Combat· War of 1812
Night attack on British camp (23 Dec 1814)
When word reached Andrew Jackson that the British had landed and made camp at the Villeré plantation only nine miles below New Orleans, he refused to wait.
On the night of 23 December he threw a hastily assembled force against the British bivouac in a confused, vicious fight in the dark, supported by the guns of the schooner Carolina firing into the camp from the river. A company of Marines took part in the night attack alongside the regulars, militia, and Baratarians. The blow did not destroy the British, but it bloodied them, rattled their commanders, and convinced them to halt and wait for reinforcements rather than push on to the city. That hesitation was decisive: it gave Jackson the days he needed to fall back and fortify the Rodriguez Canal line, where the campaign would be settled.
Podcast episodes on War of 1812
Record no. 241