The plot, the pirate, the plan

During the War of 1812, the British turned their attention to the city of New Orleans. It was an important port on the Mississippi River. Steamships carried American exports of cotton and sugar to ocean-going vessels. Booming business made lawyers, insurers, and merchants very wealthy. The greatest number of millionaires were concentrated between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. They built opulent townhomes in the French Quarter and magnificent mansions in the Garden District – and the British plotted to seize everything.

The Plot. In the autumn of 1814, Maj. Gen. Sir Edward Pakenham, sailed more than 50 warships into the Gulf of Mexico in preparation for his attack on New Orleans. Pakenham was a career officer in the British Army who commanded units during the Irish Rebellion and saw action throughout the French revolution. He was an aristocrat born into a life of privilege. His brother-in-law, Arthur Wellesley, would later become the Duke of Wellington.

The Pirate. Jean Lafitte, known as a “gentleman” pirate (as well as the “Terror of the Gulf”) plundered British, American, and Spanish vessels alike. He insisted that he was a privateer, not a pirate. He operated out of Barataria Bay, just south of New Orleans. It is estimated that Lafitte had more than 1,000 pirates/people working for him. When Gov. William Claiborne put a $500 reward on Lafitte’s head, the pirate responded by offering $1,500 to anyone who delivered Claiborne to Barataria.

British officials delivered a letter to the notorious pirate stating that they wanted to use the island of Barataria (Lafitte’s headquarters) for the invasion of New Orleans and wanted Lafitte and his men to fight with them and guide them through the swamps. Lafitte would be rewarded with a full pardon, land, a position in the British Royal Navy, and lots of cash.

Lafitte transformed from pirate to patriot when he warned the U.S. Army of the invasion and, instead, offered his services to help defend New Orleans — in exchange for a full pardon for him and his men.

The Plan. Warned of the imminent danger to New Orleans, Maj. Gen. Andrew Jackson, the son of Irish immigrants and commander of the U.S. Seventh Military District, had a plan to save the city. Aristocrats, frontiersmen, farmers, slaves, free-men of color, the Choctaw people, as well as Lafitte and his pirates, rallied to Jackson’s call to protect New Orleans. They came together to build fortifications. They covered large cotton bales with mud to conceal and protect the batteries of cannon that stretched down the Mississippi Rive to the swamps.

The battle began at sunrise on Jan. 8, about five miles southeast of the French Quarter on the Chalmette Plantation; 5,700 Americans confronted 8,000 British soldiers. Jackson split his troops into two defensive positions, one on the east bank of the Mississippi and one on the west. Pakenham mounted a 2-pronged assault but couldn’t break through Jackson’s lines. The Tennessee and Kentucky militias killed 2,000 British troops in less than 30 minutes. Pakenham rode forward to rally his troops but was met with a volley of grapeshot and died from his wounds. The Americans suffered 62 casualties.

Ironically, a peace treaty had been signed in Ghent, Belgium on Dec. 24, 1814, about two weeks before the battle, but neither the British nor the Americans were aware of it.

President James Madison pardoned Lafitte and his men and Andrew Jackson would become our nation’s 7th president. Jackson was the only president to serve in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.