Battle of New Orleans

January 8, 1815 · Gulf Coast Theater

Phases

1. 1Phase 1 — Jackson's LineJanuary 1–7, 1815 — Fortification
2. 2Phase 2 — British AssaultJanuary 8, 1815 — 6:00 AM
3. 3Phase 3 — CollapseJanuary 8, 1815 — 7:00–8:30 AM

January 1–7, 1815 — Fortification

Andrew Jackson orders the Rodriguez Canal — a dry millrace ditch — dug out and fortified with earthwork ramparts stretching from the Mississippi River to a cypress swamp. The line runs roughly 1,000 yards across the only dry corridor to New Orleans. Artillery batteries are positioned at regular intervals; Jackson's mixed force of regulars, Kentucky riflemen, Louisiana militia, free Black troops, and Baratarian pirates takes position behind the parapet.

• ●Rodriguez Canal earthwork line — Jackson's main defensive position
• ●Mississippi River flank — American gunboat USS Louisiana provides artillery support
• ●Jackson's headquarters — Macarty Plantation
• ●British camp — Pakenham's 8,000 Napoleonic veterans bivouac in the cane fields