page_title: Battle of New Orleans
section_title: Battle
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of New Orleans / Battle
caption_attribution_description: English: Map Battle of New Orleans 1815 Deutsch: Karte der Schlacht bei New Orleans 1815
context_page_description: The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815 between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles southeast of New Orleans, close to Chalmette, Louisiana.
  The battle took place 18 days after the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, which formally ended the War of 1812 on December 24 1814, as news of the agreement had not yet reached the United States from Europe. Despite a large British advantage in numbers, training, and experience, the American forces defeated a poorly executed assault in slightly more than 30 minutes. The Americans suffered roughly 60 casualties, while the British suffered roughly 2,000.
context_section_description: The British marched against General Jackson's lines of defense on Sunday, January 8, 1815 at 05:00, the infantry and one rifle unit advancing in two columns under the cover of artillery. The Americans had constructed three lines of defense, the forward one four miles in front of the city. It was strongly entrenched at the Rodriguez Canal, which stretched from a swamp to the river, with a timber, loopholed breastwork and earthworks for artillery. 
  The British battle plan was for an attack against the 20-gun west bank battery, then to turn those guns on the American line to assist the frontal attack. In the early morning of January 8, Pakenham gave his final orders for the two-pronged assault. Colonel William Thornton was to cross the Mississippi during the night with his force of 780, move rapidly upriver, storm the battery commanded by Commodore Daniel Patterson on the flank of the main American entrenchments, and then open an enfilading fire on Jackson's line with the captured artillery, directly across from the earthworks manned by the vast majority of American troops Keane was to lead a column along the river, and Major General Samuel Gibbs was to lead a column along the swamp. The brigade commanded by Major General John Lambert was held in reserve.
  The British dug a canal to enable 42 small boats to get to the river. Preparations for the attack had foundered early on the 8th, as the canal collapsed and the dam failed, leaving the sailors to drag the boats through the mud with Col. Thornton's west bank assault force. This left the force starting off just before daybreak, 12 hours late. The frontal attack was not postponed, however, as the British hoped that the force on the west bank would create a diversion, even if they did not succeed in the assault.
  The main attack began in darkness and a heavy fog, but the fog lifted as the British neared the main American line, exposing them to withering artillery fire. Lt-Col. Thomas Mullins, the British commander of the 44th (East Essex) Regiment of Foot, had forgotten the ladders and fascines needed to cross the eight-foot deep and fifteen-foot wide canal. and scale the earthworks, and the British forces fell into confusion. Most of the senior officers were killed or wounded, including Major General Samuel Gibbs, who was killed leading the main attack column on the right, and Colonel Rennie, who led a detachment on the left by the river.
  The 93rd Highlanders were ordered to leave Keane's assault column advancing along the river, possibly because of Thornton's delay in crossing the river and the artillery fire that might hit them, and to move across the open field to join the main force on the right. Keane fell wounded as he crossed the field with the 93rd. Rennie's men managed to attack and overrun an American advance redoubt next to the river, but they could neither hold the position nor successfully storm the main American line behind it without reinforcements. Within a few minutes, the American 7th Infantry arrived, moved forward, and fired upon the British in the captured redoubt; within half an hour, Rennie and nearly all of his men were dead. In the main attack on the right, the British infantrymen flung themselves to the ground, huddled in the canal, or were mowed down by a combination of musket fire and grapeshot from the Americans. A handful made it to the top of the parapet on the right, but they were killed or captured. The 95th Rifles had advanced in open skirmish order ahead of the main assault force and were concealed in the ditch below the parapet, unable to advance further without support.
  The two large main assaults were repulsed. Pakenham and Major General Samuel Gibbs, his second in command, were fatally wounded while on horseback by grapeshot fired from the earthworks. Major Wilkinson of the 21st Regiment reformed his lines and made a third assault. They were able to reach the entrenchments and attempted to scale them. Wilkinson made it to the top before being shot. The Americans were amazed at his bravery and carried him behind the rampart. The British so
caption: Battle of New Orleans: Jan. 8th
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