Reau E. Folk

“ England, by her superior Naval force, would deprive him of his newly acquired colonial empire, and greatly enhance her own prestige by securing all the American possessions, which France had owned prior to 1763, Bonaparte, by a dash in diplomacy, as quick and as brilliant as his tactics on the field of battle, placed Louisiana beyond the reach of the British power. ”

“ Washington, the First of 1815.
One of the most thrilling incidents in our history is the reception by the country of the news of the Battle of New Orleans. It was theatrically acclaimed, with almost delirious joy, sharply contrasting with the condition of deep discouragement and gloom it suddenly dissipated. Seldom has a victory had more dramatic setting. It is well for us who enjoy the rich blessings of the present, occasionally to read of the trials and tribulations through which our forebears struggled, that they might hand these blessings down to us. ”

“ The British ministers replied, arguing England’s position. That position in effect was, that during the war she had taken these islands, the title to which was in dispute, and that to call upon her to restore them, because they were occupied by the United States at the beginning of the war, would be unjust; that having agreed to a commission to settle the ownership of the islands, she was willing, if need be, to accede to a clause which would especially guard the ultimate right against the prejudice which the American ministers feared might arise from the continued possession by Great Britain. ”

“ It settled forever all question as to the title of the United States to Louisiana. It saved Louisiana, or a least averted another war with England. It resulted in lasting, solid peace with England, which should permanently endure. As illustration of the character of that peace, it may be pointed out that the boundary line between the United States and Canada extending about three thousand miles, has not, on either side, a fort or fortification. God help the English-speaking people if one should ever be necessary! ”

“ It needs not the gift of prophecy to foresee that the battle fought by Andrew Jackson and his ‘backwoods rabble’ did more than repulse cowardly and treacherous invasion. It taught to all the princes and kings and emperors on the face of the earth that they must let our young Republic alone!”
Apart from his testimony as to Pakenham’s intended proclamation, and apart from his estimate of British diplomacy, the speech of Captain Garland is well worth preserving as a specimen of real, patriotic eloquence. ”

“ There have been, and are, students of history adhering to the great fact that the Battle of New Orleans saved the Louisiana purchase, or another war with England. But school histories continue to purvey the false viewpoint to the youth of the land. But ‘truth is mighty and will prevail,’ and the time has now come. ”

“ Again quoting from Blaine: “England’s acquisition of Louisiana would have proved in the highest degree embarrassing, if not disastrous to the Union. No colonial acquisition ever made by her on any continent has been so profitable to her commerce, and so strengthening to her military position, as that of Louisiana would have proved. The fact was clearly seen by Bonaparte when he hastily made the treaty ceding it to the United States.” ”

“ After a week of gossip and foreboding, came news of the gunboat battle, and its disastrous results; also rumors of a great armament hovering on the Atlantic coast. ‘We are a lost country,’ said the Federal papers in doleful concert. ‘A wicked administration has ruined us. New Orleans having fallen an easy prey, the British General will leave a few acclimated black regiments to garrison that city, and bring the Wellington heroes around to the Chesapeake. Baltimore will not be able to resist. ”

“ Any presumption that Great Britain, after planning the great expedition against Louisiana, would have, within a few weeks following the final dispatch of the military forces, signed a peace treaty, recalling those forces from an attained, long-dreamed-of conquest, is a reflection upon the intelligence of the British Government of 1814-15. ”

“ But suppose the result at New Orleans had been different, would President Madison have signed the Treaty?
“That is a real question for college debate. It is a question calculated to bring sharply to the student the picture of the distracted condition of our country at the time. By signing the treaty Madison would have appeased the New England section, then in hostile and threatening attitude, but at the same time would have faced the surrender of the territory west of the Mississippi for all time, or faced future negotiation or war. ”

“ There is no nobler calling than that of the school teachers of America, who are ministering to the instruction and development of the future citizens and leaders of the Republic. These teachers are bound to be deeply concerned when they find that through school histories furnished them, they have been imparting a falsehood about an important event in United States history—the Battle of New Orleans, fought January 8, 1815. ”

“ The next issue of the National Intelligencer cannot be glanced over to this day without exciting in the mind something of the feeling which is wont to express itself by three times three and one cheer more. ”

“ The striking sentences quoted above serve to emphasize the fact that it would not have been unnatural for England to have felt resentment at this second maneuvering of a vast territory from her grasp. Some historians have expressed surprise that England did not at once undertake to take Louisiana, the United States notwithstanding. That would have meant armed conflict with America at a time of the war in Europe. Besides, and this is a deduction of the present writer, such a course would have placed upon England the onus before the world of a war of conquest in the western continent. ”

“ Yes, we are ‘backwoodsmen.’ And from the point of view of a British regular, we are a ‘rabble,’ too. That is, we are not soldiers in the regular sense of the term. We are not enlisted; we don’t get any pay. We are simply assembled, as volunteers, to defend our country. We have a kind of organization, it is true; but it is as independent companies, composed of neighbors, and our officers are simply those men whose characters and experience point them out as natural leaders. ”

“ The British ministers in referring the note to their Government, said they were unwilling to consent to a discussion of the Louisiana boundary, for their doing so might be taken as a recognition of the right of the United States to the occupation of the territory. (See Updyke, page 310.)
What might be called the Uti Possidetis scheme was embraced in a British note of October 21st (see American State papers) . The British proposed the Uti Possidetis principle, as a basis of settlement, under which each side would keep what territory it should be possessed of at the promulgation of peace. ”

“ Both countries were in truth sick of a war that offered neither glory nor profit. So after an exchange of notes they sent representatives to Ghent to discuss a settlement. Long negotiations were finally ended by an agreement on Christmas Eve, 1814, a few days before Jackson’s victory at New Orleans. When the treaty reached America the people were surprised to find it said nothing about the seizure of American sailors, the destruction of American trade, the searching for American ships, or the support of Indians on the frontier. ”

“ WHEREAS, it is of prime importance that our school children should receive every essential truth from historical textbooks, and especially those textbooks placed in the hands of Tennessee students should portray in its true significance the battle of New Orleans in which the ancestors of so many were engaged ”

“ Mr. Buell continues: “Besides his general orders at Plymouth, Pakenham brought with him a proclamation approved by the Home Government or Colonial office. This proclamation was to be published as soon as the British Army should occupy New Orleans. It promised protection to everybody, general amnesty to all previously engaged in hostilities, and proclaimed the sovereignty of England, in behalf of Spain, over all the territory fraudulently conveyed by Bonaparte to the United States. It 39 denied the validity of the secret treaty by which Spain re-ceded Louisiana to France in 1800. ”

“ In the light of present knowledge that purpose is clear. The great expedition against New Orleans being near completion, it is obvious that the British Government recognized the good diplomatic position before the world, after the capture of Louisiana, of showing a record of fair warning as justification for retention. ”

“ Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington and Wyoming.
24 CHAPTER VI.
Background—Impressment.
The impressment policy of the English Government applied to the new American country, was very galling. Under that policy American ships were stopped on the high seas, and seamen taken from them under guise of being British deserters. Many good Americans were forced into British service. The young victim country protested. In 1801 the impressment practice fell off and seemingly was abandoned. ”

“ A separate chapter is devoted to the joint conference at Ghent because therein is shown the subtle, diplomatically concealed, purpose of the then English Government. The record of the proceedings of the conference, in order to be fully understood, should be read in the light of the afterwards revealed fact that, at the same time these negotiations were being conducted, the expedition against Louisiana was secretly planned and dispatched. Things that are puzzling in the making often become clear in the aftermath. ”

“ That, however, did not prevent men, women and children from parading the street, and delighting their eyes by looking at the illumination and illuminated transparencies, which made the principal streets of our city as light as day. ”

“ While these peace negotiations were simmering at Ghent, the well-planned, secret expedition against New Orleans was completed in detail, and with confident feeling of assurance that, because of its size and veteran fibre, it would be invincible, it was finally put on its way to join the waiting troops at Nigril Bay, Jamaica. Sir Edward Pakenham was appointed Commander of the Expeditionary forces. A. C. Buell, in his “History of Andrew Jackson,” published in 1904, states that Pakenham’s order was dated November 4, 1814, and read according to English war office minute ”

“ Steamboats did not then cross the Ocean, and no electric cable connected America with Europe, so news of the treaty did not reach America until a month after the Battle of New Orleans.”
The American People: Muzzey, page 218:
“Jackson, henceforth, the ‘Hero of New Orleans’ was rewarded in the following years by the command against the Indians of Florida (1817) , the governorship of Florida territory (1821) ; a seat in the United States Senate (1823) , and the Presidency of the United States (1829) . ”

“ It saved the Louisiana Purchase, or prolongation of existing war, or another war with England; or acquiescense in the Mississippi River as our western boundary;
5th: It established wholesome respect of U. S. sovereignty by Great Britain, marking the last armed conflict between these two powers, between which a solid peace has existed ever since ”

“ That viewpoint is entitled to such consideration as should be given 20 any viewpoint based solely on assumption, but it and all such viewpoints must be subjected to acid judgment based on co-related facts. ”