Jean Lafitte Historic Resource Study (Chalmette Unit)

1. Latour, Historical Memoir, p. 214, xlvii-xlviii; Nolte, Fifty Years in Both Hemispheres, p. 214; "General Carroll's Expedition," pp. 52-53; Bassett, Life of Andrew Jackson, I, 184; Roosevelt, Naval War of 1812, pp. 347-48, 469-70; Casey, Louisiana in the War of 1812, pp. 53-54; James, Border Captain, pp. 249-50; Brooks, Siege of New Orleans, pp. 178-79.

2. Hill, Recollections of an Artillery Officer, pp. 326-27; Cooke, Narrative of Events, pp. 206-07; Dickson, "Journal of Operations in Louisiana," pp. 10, 16. See also the sketch map on p. 11.

3. Jackson, "Battle of New Orleans." Microfilm, Series 4, Reel 64.

4. Ibid., Jackson to James Brown, February 4, 1815. War of 1812 manuscripts Manuscript Department, Lilly Library, Indiana University; Latrobe, Impression Respecting New Orleans, sketch map, "Field of Battle"; Casey, "Artillery in the Battle of New Orleans," p. 11; Brooks, Siege of New Orleans, pp. 179-80; "Particulars in relation to Battle of New Orleans"; Parton, Life of Andrew Jackson, II, 132; Bassett, Life of Andrew Jackson, I, 185. DeGrummond, Renato Beluche, pp. 112-13. For mention of platforms, see Dagmar Renshaw, Lebreton, "The Men Who Won the Battle of New Orleans," The Louisiana Historical Quarterly, XXXVIII (July, 1955), p. 28. It is impossible to precisely delineate the arrangement of Jackson's artillery on December 28, given the available evidence. No two primary accounts agree and some offer only partial descriptions of the types of ordnance and their placement. It is not understood, for example, just what disposition was made of Spotts's two 6-pounders on the 27th when Jackson directed them to the center of his line, although Spotts's guns later appeared in Battery No. 6.

5. Walker, Jackson and New Orleans, p. 226; Tatum, "Journal," p. 117; Brown, Amphibious p. 117. The advance was originally intended for the 27th but was postponed because of delays in preparing the meat ration of the troops. Dickson, "Journal of Operations in Louisiana," p. 17.

6. Dickson, "Journal of Operations in Louisiana," p. 21.

7. Bassett, Life of Andrew Jackson, I, 186; Casey, Louisiana in the War of 1812, pp. 57-58; DeGrummond, Baratarians, p. 104; DeGrummond, Renato Beluche, pp. 112-13.

8. Tatum, "Journal," p. 119.

9. "Report of the army accoutrements, and ammunition of the troops, under the command of Major Genl. Andrew Jackson." Andrew Jackson Papers. Manuscripts Division, Chicago Historical Society.

10. This account in prepared from materials in the following sources: Latour, Historical Memoir, pp. 119-21; Dickson, "Journal of Operations in Louisiana," pp. 20-21; G.R. Gleig, The Campaigns of the British Army at Washington and New Orleans, Orig. pub. London, 1827. Reprint, Totowa, New Jersey: Roman and Littlefield, n. d.), pp. 168-69, 170; Cooke, Narrative of Events, pp. 207-08; Cochrane, "Narrative"; "Diary of a British Officer," in Correspondence of Andrew Jackson, II; William Surtees, Twenty-five Years in the Rifle Brigade (Orig. pub. 1833. Reprint, London: Frederick Muller, Ltd., 1973), pp. 359-361; Reid and Eaton, Life of Andrew Jackson, pp. 314-15; Norman Pringle, Letters by Major Norman Pringle, Late of the 21st Royal Scots Fusileers, Vindicating the Character of the British Army, Employed in North America in the Years 1814-15, from Aspersions Cast Upon It in Stuart's "Three Years in North America" (Edinburgh: William Blackwood, 1833), p. 12; Walker, Jackson and New Orleans, pp. 225-26; Parton, Life of Andrew Jackson, II, 142; Bassett, Life of Andrew Jackson, I, 185-86; Rowland, Andrew Jackson's Campaign Against the British, pp. 324, 326; Casey, Louisiana in the War of 1812, pp. 55-58; Brown, Amphibious Campaign, pp. 113-14, 116; Reilly, British at the Gates, pp. 274-75; DeGrummond, Renato Beluche, pp. 113-14; DeGrummond, Baratarians, pp. 104-05, 106-07, 125.

11. Dickson, "Journal of Operations in Louisiana," pp. 21-22.

12. Gleig, Campaigns of the British Army, p. 170. See also Berson Earle Hill, Recollections of an Artillery Officer (2 vols.; London: Richard Bentley, 1836) I, 332; A.B. Ellis, The History of the First West India Regiment (London: Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1885), p. 151; and Surtees, Twenty-Five Years in the Rifle Brigade, pp. 359-60.

13. Ibid., pp. 21-23; Atchison Diary, Historic New Orleans Collection, p. 4. Major Forrest, "Journal of the Operations Against New Orleans in 1814 and 1815," The Louisiana Historical Quarterly, XLIV (January-April, 1961), p. 118.

14. Historical Memoir, p. 122.

15. Walker, Jackson and New Orleans, pp. 226-27; Rowland, Andrew Jackson's Campaign Against the British, p. 329.

16. Ibid., pp. 122-23.

17. "Journal," pp. 116-17. See also, Reid and Eaton, Life of Andrew Jackson, pp. 317-18; "General Carroll's Expedition," pp. 53-54.

18. Latour, Historical Memoir, p. 123; Reid and Eaton, Life of Andrew Jackson, p. 318; Buell, History of Andrew Jackson, I, 411; Brown, Amphibious Campaign, p. 114-16; DeGrummond, Baratarians, pp. 105-06, 107; Brooks, Siege of New Orleans, p. 189.

19. Latour, Historical Memoir, p. 123. Elsewhere Latour listed casualties of 9 killed and 8 wounded. Tatum stated that 7 were killed and 8 wounded. Roosevelt, citing "official returns," accounted for 18 American casualties. Naval War of 1812, p. 470.

20. Latour, Historical Memoir, p. 123; Rowland, Andrew Jackson's Campaign Against the British, pp. 329-30; DeGrummond, Baratarians, p. 108. Theodore Roosevelt placed British losses at 58. Naval War of 1812, p. 470.

21. Latour, Historical Memoir, pp. 127-28; Dickson, "Journal of Operations in Louisiana," p. 28; Gleig, Campaigns of the British Army, pp. 171-72. Off the field, Jackson ordered the Louisiana legislature closed on learning that the body was prepared to surrender all to the British, in effect declaring martial law. See Report of the Committee of Inquiry, on the Military Measures Executed Against the Legislature (New Orleans, 1814); Report of the Committee of the Senate in Relation to the Fine Imposed on Gen. Jackson: Together with the Documents Accompanying the Same (New Orleans, 1814).

22. Latour, Historical Memoir, pp. 126-27; Surtees, Twenty-five Years in the Rifle Brigade, pp. 361-63; Gleig, Campaigns of the British Army, pp. 171-72; Hill, Recollections of an Artillery Officer, pp. 333-34; Tatum, "Journal," p. 117; Dickson, "Journal of Operations in Louisiana," pp. 23, 26; Rowland, Andrew Jackson's Campaign Against the British, p. 311; Buell, History of Andrew Jackson, I, 415-16; DeGrummond, Baratarians, p. 112.

23. Historical Memoir, pp. 136-37. A flesche, or redan, was proposed to be built along the ditch about midway between the redoubt and the levee road. See J.F. Bourgoyne, Plan of Battlefield, Battle of New Orleans. Map Division, Historic New Orleans Collection.

24. Dickson, "Journal of Operations in Louisiana," p. 24; Gleig, Campaigns of the British Army, p. 172; Brown, Amphibious Campaign, p. 118; DeGrummond, Baratarians, p. 112; DeGrummond, Renato Beluche, p. 114.

25. Dickson, "Journal of Operations in Louisiana," pp. 10-11, 13, 23, 24; Casey, Louisiana in the War of 1812, pp. 52-53. For a discussion of amounts of British ammunition used in the New Orleans campaign, see Ritchie, "Louisiana Campaign," pp. 44-45;

26. Latour, Historical Memoir, p. 131; Surtees, Twenty-Five Years in the Rifle Brigade, pp. 363-64; Gleig, Campaigns of the British Army, pp. 172-73; Cochrane, "Narrative"; Forrest, "Journal of Operations," pp. 118-19; Hill, Recollections of an Artillery Officer, pp. 340, 341-42; Dickson, "Journal of Operations in Louisiana," pp. 24, 25-26, 27, 29, 30. Walker, Jackson and New Orleans, pp. 250-51; Parton, Life of Andrew Jackson, II, 154-55. Buell, History of Andrew Jackson, I, 416-17; Ritchie, "Louisiana Campaign," pp. 48-49, 52. Apparently Pakenham temporarily entertained the notion of conducting siege approaches against Jackson's line rolling hogsheads filled with cotton in advance of his forces. This idea seems to have been dropped. Ibid., pp. 412-13.

27. Charles R. Forrest, The Battle of New Orleans: A British View. The Journal of Major C.R. Forrest, Asst. QM General, Thirty-fourth Regiment of Foot (New Orleans: The Hauser Press, 1961), pp. 36-37.

28. Compiled from Dickson "Journal of Operations in Louisiana," pp. 30-31; Casey, Louisiana in the War of 1812, pp. 59-63; Meuse, Weapons of the Battle of New Orleans, pp. 33-35; Brown, Amphibious Campaign, pp. 124-26; and Latour, "Plan of the Attack and Defence of the American Lines...." For positions of the different batteries, see J. F. Bourgoyne, Plan of the Battle of New Orleans, ca. 1815. Manuscript Division, Historic New Orleans Collection. (A somewhat refined version of this plan has been attributed to Colonel Alexander Dickson. See BPRO, London. War Office, Vol. 141.) See especially Dickson's sketch map in "Journal of Operations in Louisiana," p. 36.

29. Casey, Louisiana in the War of 1812, pp. 61-62. For description of the travail involved in forwarding and emplacing the artillery, see Meuse, Weapons of the Battle of New Orleans, pp. 38-39.

30. These are explained in Casey, Louisiana in the War of 1812, p. 80.

31. Latour, "Plan of the Attack and Defense of the American Lines..." Ellery, "Plan Showing the disposition of the American Troops..." William Joyes map, Filson Club Collections, Louisville, Kentucky.

32. "List of officers and men serving at the Batteries." With the exception of this listing, the previously assigned numerical designation for the batteries will be used.

33. Ibid.; Joyes map; Ellery, "Plan Showing the disposition of the American Troops...."; Latour, "Plan of the Attack and Defense of the American Lines...." Tatum, "Journal," p. 133; Casey, "Artillery in the Battle of New Orleans," p. 31. Another contemporary accounting of American ordnance appears in "Key of the Print," published to accompany Laclotte's "Defeat of the British Army...." Laclotte, who was present, listed the artillery as follows: Humphreys, two 12-pounders; Norris, one 24-pounder; Dominique and Beluche, two 24-pounders; Crawley, one 32-pounder; Perry, two 12-pounders; Garrigues, one 12-pounder; Spotts, one 18-pounder, one 14-pounder, and small howitzer. Variations of the battery complements and positions, generally derived from Latour, appear in Casey, Louisiana in the War of 1812, p. 80; DeGrummond, Renato Beluche, pp. 115-16. Buell stated that the mortar was of 10-inch calibre. History of Andrew Jackson, I, 406.

34. Casey, "Artillery in the Battle of New Orleans," p. 32. Brown lists sixteen pieces of ordnance on Jackson's line January 1. Amphibious Campaign, p. 126.

35. Ibid.

36. Later complaints arose over the fact that the British infantry had not been ordered to advance at the initiation of the artillery barrage and before the Americans could respond. "For more than ten minutes they did not fire a gun... and a whole brigade of infantry close at hand, burned to be ordered on to the assault, and with loud words demanded why they were not led on.... But to their utter astonishment no such order was given...." Cooke, Narrative of Events, p. 211.

37. Dickson stated that this movement was a "false attack" intended to divert the Americans attention from the anticipated frontal assault. "Journal of Operations in Louisiana," p. 38.

38. This account is based on the following sources: "Diary of a British Officer," in Correspondence of Andrew Jackson, II, 109-10; Latour, Historical Memoir, pp. 132-36; "Journal of an Officer, 1814-15," p. 645; Ellery, "Notes and Comments"; Labreton, "Men Who Won the Battle of New Orleans," p. 29; Cooke, Narrative of Events, pp. 210-11; George Laval Chesterton, Peace, War, and Adventure: An Autobiographical Memoir of George Laval Chesterton (2 vols.; London: Longman, Brown, Greene, and Longmans, 1853), I, 193-95; Laffite, Journal of Jean Laffite, p. 60; Dickson, "Journal of Operations in Louisiana," pp. 35, 37-38; Reid and Eaton, Life of Andrew Jackson, pp. 326-29; Tatum, "Journal," pp. 120-22; General Court Martial, pp. 90-91, 95; Harry Smith, Autobiography of Lieutenant-General Sir Harry Smith (London: John Murray, 1901. Typescript copy in the library of the Chalmette Unit, Jean Lafitte National Historical Park), pp. 4-5; "General Carroll's Expedition," pp. 56-57; "Particulars in relation to Battle of N. Orleans"; Bassett, Life of Andrew Jackson, I, 187-88; Rowland, Andrew Jackson's Campaign Against the British, pp. 334-35; Parton, Life of Andrew Jackson, II, 157-58, 159, 161; Buell, History of Andrew Jackson, I, 417-20, 422; Casey, Louisiana in the War of 1812, pp. 64, 65-66; Casey, "Artillery in the Battle of New Orleans," pp. 22-23; DeGrummond, Renato Beluche, pp. 115, 117; DeGrummond, Baratarians, pp. 113-14, 115, 116, 117; Smith, Battle of New Orleans, pp. 58-59; James, Border Captain, pp. 257-59; Brooks, Siege of New Orleans, pp. 202-03, 204.

39. Tatum, "Journal," p. 122; Latour, Historical Memoir, pp. 135, lix; DeGrummond, Baratarians, pp. 117-18, citing Hill, Recollections of an Artillery Officer, II.

40. Forrest, "Journal of Operations," p. 120; Tatum, "Journal," p. 122; Latour, Historical Memoir, pp. cxlviii-cxlix; Hill, Recollections of an Artillery Officer, II, 5; Surtees, Twenty-Five Years in the Rifle Brigade, p. 367. For details of the withdrawal of the guns, see Dickson, "Journal of Operations in Louisiana," pp. 39-40, and Casey, "Artillery in the Battle of New Orleans," p. 25.

41. Memoir of the Life of Admiral Sir Edward Codrington (2 vols.; London: Longmans, Green, and Company, 1873), I, 334.

42. Ritchie, "Louisiana Campaign," p. 56; Casey, "Artillery at the Battle of New Orleans," p. 24.

43. Dickson, "Journal of Operations in Louisiana," pp. 38-39.

44. Historical Memoir, p. 134.

45. "Journal of Operations in Louisiana," p. 35.

46. History of Andrew Jackson, I, 406-07. See also, Reilly, British at the Gates, p. 280, quoting General William Carroll.

47. Impressions Respecting New Orleans, pp. 45-46.

48. Ibid., pp. 73-74.

49. Cooke, Narrative of Events, pp. 210, 270; George A. Lowry, "Ginning and Baling Cotton, from 1798 to 1898," American Society of Mechanical Engineers (1898), p. 819.

50. The British participant Cooke, writing years later, said that "large cotton bags were brought...to form epaulements [sic], and to flank the embrasures of the American batteries." Narrative of Events, p. 210.

51. Jackson and New Orleans, p. 261.

52. Journal of Jean Laffite, p. 60. Several participants discounted the use of cotton bales. "The cotton-bale story is positively untrue," remarked Brigadier General Henry W. Palfrey in 1857, more than four decades later. "I was a lieutenant. I fought behind that breastwork and if you will but consider the inflammable quality of cotton you will see how utterly impracticable such a material would be.... It is not impossible that a few bales found upon the plantation might have been thrown into the work to help it on; but they would of necessity have to be thickly covered with earth. Cotton-bales would be the very worst material for any work of that kind, and, as an active participant in the battle, I have no knowledge of their use." Quoted in The Sunday Dispatch (Philadelphia), February 19, 1877. William Darby also denied the use of bales in Jackson's line. Letter on Battle of New Orleans signed "Verita," January 18, 1855. Manuscript Division, Cincinnati Historical Society. Jackson himself stated many years after the battle that no cotton bales were used in his earthworks. Parton, Life of Andrew Jackson, III, 633.

53. Walker, Jackson and New Orleans, p. 111.

54. Fifty Years in Both Hemispheres, pp. 215-16. See also Smith, Battle of New Orleans, p. 59.

55. Ibid., p. 216.

56. Owsley, Struggle for the Gulf Borderlands, p. 148. See also, Reilly, British at the Gates, pp. 279-80; DeGrummond, Baratarians, p. 104; and Casey, "Artillery in the Battle of New Orleans," p. 21; Ritchie, "Louisiana Campaign," p. 53; Brown, Amphibious Campaign, p. 119.

57. John Richard Ogilvy, Kentucky at New Orleans (1828), quoted in Buell, History of Andrew Jackson, I, 409.