Regarding the British at New Orleans. No, they did not run. No matter that the song written 140 years after the event said they did. No contemporary accounts describe anything other than a grudging withdrawl from the major (last) assault.

Pakenham (British commander) was fighting in bad ground - his heavy equipment had to be brought through the bayou by boat - even though there were places where the water was only inches deep. Where Jackson's command had the time and resources to make rudimentary defenses - including the cotton-bale breast-works shown in the movies - they also firmed up the defensive line by building gun platforms for artillery from wood planking.

They brought in barrels of dirt to build defensive positions that were higher than the very wet ground surrounding them - giving them an edge in two ways - First, the defenders could be more or less dry - they could build fires and dry out wet clothing. They could have hot meals on a regular basis. This meant they were better rested and, even though on alert regularly for some two weeks, more fresh than the British troops who had come by ship to be landed in a swamp where they had no landmarks they could recognize.

Second, and this is subtle and is often times missed by armchair generals who have had no experience in close-order drill. The attackers found themselves looking UP at the defenders - even if only by a few inches in places. That can be a fairly demoralizing situation to be in, no matter how battle hardened your rank-and-file are.

Jackson controlled the initiative from the onset - he kept roving patrols of dragoons operating between the lines on an irregular schedule - this kept the British from obtaining solid information about what the defenses looked like, their size, etc. He also sent small units out nightly to attack pickets and keep them in close to the British camp. Finally, he sent marksmen as close to the British camp as they dared go to pick off British officers. They'd fire a round and move - then fire again. These things combined to wear down British resolve.

New Orleans is often shown, and in the song was implied to be, a veritable turkey shoot. In reality, it was a close-run thing. The main British column was stopped short of the defenses with great loss of life. The American left (if I remember right) was actually driven from their positions.

Quick action by the American gunners kept the British troops from using the captured American artillery for firing down the American lines. If this had happened, it is likely that the outcome would have been very different. The riflefire that cut down the British infantry would have been facing point-blank artillery from their own ranks. This would have allowed the British main force to overwhelm the defenders. The American artillery officer on that flank was able to get the guns spiked and destroyed the prepared cartidges (threw them in the water). This made the loss of the flank a mere side-show to the bloody main event.

Jackson was heavily criticised by armchair "regular army" types for not pressing home his advantage and attacking the British army while it withdrew back to the waiting ships. This criticism was unwarranted. What most people do not realize is that even with massive losses, the British forces outnumbered the Americans nearly 3 to 1.

Jean Lafitte (that does not look right... ah well) assisted in reality, not just legend - his "privateers" joined the American ranks as gunners, bringing their own heavy artillery on ships' gun carraiges - massive pieces that were three and four times the weight of the American field artillery Jackson had otherwise. Also, the residents of New Orleans took up arms. One, I've forgotten his name, had been a general of artillery under Napoleon, had retired and emigrated to New Orleans after the Napoleon was sent to Elba. He was credited with directing the fire of a couple of huge pieces that detroyed or damaged the largest pieces in the British artillery park. That left the attacking infantry without effective artillery protection. THAT allowed the American artillery to fire on the British infantry instead of British artillery.

Sorry for the history lesson. Just could not resist...

Pete