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War of 1812, Part 41: Fight for the Crescent City Begins
With the British now on the doorsteps of New Orleans but the city's defenses incomplete and the army not yet assembled, it became apparent that General Andrew Jackson had badly miscalculated regarding British intentions and had wasted precious time with his assault on Pensacola and initial focus on Mobile. But Old Hickory remained undaunted and ordered all available forces to march post-haste to the city.
War of 1812, Part 40: British Descend on the Gulf
In a dispatch dated August 10, 1814, Vice Admiral Alexander Cochrane was instructed by Lord Bathurst, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, to proceed to Jamaica and rendezvous with reinforcements coming from England to assist him in capturing New Orleans. With the death of Major General Robert Ross at North Point, the War Department in London gave the command of the land force for this new expedition to Major General Sir Edward Pakenham, a veteran of the Peninsula War and the brother-in-law of the Duke of Wellington. And on November 26, Cochrane, Pakenham, and a British army of nearly 7,000 veterans sailed for New Orleans.