"Andrew Jackson and the Miracle of New Orleans" by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger

Above: "Andrew Jackson and the Miracle of New Orleans" Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger. 250 Pages.

However, had the British won at New Orleans, by gaining control of the access to the Mississippi River, they could have stymied America's continued growth to the west.

I completed reading this book today.

Prior to this read I would have been hard pressed to give a clear answer on the nature of the War of 1812.

So here is a summary of what I learned in reading this book:

Some 20 years after the Revolutionary War, the Brits, still not over their loss to a rag tag bunch of American colonists, were messing with the newly formed US.

In their ongoing fight with the French, Britain blockaded the Gulf waters allowing entry to the port of New Orleans to prevent trade between the erstwhile French North American possession, and France.

In the process of sinking and capturing US ships, including along the Atlantic coast line, Britain impressed as many as 5000 US sailors. Despite opposition from northern states, who were highly dependent on trade with Britain, Madison could not let Britain's hostile actions towards US shipping stand. He managed to gain Congress' support to declare war on Britain in early 1812.

In its early stages, the war didn't go well for the US. America suffered its most humiliating war time defeat when British troops successfully stormed Washington D.C. and burned the Whitehouse to the ground.

American's rebuffed a British attack on nearby Baltimore and it was at the Battle of Baltimore that Francis Scott Key saw the rockets red glare and penned the National Anthem.

The war was ended by the Treaty of Ghent (Belgian Flanders) signed in February 1815. The situation returned to status quo ante. Neither side gained nor lost anything as a result of the war. British impressing of American sailors stopped as Britain had defeated Napoleon and the French at Waterloo and had no more need to inhibit French trade.

Notwithstanding the ongoing treaty negotiations at Ghent, the Brits mounted an offensive on New Orleans in late 1814. They were resentful that America had recently purchased from Napoleon a large swath of heretofore French territory west of the Mississippi - The Louisiana Purchase. This land could have been (should have been?) British based on Britain's defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo.

To ward off the British attack on New Orleans, Major General Andrew Jackson, hitherto a land owning Indian fighter from Tennessee, cobbled together a rag tag army consisting of Tennessee and Kentucky militiamen, New Orleans Creoles, pirates, and Indians.

Jackson's force of 4 000 was less than a third the size of the British force of 14,000. Under Jackson's inspirational leadership, the Americans prevailed, sent the Brits running, and Jackson became a national hero.

The Battle of New Orleans was fought after the peace treaty was signed at Ghent.

However, had the British won at New Orleans, by gaining control of the access to the Mississippi River, they could have stymied America's continued growth to the west. Its hard to believe Britain would have returned the lands west of the Mississippi, notwithstanding their acquisition of the lands after the signing of the Treaty of Ghent.

I enjoyed reading the story of how all this unfolded in this book. It is a quick and good read on an important, but forgotten, period of American history.