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8 January in military history: Battle of New Orleans, 1815

Military history · 8 January · War of 1812Full calendar

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Oil painting of the Battle of New Orleans: American gunners and riflemen behind cotton bales fire on red-coated British troops on the left, while mounted American officers raise their hats on the right, under a sky full of smoke.
The Battle of New Orleans, 8 January 1815, painted by Dennis Malone Carter in 1856. Andrew Jackson's defenders hold their line of earthworks and cotton bales as the British assault breaks against it. Public domain. Dennis Malone Carter, 1856, via Wikimedia Commons.
Quick answer

On 8 January 1815 Andrew Jackson's American army, dug in below New Orleans, threw back a British assault in which the British commander, General Sir Edward Pakenham, was killed. The British lost about 2,000 men, the Americans 71. The Treaty of Ghent had already been signed, but it was not yet ratified, so the war went on.

Battle of New Orleans, 1815

8 January 1815 · 211 years ago

The War of 1812 between the United States and Britain was grinding to a close when a British expedition sailed for the Gulf Coast to take New Orleans, the key to the Mississippi.

Read the full story of Battle of New Orleans, 1815 ›

Battle of Stromboli, 1676: de Ruyter against Duquesne off Sicily

8 January 1676 · 350 years ago

A French fleet under Abraham Duquesne fought a Dutch and Spanish fleet under Michiel de Ruyter near the Aeolian Islands during the Franco-Dutch War. After eight hours of hard fighting the battle ended without a clear result, and the two fleets met again a few months later.

Read the full story of Battle of Stromboli, 1676: de Ruyter against Duquesne off Sicily ›

Frequently asked questions

Who won the Battle of New Orleans?

The Americans under Andrew Jackson. The British assault on 8 January 1815 broke in less than half an hour, and the British commander, Sir Edward Pakenham, was killed.

Was the battle fought after the war had ended?

After the peace was signed but before it took effect. The Treaty of Ghent was signed on 24 December 1814, but hostilities were to end only on ratification. The U.S. Senate approved it on 16 February 1815, and the war officially ended on 17 February.

How many soldiers died at New Orleans?

The British lost about 2,000 killed, wounded and missing; the American Battlefield Trust counts 2,034. American losses were 71 killed, wounded and missing.

Who fought on the American side?

Regular infantry and Marines, militia from Tennessee, Kentucky and Louisiana, volunteers from New Orleans, free men of color, Choctaw warriors and the Baratarian privateers.

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