Collection America Under Fire
The young national capital at Washington, D.C. became the epicenter of The War of 1812 with Great Britain during the...
The Battle of New Orleans
Andrew Jackson arrived in New Orleans on December 1, 1814, and took charge of the city's defense, commanding that waterways be obstructed and placing guns, soldiers, militia, volunteers (including free African Americans), and Jean Laffite's Baratarian Pirates (who Jackson called "hellish banditti") at approaches to the city.
The Battle of New Orleans, fought on January 8, 1815, was a remarkable American victory. The British gambled and lost on a forward attack that sent a force of 5,300 against about 4,000 Americans dug into fortified mud and cotton bale earthworks on the east bank of the Mississippi. The British suffered more than 2,000 casualties while the Americans suffered less than 100 men killed, wounded, missing, or captured.
You Might Also Like
-
-
Benjamin Banneker
Benjamin Banneker, a free African-American man living in a slave state in the 18th century, never knew the weight of...
-
The Naval War of 1812
Britain's navy began its war in North Atlantic waters with a crushing advantage over the United States in numbers of...
-
Emancipation Day in Washington, D.C.
Congress passed the Compensated Emancipation Act to end slavery in the District of Columbia and President Abraham Lincoln signed the...
-
Emancipation in the President's Neighborhood, 1850
On April 16, 2012, we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the District of Columbia Emancipation Act, a day of jubilation for the...
-
The Life and Presidency of Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson was born in Staunton, Virginia, on December 28, 1856. He was the third of four children of Janet Woodrow and...
-
Japanese State Dinners
Following the close of World War II, Japan and the United States developed a close alliance and strategic and trade...
-
The Burning of Washington
Shortly before Mordechai Booth fled the capital on Wednesday, August 24, 1814, he rode over to the President’s House to see wh...
-
Eleanor Roosevelt's "My Day," 6/10/1939
WASHINGTON, Friday—The long expected arrival of Their Britannic Majesties has at last taken place. We drove down yesterday through an...
-
An Eloquent Visitor from the Great Plains
One of the most moving moments in the early history of the White House took place in the Entrance Hall,...
-
The Japanese Mission of 1860
During the 1850s Japan gradually began to discard its isolationist foreign policy of sakoku (“locked country”) and began opening some of i...
-
The Octagon
On September 8, 1814, the Madisons moved into the Octagon, second in size only to the burned President's House, and the only...