Post by Greg Carter on Jan 11, 2005 4:35:38 GMT -5
Battle of New Orleans victory once was holiday
Most have forgotten the celebration of the historic turning point in 1815.
The Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn.- Forget about Christmas, Thanksgiving and New Year's. What did you do for the Eighth of January- the 190th anniversary of Andrew Jackson's defeat of the British at the Battle of New Orleans?
If thise were 1835 instead of 2005, you'd surely would have had plans because the day was a national holiday with parades, feasts, dances and speeches.
Perhaps no other major American holiday has been so forgotten, historians argue.
"We've lost touch with a significant event," said Danny Forbis, park ranger at Chalmette National Battlefield about six miles south of New Orleans, where the battle- the last in a series of skirmishes fought for control of the strategic port- was waged in 1815.
"It was a great turning point in U.S. history and a lot of people in New Orleans don't even know that the battlefield is here," he said.
The Eighth was celebrated widely in the years after the battle and became a national event after Jackson took the presidency in 1828. Newspaper accounts tell of balls and parades and speeches in the nation's largest cities. One report from Nashville in 1844 recounts cannon blasts, early adjournment of the state Legislature, a parade and large crowds at The Hermitage, Jackson's home near Nashville.
"This was a national holiday that rivaled everything but July Fourth. It was bigger than Christmas," said Tony Guzzi, curator of The Hermitage.
The Battle of New Orleans was the final engagement of the final war with Great Britain and game at a perilous time for the young republic. Jackson was a decided underdog, facing a much larger and better trained army of British forces with a ragtag group that included U.S. troops, New Orleans militia, Kentucky and Tennessee frontiersmen, freed slaves and blacks, and a band of outlaws led by the pirate Jean Lafitte.
"The British had come in a burned the capital, burned the White House. The country was in a state of panic," Guzzi said. Jackson came in in the midst of all this and delivered this triumphant victory.
"It was sort of a second victory of independence for the United States. It was there statement to the world that we're here to stay."
Jackson's victory actually came after the war was over. The Treaty of Ghent was signed in Europe ending the War of 1812 weeks before the Battle of New Orleans. But word of the treaty didn't reach the United States until after the British were defeated at New Orleans.
Still, the victory made Jackson a national hero and propelled him to political dominance. He became a U.S. Senator and ran for the presidency in 1824, but when neither candidate won a majority, the House of Representatives chose John Quincy Adams.
Four years later, Jackson ran and won the first of his two terms.
Most have forgotten the celebration of the historic turning point in 1815.
The Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn.- Forget about Christmas, Thanksgiving and New Year's. What did you do for the Eighth of January- the 190th anniversary of Andrew Jackson's defeat of the British at the Battle of New Orleans?
If thise were 1835 instead of 2005, you'd surely would have had plans because the day was a national holiday with parades, feasts, dances and speeches.
Perhaps no other major American holiday has been so forgotten, historians argue.
"We've lost touch with a significant event," said Danny Forbis, park ranger at Chalmette National Battlefield about six miles south of New Orleans, where the battle- the last in a series of skirmishes fought for control of the strategic port- was waged in 1815.
"It was a great turning point in U.S. history and a lot of people in New Orleans don't even know that the battlefield is here," he said.
The Eighth was celebrated widely in the years after the battle and became a national event after Jackson took the presidency in 1828. Newspaper accounts tell of balls and parades and speeches in the nation's largest cities. One report from Nashville in 1844 recounts cannon blasts, early adjournment of the state Legislature, a parade and large crowds at The Hermitage, Jackson's home near Nashville.
"This was a national holiday that rivaled everything but July Fourth. It was bigger than Christmas," said Tony Guzzi, curator of The Hermitage.
The Battle of New Orleans was the final engagement of the final war with Great Britain and game at a perilous time for the young republic. Jackson was a decided underdog, facing a much larger and better trained army of British forces with a ragtag group that included U.S. troops, New Orleans militia, Kentucky and Tennessee frontiersmen, freed slaves and blacks, and a band of outlaws led by the pirate Jean Lafitte.
"The British had come in a burned the capital, burned the White House. The country was in a state of panic," Guzzi said. Jackson came in in the midst of all this and delivered this triumphant victory.
"It was sort of a second victory of independence for the United States. It was there statement to the world that we're here to stay."
Jackson's victory actually came after the war was over. The Treaty of Ghent was signed in Europe ending the War of 1812 weeks before the Battle of New Orleans. But word of the treaty didn't reach the United States until after the British were defeated at New Orleans.
Still, the victory made Jackson a national hero and propelled him to political dominance. He became a U.S. Senator and ran for the presidency in 1824, but when neither candidate won a majority, the House of Representatives chose John Quincy Adams.
Four years later, Jackson ran and won the first of his two terms.
