'Battle of New Orleans and Death of Major General Packenham on the 8th of January 1815'

Engraving by J Yeager after Benjamin West, published by McCarly and Davis, 1817.

Early in 1815 the British looked for a decisive victory against the United States during War of 1812 (1812-1815) by attacking New Orleans. They were met by the well-organised defence of General Andrew Jackson who attacked the British vanguard. This bought him enough time to fortify the canals south of the city with men and artillery. Jackson's 4,000 men then held off a British force twice that number when it attacked on 8 January 1815. The Americans lost less than 100 killed, wounded or missing - for the British losses totalled over 2,000, including their commander Major-General Edward Pakenham, forcing them to withdraw to Biloxi, Mississippi. The unexpected American victory made Jackson a national hero, and he later become president of the United States.