Seafaring Sunday: On Battery Number 3

... artillery could be decisive, and the Baratarians manning Battery Number 3 with their three cannon could speak with a voice far greater than their numbers.

Indeed they did.  On January 8 the British launched their attack, and almost from the first it became apparent that everything was against them.  Dense fog obscured their view of the Americans in their works behind the canal, while Jackson's artillery poured salvos into the mist and the British ranks.  Mismanagement at high levels exacerbated the Redcoats' problems, as did the fall of several high-ranking officers, including the British commanding general.  The enemy never even reached the American line, only a few men gaining the canal before being cut down or pushed back.  Within half an hour, two-thirds of the three thousand soldiers who began the attack had been killed or injured.  Though skirmishing continued for some hours afterward, the battle was over, and the Baratarian gunners had played an important role in breaking up the assault, with Dominique taking a second wound and Gambi shedding his blood as well.

~  from The Pirates Laffite by William C. Davis

Header: The Battle of New Orleans via Haysville Community Library