The Battle of New Orleans is a conflict between the British Empire and the United States of America (America) during the War of 1812. It highlighted the emancipation on American military expertise in land-based battles. Commanded by Major General Andrew Jackson, the battle was a decisive factor in determining the outcome of the War.
Jackson played a key role in winning the Battle. He built an army that was highly undermanned compared to the British fleet that are about to wreak havoc in New Orleans (McManus, 2008). Nevertheless, his army, consisting of different people like Marine sailors, militiamen, pirates, African-American ex-slaves and the like were able to rout the 8,000-strong British force (McManus, 2008). From a throng of various people, Jackson transformed his army into a powerful one through his military tactics and sturdy leadership. He had chosen not to disband his army even after the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, which was a peace treaty between America and the British Empire (Kendall, 1922).
The Battle was a highly crucial milestone in American military history. As the hostile environment in New Orleans continued even after the signing of the Treaty, Jackson preferred not to disband his army until the British Empire ratifies the Treaty just like what the American Senate did (Kendall, 1922). Jackson chose to let his army continue fighting the British forces in spite of the Treaty being in place. He thought that the British could have abrogated from the agreement (as the empire has not ratified yet at that time) had he chosen to have his army disbanded earlier in observance of the Treaty (MHQ Magazine, 2006). Aside from enabling better military strategies to emerge, the Battle was crucial to American politics, as a loss on Jackson’s side would have enabled the British to gain a southern stronghold in addition to Canada in the north. Such a scenario would have destroyed America’s winning chances in both the Battle and the War (MHQ Magazine, 2006).
References
Kendall, J. (1922). History of New Orleans. Retrieved July 31, 2012, from http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/America/United_States/Louisiana/New_Orleans/_Texts/KENHNO/6*.html
McManus, J. (2008). Spirit of New Orleans. In HISTORYnew.com. Retrieved July 31, 2012, from http://www.historynet.com/spirit-of-new-orleans.htm.
MHQ Magazine (2006). Andrew Jackson: Leading the Battle of New Orleans. In HISTORYnew.com. Retrieved July 31, 2012, from http://www.historynet.com/andrew-jackson-leading-the-battle-of-new-orleans.htm
