Battle of Lake Borgne
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Lake Borgne was a naval battle between the Royal Navy
and the United States
Navy in the American South theatre of the War of 1812
. It occurred on 14 December 1814 on Lake Borgne
and was part of the British
advance on New Orleans.
prevented the British from taking Mobile
and moving to cut off U.S. trade via land towards the Mississippi River
. Next, the British decided to attack New Orleans and the Americans began receiving warnings of a British fleet
approaching Louisiana
. The warnings reached Commodore
Daniel Patterson
of the New Orleans Squadron
, who immediately began to assemble any and all types of naval defenses to protect the state's waterways and naval ports.
When the British forces under Admiral Alexander Cochrane
arrived off the Louisiana coast on 9 December, Patterson dispatched Lieutenant
Thomas ap Catesby Jones
and a small flotilla to patrol Lake Borgne. The American force consisted of five Jeffersonian gunboats - No. 156, No. 163, No. 5, No. 23, and No. 162 - the schooner
USS Sea Horse
with Sailing-Master
Johnson commanding, and two sloops-of-war
, USS Alligator
and USS Tickler
, serving as tenders
. Gunboat No. 156, the flagship
of the squadron, mounted one long 24-pounder, four 12-pounder carronade
s, and four swivel gun
s. She had a crew of forty-one men. In all, the squadron comprised 245 men, sixteen long guns, fourteen carronades, two howitzers and twelve swivel gun
s.
Vice Admiral
Sir Alexander Cochrane
, British Commander-in-Chief of the North American Station, ordered HMS Seahorse, Armide and Sophie
from Pensacola
to Lake Borgne
. They were to proceed to the Bayou Catalan, or De Pecheurs, at the head of the lake and sixty miles from the troopship anchorage. This was to be the disembarkation point for the attack on New Orleans.
The three British vessels reported that as they passed Cat Island, Mississippi, two American gun boats had fired at them. Furthermore, lookouts on the masts had seen three more. When the fleet arrived on December 11, Cochrane decided to hunt out the Americans.
Cochrane put all the boats of the British fleet under the command of Commander
Nicholas Lockyer of Sophie, with orders to find and defeat the American flotilla. The boats came from Tonnant, Norge, Bedford
, Royal Oak
, Ramillies
, Arminde, Cydnus
, Seahorse, Trave, Sophie, Belle Poule
, Gorgon, Manly
and Meteor. The British deployed forty-two longboat
s, launch
es and barge
s with one 12, 18 or 24 pounder carronade each, as well as three gig
s, each mounting a long brass 12 pounder cannon.
The force consisted of some 1200 sailors and Royal Marines
At night on December 12, the British boats, under Lockyer, set off to enter Lake Borgne. Before reaching Lake Borgne, they encountered the one gun schooner Sea Horse. She was on a mission to destroy a powder magazine
at Bay St. Louis in order to prevent its capture by the Royal Navy
. The schooner, with the protection of a shore battery, fought
off two of Lockyer's longboat attacks but then was burnt later that night to prevent the main British fleet from capturing her.
Lockyer formed the boats into three divisions. He took command of the first and gave Montresor of Manley command of the second and Roberts of Meteor command of the third. When the British had finished their breakfast they returned to their oars and pulled up to the enemy. The main battle came at 10:30 am. The Americans in the gunboats saw the British rowing towards them and opened fire while the boats were still out of reach. The British were rowing against a strong current and under a heavy fire of round and grapeshot.
The Americans fired as many times as possible before the range closed. They were able to sink two of the attacking longboats and damaged many others. They killed or wounded a number of Britons in the process, including most of the men in Lockyer's boat. Eventually the range closed and the British sailors and marines began to board the American vessels. Lockyer personally boarded Gunboat No. 156, Jones's ship. In the close quarters combat the two sides used cutlass
es, pike
s, bayonet
s and musket
s. Both Lockyer and Jones sustained severe wounds.
The British captured Gunboat No. 156 and turned her guns against her sister ships. The gunboat fired her broadsides and assisted the capture of the remaining American watercraft. One by one the British took the other four American gunboats; boarding and capturing the entire American flotilla took five minutes.
Tickler, the small fifty ton sloop, anchored a short distance behind the five gunboats, watched the battle but stayed out of the fight as Jones ordered beforehand. When her captain saw that the British had captured all five American gunboats, he scuttle
d and burnt his vessel. It is not known if the crew was captured or escaped to New Orleans on their life boats.
Andrew Jackson
more time to prepare his defenses. The Americans lost their gunboats, a sloop, six men killed, thirty-five wounded and eighty-six captured. The American casualties numbered 10 killed, 35 wounded and 86 captured according to the British, and 60 killed, wounded, or captured according to the Americans. Jones was a prisoner of war
for three months and would later be decorated for his bravery and delaying the British advance.
The British reported that in the fighting they had lost 17 dead and 77 wounded, some of whom died later. Captain Lockyer was among the wounded. The British also lost two longboats sunk and had several others damaged. Originally the Americans claimed that the British had suffered some 300 killed or wounded, as well as losing four boats sunk. Cochrane rated the captured flotilla as the equivalent of a 36-gun frigate and appointed Lockyer to its command as soon as his wounds permitted. Montresor took command pro tem; in March 1815, Lockyer received promotion to post captain.
The British took the five gunboats into service under the names Ambush
(or Ambush No. 5), Firebrand
, Destruction
, Harlequin
, and Eagle
. Several of these vessels remained in Royal Navy service into June 1815, and at least one perhaps beyond.
Lake Borgne would become the landing zone for British forces preparing to attack New Orleans. After the population of the city learned of the engagement on Lake Borgne, panic overtook some of New Orlean's population so Andrew Jackson declared martial law
.
issued a clasp (or bar) for the Naval General Service Medal marked "14 Dec. Boat Service 1814" to survivors of the battle that wanted to claim the clasp. In all, 205 survivors claimed it.
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Navy in the American South theatre of the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
. It occurred on 14 December 1814 on Lake Borgne
Lake Borgne
Lake Borgne is a lagoon in eastern Louisiana of the Gulf of Mexico. Due to coastal erosion, it is no longer actually a lake but rather an arm of the Gulf of Mexico. Its name comes from the French word borgne, which means "one-eyed".-Geography:...
and was part of the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
advance on New Orleans.
Background
The defeat of the British attack in September on Fort BowyerFort Bowyer
Fort Bowyer was a short-lived earthen and stockade fortification erected by the United States Army on Mobile Point, near the mouth of Mobile Bay in Baldwin County, Alabama. Built during the War of 1812, the fort was the site of two attacks by the British. The first, unsuccessful, attack led to the...
prevented the British from taking Mobile
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
and moving to cut off U.S. trade via land towards the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. Next, the British decided to attack New Orleans and the Americans began receiving warnings of a British fleet
Naval fleet
A fleet, or naval fleet, is a large formation of warships, and the largest formation in any navy. A fleet at sea is the direct equivalent of an army on land....
approaching Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. The warnings reached Commodore
Commodore (Royal Navy)
Commodore is a rank of the Royal Navy above Captain and below Rear Admiral. It has a NATO ranking code of OF-6. The rank is equivalent to Brigadier in the British Army and Royal Marines and to Air Commodore in the Royal Air Force.-Insignia:...
Daniel Patterson
Daniel Patterson
Daniel Todd Patterson was an officer in the United States Navy during the Quasi-War with France, the First Barbary War and the War of 1812.-Biography:...
of the New Orleans Squadron
New Orleans Squadron
The New Orleans Squadron or the New Orleans Station was a United States Navy squadron raised out of the growing threat the United Kingdom posed to Louisiana during the War of 1812. The first squadron consisted of over a dozen vessels and was mostly defeated during the war...
, who immediately began to assemble any and all types of naval defenses to protect the state's waterways and naval ports.
When the British forces under Admiral Alexander Cochrane
Alexander Cochrane
Admiral Sir Alexander Forrester Inglis Cochrane GCB RN was a senior Royal Navy commander during the Napoleonic Wars.-Naval career:...
arrived off the Louisiana coast on 9 December, Patterson dispatched Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Thomas ap Catesby Jones
Thomas ap Catesby Jones
Thomas ap Catesby Jones was a U.S. Navy officer during the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War.-Early life:Jones was born in 1790 in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Thomas ap Catesby Jones means Thomas, son of Catesby Jones in the Welsh language. His brother was Roger Jones, who would become...
and a small flotilla to patrol Lake Borgne. The American force consisted of five Jeffersonian gunboats - No. 156, No. 163, No. 5, No. 23, and No. 162 - the schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
USS Sea Horse
USS Sea Horse (1812)
The first USS Sea Horse was a one-gun schooner that the Navy purchased in 1812 for service on Lake Borgne, near New Orleans, Louisiana. She saw action as part of a squadron of gunboats, under the command of Lieutenant Thomas ap Catesby Jones, which opposed the British advance on New Orleans in...
with Sailing-Master
Master (naval)
The master, or sailing master, was a historic term for a naval officer trained in and responsible for the navigation of a sailing vessel...
Johnson commanding, and two sloops-of-war
Sloop-of-war
In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...
, USS Alligator
USS Alligator (1813)
The second USS Alligator was a sloop in the United States Navy during the War of 1812. The vessel was purchased by the U.S. Navy in 1813 at New Orleans, Louisiana, for conversion to a gunboat. Commissioned as a tender at New Orleans, she served on that station under the command of Sailing Master...
and USS Tickler
USS Tickler
The USS Tickler was a one gun dispatch sloop used as a bomb ketch by the United States Navy. Purchased in August 1812, she weighed fifty tons, but further dimensions and its builder are not known. Tickler was captured by the British in the Battle of Lake Borgne and returned after the war. She was...
, serving as tenders
Ship's tender
A ship's tender, usually referred to as a tender, is a boat, or a larger ship used to service a ship, generally by transporting people and/or supplies to and from shore or another ship...
. Gunboat No. 156, the flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
of the squadron, mounted one long 24-pounder, four 12-pounder carronade
Carronade
The carronade was a short smoothbore, cast iron cannon, developed for the Royal Navy by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, UK. It was used from the 1770s to the 1850s. Its main function was to serve as a powerful, short-range anti-ship and anti-crew weapon...
s, and four swivel gun
Swivel gun
The term swivel gun usually refers to a small cannon, mounted on a swiveling stand or fork which allows a very wide arc of movement. Another type of firearm referred to as a swivel gun was an early flintlock combination gun with two barrels that rotated along their axes to allow the shooter to...
s. She had a crew of forty-one men. In all, the squadron comprised 245 men, sixteen long guns, fourteen carronades, two howitzers and twelve swivel gun
Swivel gun
The term swivel gun usually refers to a small cannon, mounted on a swiveling stand or fork which allows a very wide arc of movement. Another type of firearm referred to as a swivel gun was an early flintlock combination gun with two barrels that rotated along their axes to allow the shooter to...
s.
Vice Admiral
Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
Sir Alexander Cochrane
Alexander Cochrane
Admiral Sir Alexander Forrester Inglis Cochrane GCB RN was a senior Royal Navy commander during the Napoleonic Wars.-Naval career:...
, British Commander-in-Chief of the North American Station, ordered HMS Seahorse, Armide and Sophie
HMS Sophie (1809)
HMS Sophie was an 18-gun Cruizer class brig-sloop of the Royal Navy. She served during the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812. During the War of 1812 Sophie participated in the economic war against American trade, capturing or destroying numerous small merchant vessels, and in an unsuccessful...
from Pensacola
Pensacola
Pensacola is a city in the western part of the U.S. state of Florida.Pensacola may also refer to:* Pensacola people, a group of Native Americans* A number of places in the Florida:** Pensacola Bay** Pensacola Regional Airport...
to Lake Borgne
Lake Borgne
Lake Borgne is a lagoon in eastern Louisiana of the Gulf of Mexico. Due to coastal erosion, it is no longer actually a lake but rather an arm of the Gulf of Mexico. Its name comes from the French word borgne, which means "one-eyed".-Geography:...
. They were to proceed to the Bayou Catalan, or De Pecheurs, at the head of the lake and sixty miles from the troopship anchorage. This was to be the disembarkation point for the attack on New Orleans.
The three British vessels reported that as they passed Cat Island, Mississippi, two American gun boats had fired at them. Furthermore, lookouts on the masts had seen three more. When the fleet arrived on December 11, Cochrane decided to hunt out the Americans.
Cochrane put all the boats of the British fleet under the command of Commander
Commander (Royal Navy)
Commander is a senior officer rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. It is immediately junior to captain and immediately senior to the rank of lieutenant commander...
Nicholas Lockyer of Sophie, with orders to find and defeat the American flotilla. The boats came from Tonnant, Norge, Bedford
HMS Bedford (1775)
HMS Bedford was a Royal Navy 74-gun third rate. This ship of the line was launched on 27 October 1775 at Woolwich.-Early service:In 1780, Bedford fought at the Battle of Cape St Vincent...
, Royal Oak
HMS Royal Oak (1809)
HMS Royal Oak was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 4 March 1809 at Dudman's yard at Deptford Wharf. Her first commanding officer was Captain Pulteney Malcolm.-Napoleonic Wars:...
, Ramillies
HMS Ramillies (1785)
HMS Ramillies was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 12 July 1785 at Rotherhithe.In 1801, she was part of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker's reserve squadron at the Battle of Copenhagen, and so did not take an active part in the battle.In August 1812, Sir Thomas Masterman...
, Arminde, Cydnus
HMS Cydnus (1813)
HMS Cydnus was one of eight Royal Navy 38-gun Cydnus-class fifth-rates. This frigate was built in 1813 at Blackwall Yard, London, and broken up in 1816...
, Seahorse, Trave, Sophie, Belle Poule
HMS Belle Poule (1806)
HMS Belle Poule was a 40-gun Royal Navy fifth rate frigate, formerly Belle Poule, a Virginie-class frigate of the French Navy, which was built by the Crucy family's shipyard at Basse-Indre to a design by Jacques-Noël Sané...
, Gorgon, Manly
HMS Manly (1812)
HMS Manly was a 12-gun of the Royal Navy launched in 1812. She served in the War of 1812, her boats participating in the Battle of Lake Borgne. She was sold in 1833.-Active service:...
and Meteor. The British deployed forty-two longboat
Longboat
In the days of sailing ships, a vessel would carry several ship's boats for various uses. One would be a longboat, an open boat to be rowed by eight or ten oarsmen, two per thwart...
s, launch
Launch (boat)
A launch in contemporary usage refers to a large motorboat. The name originally referred to the largest boat carried by a warship. The etymology of the word is given as Portuguese lancha "barge", from Malay lancha, lancharan, "boat," from lanchar "velocity without effort," "action of gliding...
es and barge
Barge
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
s with one 12, 18 or 24 pounder carronade each, as well as three gig
Captain's Gig
The captain's gig is a boat used on naval ships as the captain's private taxi. It is a catchall phrase for this type of craft and over the years it has gradually increased in size, changed with the advent of new technologies for locomotion, and been crafted from increasingly more durable...
s, each mounting a long brass 12 pounder cannon.
The force consisted of some 1200 sailors and Royal Marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
At night on December 12, the British boats, under Lockyer, set off to enter Lake Borgne. Before reaching Lake Borgne, they encountered the one gun schooner Sea Horse. She was on a mission to destroy a powder magazine
Magazine (artillery)
Magazine is the name for an item or place within which ammunition is stored. It is taken from the Arabic word "makahazin" meaning "warehouse".-Ammunition storage areas:...
at Bay St. Louis in order to prevent its capture by the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
. The schooner, with the protection of a shore battery, fought
Action of 13 December 1814 (Louisiana Campaign)
The Action of 13 December 1814 was a naval action during the War of 1812. A flotilla of British longboats were on their way to fight the Battle of Lake Borgne. Before reaching the lake, they would encounter an American schooner of the United States Navy....
off two of Lockyer's longboat attacks but then was burnt later that night to prevent the main British fleet from capturing her.
Battle
After rowing for about thirty-six hours, the British located the five American vessels drawn up in line abreast to block the channel between Malheureux Island and Point Claire on the mainland. As the British advanced, they spotted Alligator and immediately sent a few longboats under Roberts to cut her off. She carried only one 4-pounder and the British quickly captured her. At 10 o'clock on the morning of December 14, the boats had closed to within long gunshot by St. Joseph’s Island. At this point Lockyer ordered the boats' crews to breakfast.Lockyer formed the boats into three divisions. He took command of the first and gave Montresor of Manley command of the second and Roberts of Meteor command of the third. When the British had finished their breakfast they returned to their oars and pulled up to the enemy. The main battle came at 10:30 am. The Americans in the gunboats saw the British rowing towards them and opened fire while the boats were still out of reach. The British were rowing against a strong current and under a heavy fire of round and grapeshot.
The Americans fired as many times as possible before the range closed. They were able to sink two of the attacking longboats and damaged many others. They killed or wounded a number of Britons in the process, including most of the men in Lockyer's boat. Eventually the range closed and the British sailors and marines began to board the American vessels. Lockyer personally boarded Gunboat No. 156, Jones's ship. In the close quarters combat the two sides used cutlass
Cutlass
A cutlass is a short, broad sabre or slashing sword, with a straight or slightly curved blade sharpened on the cutting edge, and a hilt often featuring a solid cupped or basket shaped guard...
es, pike
Pike (weapon)
A pike is a pole weapon, a very long thrusting spear used extensively by infantry both for attacks on enemy foot soldiers and as a counter-measure against cavalry assaults. Unlike many similar weapons, the pike is not intended to be thrown. Pikes were used regularly in European warfare from the...
s, bayonet
Bayonet
A bayonet is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit in, on, over or underneath the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear...
s and musket
Musket
A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth bore long gun, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry. A soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer....
s. Both Lockyer and Jones sustained severe wounds.
The British captured Gunboat No. 156 and turned her guns against her sister ships. The gunboat fired her broadsides and assisted the capture of the remaining American watercraft. One by one the British took the other four American gunboats; boarding and capturing the entire American flotilla took five minutes.
Tickler, the small fifty ton sloop, anchored a short distance behind the five gunboats, watched the battle but stayed out of the fight as Jones ordered beforehand. When her captain saw that the British had captured all five American gunboats, he scuttle
Scuttling
Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull.This can be achieved in several ways—valves or hatches can be opened to the sea, or holes may be ripped into the hull with brute force or with explosives...
d and burnt his vessel. It is not known if the crew was captured or escaped to New Orleans on their life boats.
Aftermath
In all, the engagement lasted around two hours, though the actual hand-to-hand fighting had only lasted five minutes. The British forced the greatly outnumbered American seamen to surrender but the Americans had inflicted considerable damage. The British won control of the lakes but the delay gave GeneralGeneral
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
more time to prepare his defenses. The Americans lost their gunboats, a sloop, six men killed, thirty-five wounded and eighty-six captured. The American casualties numbered 10 killed, 35 wounded and 86 captured according to the British, and 60 killed, wounded, or captured according to the Americans. Jones was a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
for three months and would later be decorated for his bravery and delaying the British advance.
The British reported that in the fighting they had lost 17 dead and 77 wounded, some of whom died later. Captain Lockyer was among the wounded. The British also lost two longboats sunk and had several others damaged. Originally the Americans claimed that the British had suffered some 300 killed or wounded, as well as losing four boats sunk. Cochrane rated the captured flotilla as the equivalent of a 36-gun frigate and appointed Lockyer to its command as soon as his wounds permitted. Montresor took command pro tem; in March 1815, Lockyer received promotion to post captain.
The British took the five gunboats into service under the names Ambush
HMS Ambush (1814)
HMS Ambush, or Ambush No. 5, was the American Gunboat No. 5 , launched in 1805. She served in the Mediterranean later that year. The Royal Navy captured her at the Battle of Lake Borgne on 14 December 1814. She was sold in 1815....
(or Ambush No. 5), Firebrand
HMS Firebrand
Eleven ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Firebrand. was an 8-gun fireship launched in 1694 and wrecked in 1707. was an 8-gun fireship, previously the civilian vessel Charming Jenny. She was purchased in 1739 and sold in 1743....
, Destruction
HMS Destruction
At least two vessels of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Destruction. was a Convulsion-class bomb vessel launched in 1804 and sold in 1806. was an American gunboat captured at the Battle of Lake Borgne on 14 December 1814. She remained in service until at least 4 June 1815...
, Harlequin
HMS Harlequin
Five vessels of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Harlequin. was a schooner of 14 guns, purchased in 1796 and still listed in 1802. was a Cruizer-class brig-sloop of 18 guns, launched in 1813 and sold in Jamaica in 1829. was an American gunboat captured at the Battle of Lake Borgne on 14 December...
, and Eagle
HMS Eagle
Eighteen ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Eagle, after the eagle.*HMS Eagle was an ex-merchantman purchased in 1592 and in use as a careening hulk. She was sold in 1683....
. Several of these vessels remained in Royal Navy service into June 1815, and at least one perhaps beyond.
Lake Borgne would become the landing zone for British forces preparing to attack New Orleans. After the population of the city learned of the engagement on Lake Borgne, panic overtook some of New Orlean's population so Andrew Jackson declared martial law
Martial law
Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
.
Medal
In 1847 the Royal NavyRoyal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
issued a clasp (or bar) for the Naval General Service Medal marked "14 Dec. Boat Service 1814" to survivors of the battle that wanted to claim the clasp. In all, 205 survivors claimed it.
See also
- American South theatre of the War of 1812
- British occupation of St. Marys and Cumberland Island