ful of men, and Col. Nichols as he hurried with several ships and a large body of soldiers to the attack, was so sanguine of success as hardly to expect resistance. The first broadside from his ships, the first yell of his savages would as he supposed, induce the defenders of the fort to surrender at discretion. Somewhat different was the result. Instead of victory, he was destined to experience defeat. His best ship was lost in the enterprise, and a number of his men, nearly double the whole force he had engaged, and when he returned, with the shattered remnants of his troops to Pensacola, the only badges of victory he had to present his friends, with whom he parted a few days before with so much confidence of success, were 'shattered hulks that could scarce keep above the water, and decks covered with dead and wounded.'

Immediately subsequent to this event, Jackson, who had recently been appointed Major General, determined that the enemies of his country should no longer find a refuge in Florida, entered it, reduced Pensacola which had long been the rallying point of the enemy, and was now their refuge, accepted the surrender of fort Barrancas, and forced the British troops to take refuge in their shipping, and the Creeks in the woods. This enterprise was the work of only six days, but its consequences were felt during the remainder of the war. The British were dislodged and their plans disconcerted, the Spaniards taught to respect the character of our government and the Indians plainly admonished that while they were engaged in hostile operations against the United States, no place could protect them from its vengeance.

A new scene of action now awaited General Jackson. While the cloud of war was bursting upon the South from a neutral territory, the British commanders both naval and military, were evidently concentrating their forces, and preparing for a grand attack. A desperate at

tempt was necessary, to wipe off the numerous disgraces sustained by the British arms by land and sea; and the exposed situation of the southern coast, left little doubt as to the quarter in which the attempt would be made. Louisiana in particular, which had been recently admitted to the Union, was almost entirely destitute of the means of defence. Accessible from the sea by numerous inlets, without fortifications, and having a thin population, scattered over its surface, neither provided with arms nor united in sentiment; its inhabitants were overwhelmed with despair, and destitute alike of the means and the hope of successful defence, from the attack which the movements of the enemy gave them every reason to apprehend.

Such was the condition of the citizens of Louisiana, when General Jackson arrived with his little army at New-Orleans, which he designed to make the centre of his operations for the defence of the southern country, and which he had every reason to believe, would be the first object of attack.

He at once saw the difficulties with which he had to contend, and determined to surmount them, preserve the city, and protect the honor of his country, or perish in the attempt. He organized and disciplined the militia-collected volunteers from all quarters-addressed the inhabitants of New-Orleans, appealing to them by every sentiment of patriotism, to unite in the defence of their country, and by manifesting confidence himself, he soon succeeded in inspiring confidence in the community around him.

The French population however, as if grateful to the English for restoring the Bourbons to the throne of France, were generally disaffected, and refused to assist in the preparations for the common defence. Had the public functionaries done their duty, this partial disaffection would have been instantly suppressed, but the Leg

islature itself was tainted with disaffected sentiments and many of its members connived at the growing discontent. The patriotic Governor of the State however, united with General Jackson in every exertion the exigences of the times demanded.

Such were the dangers of the country, and the difficulties of managing its defence, surrounded as he was, by traitors and spies, that General Jackson found it in vain to depend upon the force of civil law to restrain the turbulent and ill disposed, and assumed the responsibility of declaring the city under martial law. He did it on due reflection, wisely judging, that it was better to suspend the laws for a time, for their own preservation, than to permit them to be trodden down forever beneath the foot of a foreign invader.

In all his measures preparatory to the defence of NewOrleans, harrassed as he was, by the intrigues of internal enemies, Jackson preserved the utmost firmness and while he occasionally treated with some severity, that cold and selfish portion of the community, who, amid the common danger, thought only of private interests, his severity itself was mingled with a degree of pleasantry peculiar to his character. It is related that when at a subsequent period, his troops were engaged in piling up the famous "cotton bags" as a barrier against the veterans of Wellington, a rich and surly cotton dealer accosted the General, and requested in an imperious tone, that he would "appoint a guard for his cotton." "Certainly" replied the General, "your request shall be complied with; here sergeant! give this gentleman a musket and ammunition, and station him in the line of defence; no one can be better qualified to guard the cotton than its owner."

Towards the close of December, 1815, Jackson was reinforced, by large detachments of soldiers from Tennessee and Mississippi. Soon after, on the 23d of De

cember, the enemy having previously defeated a small naval force on lake Borgne and obtained the command of its waters, landed, surprised the American out-posts, and marching through an uninhabited region, were within seven miles of New-Orleans before they were discovered. So secure did they consider themselves, and so little did they fear from the undisciplined troops with which they had to contend, that an American force, sent out late in the afternoon to arrest their march, found them within their encampments. A sharp conflict ensued in which the British were driven from every position they attempted to maintain. A thick fog coming on, the Americans were compelled to suspend the attack, and the British though routed with the loss of four hundred men, still occupied a position on the borders of lake Borgne, within reach of their shipping.

Having defeated this first attempt of the enemy, General Jackson labored with the utmost diligence to increase his means of defence. On the 27th, the enemy left their encampment, gathering confidence from some slight naval successes, considerably reinforced and commanded by Sir Edward Packenham in person, and advanced towards the American line. Early on the 28th, his columns prepared to storm our works, opening a tremendous cannonade, and pouring vast quantities of rockets, balls and bombs upon the Americans, with the vain hope, no doubt, of compelling them to relinquish their strong holds, or surrender at discretion. After a short contest however, the enemy were again repulsed with considerable loss.

Previous to this engagement, a rumor circulated through New-Orleans, that in case of a defeat, General Jackson intended to fall back upon the city and lay it in ruins. Influenced by this rumor, a committee of the Legislature, which both prior and subsequent to this event,

rendered itself so infamous by its treasons, waited upon him to enquire "what would be his course should necessity compel him from his position." "If" replied the General, "I thought the hair of my head could divine what I should do, forthwith I would cut it off; go back with this answer; say to your honorable body, that if disaster does overtake me, and the fate of war drives me from my line to the city, they may expect to have a very warm session."

On the first of January, the British made another attack on the American lines, supported by their heavy artillery, but it ended like that which preceded it, in defeat.

Sir Edward Packenham having discovered from so many repeated disasters, that it was no easy affair to vanquish an army of freemen on their own soil, determined to make one grand and final effort, to redeem the British arms from the tarnish of so many defeats. His motives for action were founded on the strongest principles of human nature. Distinguished by his military exploits on the battle fields of Europe-a veteran officer under Wellington-every sentiment of pride urged him to struggle for a victory, which a country that had loaded him with honors, so confidently expected at his hands. Jackson acted upon nobler principles. Born in a wildernessreared amidst the storms of the revolution, the dangers and difficulties which had marked his course, had well prepared him for times of trial. He stood too, on American soil; the enemy before him had oppressed his ancestors—murdered his brother-treated himself with shocking barbarity when a prisoner in his hands-instigated the ruthless savages to butcher his countrymen; and was now, with "beauty and booty," for his watchword, preparing to visit the valley of the Mississippi with the same