Battle of New Orleans
Battle of New Orleans
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]In the first week of September, General Ross pulls his men out of Chesapeake Bay, and heads with them to Jamaica where various British forces are being assembled. He has with him the 5000+ men he had had in the Chesapeake bay, and meets with other forces assembled there. While it does take some time to assemble this group, they do NOT have to wait for London to decide on and send a new commander. [OTL, Pakenham did not arrive until after the attack he was supposed to be leading had already started.] Given the reduced danger to the Maritimes (since New England is now not at all a threat), many of the troops stationed there are sent either into Canada or south to join Ross's expedition. All in all, Ross is able to accumulate 10,000 men in Jamaica by the beginning of October. His first act on arriving at Jamaica (before the whole force is assembled) is to send a medium sized force to West Florida – firstly to Pensacola, where the group coordinates with the Red Stick Creeks and the Pensacola garrison, and then, augmented with some of those local forces, heads to Mobile, specifically Fort Bowyer at the mouth of the bay on the 15th of September. Since the winds were right, a coordinated attack from both land and sea was possible, and the fort was soon taken. [OTL Andrew Jackson had just upgraded the defences of Fort Bowyer. Since he's not around, General Flournoy didn't get around to it in time. (Flournoy's still in charge, because all the attention is focussed in other theatres, and there wasn't anyone really obvious to replace him with.) Also, the Allied forces are much larger (the Red Sticks are in much better shape, there were more forces at Pensacola, and Ross and Cochrane moved south much faster). In addition, the OTL attack was attempted a few days earlier when the wind was in the wrong direction to allow naval support.] With the fort gone, the city of Mobile is rather exposed and it surrenders relatively quickly.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]With Ross in Jamaica early enough to do some planning, and with time to consult with Spanish officials, naval officers, and other army officers, the lack of the required small boats is discovered. The army officers assumed the navy was supplying them, some naval officers assumed the army was, some officers of both branches assumed the locals would have them. Since a major part of the proposed attack plan involved sending thousands of men on small boats through the waterways around New Orleans, a shortage of boats could have been a disaster [and was OTL]. While the main force is getting organized, a task force is given the job of supplying boats, buying them locally around the Caribbean, buying them, whatever it takes.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif][note that OTL, the lack of small boats and not having control of Mobile severely restricted the British options for attacking New Orleans. Here they have much better options, can move more men and cannon and ammunition much more easily.][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]The British forces set sail, and land near New Orleans on the 12 of November 1814 [one month earlier than OTL]. Being better prepared, and having more options open to them, they are able to move their forces, including several heavy cannon from the warships in against New Orleans in a week. Due to the speed of advance, there is not enough time for the Americans to prepare elaborate dug-in defences, [OTL the landing was 12 December and the final battle 8 January]. Flournoy sent desperate messages off for reinforcements, but there is no time for them to arrive before the battle [unlike OTL, where groups from Tennessee, Kentucky and Mississippi all made it to the battle in time. Some had, admittedly set out before the British landed, but they won't have even started off with the earlier British invasion, iTTL.] Flournoy proposes to increase the numbers of defenders by arming the local free blacks – free men of colour. The whites complain loudly and bitterly, and he backs down. [OTL, Jackson armed them anyway] The lack of strong defensive works means that the attack is less of a defensive dream than OTL, and the British overrun the American lines fairly quickly since they have a 3-1 advantage [OTL, with armed blacks and the various reinforcements, Jackson had a bit more than 4000 well dug in, facing some 5-6000 British. Here, we have 3000, in much worse positions against 9000 (as more of the British force was able to be concentrated at once), and the British have far more cannons and ammunition]. Casualties are high, about a thousand killed wounded for each side, but the defensive line is pierced and New Orleans is open to attack. The Louisiana legislature quickly votes to surrender, and as Flournoy was captured with his men, there is no one to countermand the surrender. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]With New Orleans in hand, the British are easily able to defeat in detail groups of Kentuckians, Tennesseeans and Mississippians who arrive separately, and Lousiana is now in British hands. [/FONT]