The Battle of New Orleans was not fought after the war ended

The Battle of New Orleans was fought on 8 January 1815, when Andrew Jackson’s outnumbered army beat a veteran British force at Chalmette, south of the city — and, contrary to the familiar line, the War of 1812 had not yet ended. Peace negotiators had signed the Treaty of Ghent on 24 December 1814, but signing did not stop the war.

Why the treaty had not yet ended the war

Article I of the treaty, preserved by the U.S. National Archives, says hostilities “by sea and land shall cease as soon as this Treaty shall have been ratified by both parties.” The Senate did not ratify it until 16 February 1815, more than a month after the battle, and only after ratifications were exchanged the next day did the war formally end. Even the National Archives’ own summary describes the battle as coming “after the official peace”; the treaty text says otherwise. Had Pakenham taken the city, the same article would have required Britain to hand it back, since it covered territory “taken after the signing of this Treaty”.

The battle itself was short and one-sided. Pakenham sent his men forward before dawn against Line Jackson, an earthwork of mud and cotton bales manned by regulars, Tennessee and Kentucky militia, Free Men of Color, Choctaw warriors and Jean Lafitte’s privateers. Of about 3,000 men in the two main assault columns, some 2,000 became casualties in under half an hour. The Census Bureau puts total British losses at 2,034 killed, wounded, missing or captured, against 62 Americans.

“When the smoke had cleared and we could obtain a fair view of the field, it looked at first glance like a sea of blood. It was not blood itself, but the red coats in which the British soldiers were dressed.” — a Kentucky soldier

The prize was a port of just 17,242 people in 1810 that controlled the Mississippi. Coming months after the British burned Washington, the victory made Jackson a national hero; for the next half-century 8 January was one of only three U.S. national holidays, alongside the Fourth of July and Washington’s Birthday.