New Orleans
The United States achieved its greatest land victory of the War of 1812 at New Orleans. The battle thwarted a British effort to gain control of a critical...
/themes/client/abt/favicon.ico
American Battlefield Trust
Although American and British negotiators signed a peace treaty between their two nations in Ghent on December 24, 1814, news of the treaty had not reached the shores of the United States by January 8, 1815. Neither the opposing armies nor the United States Congress were aware of the signing. So, the war continued, and the American defense of the valuable port of New Orleans remained critical.

This last major battle of the War of 1812 sealed the victory for the Americans and won the young United States international recognition. But in the end, was the battle really necessary if the treaty was already signed? Because the treaty specifically stated that fighting between the United States and Britain would stop only when both governments ratified the treaty, the battle was, indeed, justified. The Treaty of Ghent was not ratified by Congress until February 16, 1815, more than a month after the battle. Except for a few tense diplomatic incidents, the treaty ushered in two centuries of peace between the United States and Britain.

Lafitte and his brothers ran a lucrative smuggling operation in Louisiana before the War of 1812. They purchased slaves cheaply in the West Indies and sold them for a profit in New Orleans, where a federal ban on slave imports drove up the price. The Lafitte brothers also worked for Cartagena (now Colombia) to sabotage Spanish commerce. Goods they captured in the process were sold illegally in Louisiana, where they made Barataria Bay their home base. The bay, protected by islands and bayous south of New Orleans, was perfect for their smuggling operation. Lafitte’s “Baratarians” often faced capture and imprisonment by United States customs officials as well as the Spanish Navy. The water in Barataria Bay was deep enough that Lafitte could easily launch into the Caribbean but shallow enough to prohibit Spanish war ships from following him home.

During the War of 1812, the British offered to pay Lafitte handsomely for his help in fighting the Americans at New Orleans. Instead, Lafitte made a proposal to the governor of Louisiana. He would help the Americans defeat the British in exchange for a pardon from all smuggling charges against the Baratarians. The Louisiana legislature rejected Lafitte’s proposition and the privateer, without ties to either nation, was continually harassed by both armies.

Lafitte’s circumstances changed with the arrival of Maj. Gen. Andrew Jackson in New Orleans in 1815. Jackson had heard that the Baratarians were the best gunners in the Caribbean and knew the terrain around New Orleans well. Jackson needed them. Although questions about the privateers’ loyalty and lawlessness gave him pause, he reconsidered Lafitte’s offer.

His gamble paid off. During the Battle of New Orleans, about 50 Baratarians manned the guns on American battleships and operated the land batteries. Jackson and Lafitte got along so well that the privateer became Jackson’s unofficial aide-de-camp. After the war, President James Madison rewarded Lafitte for his service with a full pardon, and this unlikely veteran of the Battle of New Orleans resumed his illicit career on Galveston Island in Spanish Texas.