War of 1812, Part 40: British Descend on the Gulf

The New Nation
Written By Tom Hand

In November 1814, Admiral Alexander Cochrane, General Edward Pakenham, and a British army of 7,000 veterans sailed from Jamaica for New Orleans. Major General Andrew Jackson, commander of American forces, was convinced any attack on New Orleans must come through Mobile and decided to strengthen the defenses of Fort Bowyer, which guarded the entrance to Mobile Bay. When British ground forces attacked the fort on September 15, the Americans repulsed the attack and forced Nichols to retire to Pensacola. Jackson then decided to take the fight to the British and captured Pensacola, a Spanish possession, on November 7. Jackson finally left for New Orleans and arrived on December 2 to find a city ill-prepared to withstand an assault.

Tom Hand, creator and publisher of Americana Corner, discusses the British descent on the Gulf Coast and the events that shaped our nation’s history. 

Images courtesy of Naval History and Heritage Command, Library of Congress, National Portrait Gallery - Smithsonian Institution, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Public Library, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Virtual Archive, Internet Archive, Wikimedia.

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Tom Hand
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War of 1812, Part 39: The Creek Indian War