Thursday is the bicentennial of the Battle of New Orleans, perhaps the most important battle fought after a peace deal had already been made.
By the end of 1814, the War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain had been raging for two and a half years, and both sides were weary. The British had burned Washington, D.C., and largely crippled the American economy, but they had failed to take Baltimore and suffered a decisive loss at the Battle of Plattsburgh in New York. American General William Henry Harrison had defeated Great Britain and her Indian allies at the Battle of the Thames near Ontario. The Indian coalition's leader, Tecumseh, died in the battle, and the coalition crumbled after his death.
Wartime taxation, years of fighting against the now-defeated Napoleon, and the rebuilding of Europe were also factors in the British desire for peace. On Christmas Eve that year, after months of negotiations, diplomats signed the Treaty of Ghent, which ended hostilities and entailed no barrier changes. The War of 1812 had been a stalemate.
Read Full Article »