toutes mes excuses c'est en anglais: pour ne pas oublier les guerres aux USA conséquences des guerres de l'Empire.
The Battle of New Orleans took place on January 8, 1815, and was the final major battle of the War of 1812.[1] American forces under General Andrew Jackson defeated an invading British army intent on seizing New Orleans and America's western lands. The Treaty of Ghent had been signed on December 24, 1814, but news of the peace would not reach New Orleans until February.
Prelude
By December 12, 1814 a large British fleet, under the command of Sir Alexander Cochrane and with more than 10,000 soldiers and sailors aboard, had anchored in the Gulf of Mexico east of Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Borgne. Preventing access to the lakes was an American flotilla, commanded by Thomas ap Catesby Jones, consisting of five gunboats. On December 14, British sailors in rowing boats, each boat armed with a small cannon, captured the vastly outnumbered gunboats in a brief but violent battle. Now free to navigate Lake Borgne, thousands of British soldiers, under the command of General John Keane, were rowed to Pea Island, about 30 miles east of New Orleans, where they established a garrison.
On the morning of December 23, Keane led a vanguard of 1500 British soldiers from the island to the east bank of the Mississippi River, less than 10 miles south of New Orleans. Keane could have attacked the city by advancing for a few hours up the river road, which was undefended all the way to New Orleans, but he made the fateful decision to wait for the arrival of reinforcements. Early that afternoon, when news of the British position reached Major General Andrew Jackson at New Orleans, he reportedly said, "Gentlemen, the British are below, we must fight them tonight." Jackson quickly sent about 2000 of his troops from New Orleans to a position immediately north of the British to block them from making any further advances toward the city. Jackson, because he needed time to get his artillery into position, decided to attack the British immediately.
On the night of December 23, Jackson personally led a three-pronged attack on the British camp that lasted until early morning. After capturing some equipment and supplies, the Americans withdrew to New Orleans, suffering a reported 24 killed, 115 wounded, and 74 missing or captured, while the British claimed their losses as 46 killed, 167 wounded, and 64 missing or captured.
This stalled the British advance long enough for the Americans to bring in their heavy artillery and establish earthworks along a portion of the east bank of the Mississippi River. The British then tried to inflitrate the heartlands, but were met with heavy resistance from the townsfolk. Armed with whatever weapons they could find, the locals refused to give up their town to the invading British troops, which caused the British to withdraw to the town of Madison.[2] Then on Christmas Day, General Edward Pakenham arrived on the battlefield and ordered a reconnaissance-in-force against the American earthworks protecting the roads to New Orleans. On December 28, groups of British troops made probing attacks against the American earthworks.
When the British troops withdrew, the Americans began construction of artillery batteries to protect the earthworks, which were then christened Line Jackson. The Americans installed eight batteries, which included one 32-pound gun, three 24-pounders, one 18-pounder, three 12-pounders, three 6-pounders, and a 6-inch howitzer. Jackson also sent a detachment of men to the west bank of the Mississippi to man two 24-pounders and two 12-pounders from the grounded warship Louisiana.
The main British army arrived on New Year's Day, and attacked the earthworks using their artillery. An exchange of artillery fire began that lasted for three hours. Several of the American guns were destroyed or knocked out, including the 32-pounder, a 24-pounder, and a 12-pounder, and some damage was done to the earthworks. While the Americans held their ground, the British guns ran out of ammunition, which led Pakenham to cancel the attack. Pakenham decided to wait for his entire force of over 8000 men to assemble before launching his attack
Battle of January 8
The battlefield at Chalmette Plantation on January 8, 1815
Eighteenth century map of southeast LouisianaIn the early morning of January 8, Pakenham ordered a two-pronged assault against Jackson's position: a small force on the west bank of the Mississippi and the main attack in three columns (along the river, along the swamp line, and in reserve) directly against the earthworks manned by the vast majority of American troops.[4]
The attack began under darkness and a heavy fog, but as the British neared the main enemy line, the fog lifted, exposing them to withering artillery fire. The British commander of the 44th (East Essex) Regiment of Foot had forgotten the ladders and fascines needed to cross a canal and scale the earthworks, and confusion evolved in the dark and fog as the British tried to close the gap. Most of the senior officers were killed or wounded, and the British infantry either flung themselves to the ground, huddled in the canal, or were mown down by a combination of musket fire and grapeshot from the Americans. A handful made it to the top of the parapet but were either killed or captured. An American advance redoubt next to the river was overrun by British light infantry but without reinforcements they could neither hold the position nor storm the main American line behind.
The two large, main assaults on the American position were repulsed. Pakenham was fatally wounded, while on horseback, by grapeshot fired from the earthworks. General John Lambert assumed command and ordered a withdrawal.
The only British success was on the west bank of the Mississippi River, where a 700-man detachment attacked and overwhelmed the American line. They were sent orders to withdraw after the defeat of their main army on the east bank, and withdrew taking a few American prisoners and cannons with them.
At the end of the day, the British had 2,037 casualties: 291 dead (including three senior generals), 1,262 wounded, and 484 captured or missing.[5] The Americans had 71 casualties: 13 dead, 39 wounded, and 19 missing.[5]
With the defeat of the British army and the death of Pakenham, Lambert decided that despite the arrival of reinforcements and a siege train for use against New Orleans, continuing the battle would be too costly. Within a week, all of the British troops had redeployed onto the ships and sailed away to Biloxi, Mississippi, where the British army attacked and captured Fort Bowyer on February 12. The British army was making preparations to attack Mobile when news arrived of the peace treaty. The treaty had been ratified by the British Parliament but would not be ratified by Congress and the president until mid-February. It, however, did resolve that hostilities should cease, and the British sailed home. While the Battle of New Orleans had no influence on the terms of the Treaty of Ghent, the defeat at New Orleans did compel Britain to abide by the treaty.[6] Also, the Treaty of Ghent did not specifically mention the Louisiana Territory and only required both sides to give back any land that had been taken from the other during the war.[7]
Americans had believed that a vastly powerful British fleet and army had sailed for New Orleans (Jackson himself thought 25,000 troops were coming), and most expected the worst. The news of victory, one man recalled, "came upon the country like a clap of thunder in the clear azure vault of the firmament, and traveled with electromagnetic velocity, throughout the confines of the land."[8] The battle boosted the reputation of Andrew Jackson and helped to propel him to the White House. The anniversary of the battle was celebrated for many years.
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Sujet: 1815 New Orleans Anniversaire (Lu 2808 fois)