withdrawing back to the waiting fleet. While
these events were unfolding, Cochrane also
directed naval units in New England waters to
step up their attacks along the coast. The
most obvious object of British attention was
the offshore island community of Nantucket,
Massachusetts, which was closely blockaded
from receiving food and fuel supplies. With
winter approaching, no battle was necessary,
for the inhabitants agreed to sign a pledge of
neutrality with England and to withhold pay-
ing taxes to the American government. Mean-
while, Cochrane’s next target was Baltimore,
Maryland, a leading commercial center and
home port to scores of privateers. In view of
American performance thus far, the admiral
anticipated no serious resistance.
On September 11, 1814, Cockburn landed
Ross’s army at North Point while several war-
ships under Cochrane’s direction entered Bal-
timore Harbor to bombard Fort McHenry. All
day throughout September 12 and well into
the night, his 16 warships and gunboats flailed
away at the fortification, without much effect.
At dawn the American flag was still flying defi-
antly, and the British were forced to draw off.
Cochrane’s ambitious gamble had failed. Curi-
ously, an American lawyer, Francis Scott Key,
was visiting the fleet at that time and was so
inspired by Fort McHenry’s defiance that he
composed a poem entitled “The Star Spangled
Banner,” destined to become the American
national anthem. With Ross being killed the
first day of battle and his successor, Col.
Arthur Brooke, unwilling to attack Gen.
Samuel Smith’s elaborate defenses, Cochrane
agreed to reembark the army and withdraw.
This retreat became a cause for national cele-
bration and, more important, bolstered Amer-
ican bargaining positions during peace negoti-
ations in Ghent, Belgium.
Defeat at Baltimore did little to dampen
Cochrane’s enthusiasm for the offensive.
Since June, he had urged the British Admi-
ralty to allow an amphibious descent upon
New Orleans, Louisiana. This was an obvious
target of great commercial significance, but
the city, being situated at the mouth of the
Mississippi River, a major interior waterway,
was also of great strategic significance.
Cochrane felt that British possession of New
Orleans would enhance British bargaining
power at Ghent, with a view toward obtain-
ing land concessions from the United States.
In the fall of 1814, Cochrane’s ambitious plan
was authorized, and he received army rein-
forcements under Gen. Edward Pakenham.
The British fleet departed Bermuda and ar-
rived in the Gulf of Mexico in December- However, Cochrane regarded the usual
approaches to New Orleans as too heavily
guarded, so he substituted an indirect north-
ern approach via Lake Borgne. Through this
expedient he hoped to catch the American
defenders, led by Gen. Andrew Jackson, by
surprise.
Cochrane’s strategy was sound but risky.
First he had to eliminate a gunboat squadron
under the command of Lt. Thomas ap Catesby
Jones, which was accomplished after a stiff
fight on December 14, 1814. A large portion of
the British army under Gen. John Keane was
then landed and forced to partially march and
partially row its way through miles of swamp-
land to reach its objective. Despite enduring
incredible hardships, which reflects great
credit upon the professionalism and tough-
ness of “Wellington’s Invincibles,” the ploy
very nearly succeeded. Keane had advanced
unannounced to within seven miles of New
Orleans before Jackson’s army attacked the
British in their camp on the night of Decem-
ber 23, 1814. The Americans were driven off,
but Keane halted his advance until the arrival
of Pakenham and the balance of the army.
Once reinforcements arrived, the British en-
gaged in a series of futile attacks and probes
against the American line, which culminated
in a bloody repulse on January 7, 1815. Paken-
ham was killed, and the survivors had to re-
trace their steps through the swamps back to
Cochrane’s waiting fleet. To raise the army’s
morale, the admiral then landed British forces
under Gen. John Lambert outside of Mobile,
Alabama Territory. There, on February 11,
1815, they managed to subdue the garrison of
COCHRANE, ALEXANDERFORESTERINGLIS