Constitution's Most Challenging Fight and by William H. White
This is the penultimate article in our ongoing series on the "War of 1812. Even though the treaty ending the conflict was signed in Ghent on 24December1814, it was not approved by either of the warring governments until February 1815. Hence, as far as those on the ground and at sea knew, a state ofwar still existed between the United States and Great Britain. And so they fought on. Possibly the most widely known land engagement of the war occurred in January of 1815. While not as well known, one of USS Constitution's most significant battles happened in February ofthat year. we shall have a look at both ofthese engagements here, and discuss the treaty andfinances in a concluding article in a future issue of Sea History. n autumn of 1814, while Admiral Cochrane's fleet was ravaging the C hesapeake, the British Caribbean fleet had begun to implement the other part of the plan designed to draw American troops out of the northern frontier: the invasio n of the G ulf Coast. In addition, occupation of the Gulf Coast would provide access to the interior of the country; the mid-Gulf area, specifically New Orleans, was lightly defended, sparsely populated, and offered significant booty to the conquering British. It was a major port, consolidating all the goods from the interior of the country for shipment to the East coast as well as the Caribbean and Europe. To effect this stratagem, En glish ships and marines occupied the Spanish fort at Pensacola, Florida, (Spain was a sometimes-ally of the English, so offered no resistance), and then used that as a base for their unsuccessful attack on Mobile (then still part of Florida), which had been seized from Spain by the United States in 1813. Repulsed, the British fleet sailed
back to Jamaica where a large army10,000 men strong-had assembled. Their commander was General Edward Pakenham, the Duke of Wellington's brotherin-law and a most capable officer. The fleet again fell under the command of Admiral Alexander Coch rane, and they sailed for the Gulf Coast in late November, arriving in the Delta area in early December. With insufficient numbers of small boats to navigate the treacherous and shallow waters of the bayous, Coch rane decided to attack through Lake Borgne, which is not really a lake, but rather a protected harbor open to the Gulf. He sent Captain Nicholas Lockyer ahead with forty-five ships, boats, and barges and 1,200 men
Lieutenant Thomas ap Catesby Jones
The Battle of Lake Borgne by Thomas Lyle Hornbrook
Vice Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane 10
to secure the lake. US Navy Lieutenant Thomas ap Catesby Jones 1 had been stationed there with a few small sailing vessels to watch and report, but not do battle should the British show up. But show up they did, and just as the wind dropped off to nothing. With no means of propulsion, Jones had little choice but to fight, which he did on 14 December. The British, using
their oars and superior numbers, prevailed and accomplished their mission, but not without casualties. The British lost more than 100 men, and Jones suffered some forty killed and wo unded; he and the remainder of his men were taken prisoner. 1 Of Wel sh desce nt, Jon es's parents included the "ap" in hi s nam e; it mea ns "s on of" in Welsh .
SEA HISTORY 141 , WINTER 2012- 13