their post at the English Turn.

The loss of the Americans in the affair on the night of the 23d of December was twenty-four killed, one hundred and fifteen wounded, and seventy-four prisoners, in all two hundred and thirteen. Among the killed was the brave Lientenant-Colonel Lauderdale, of Coffee's brigade of mounted riflemen. The British loss was about four hundred men. According to the most careful estimates the number of Americans engaged in the battle was about eighteen hundred, while those of the invaders, including the reinforcements that came during the engagement, was about twenty-five hundred. The Carolina gave the Americans a great advantage, and made the effective power about equal to that of the foe.

Jackson's prompt advance to meet the invaders saved New Orleans from capture, and Louisiana and the Mississippi Valley from conquest. The whole country blessed him for the act. But his full task was not accomplished, and he knew it. A host of veteran soldiers, fresh from the battlefields of Continental Europe, were before him,

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