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© 2013 Core Knowledge FoundationUnit 6^15726.3
The End of the War
On January 8, 1815, the British attacked New
Orleans. They planned on winning without much
trouble. But they did not know how brave Andrew
Jackson and his men were—or how good they were
with their weapons.
The British soldiers had on bright red coats. A
wave of them charged. Jackson’s men crouched behind
their walls. They took careful aim. Then they fired.
Their bullets hit the first wave of British soldiers.
The British kept coming. Jackson and his men
kept firing. The wall helped to keep them safe. When
it was all over, the United States flag was still flying.
The British gave up their attack.
The British took heavy losses. Two thousand of
their men were killed or hurt. The U.S. Army lost no
more than one hundred men. New Orleans was safe!
Americans cheered for Andrew Jackson and the Battle
of New Orleans.
After time passed, a letter arrived. It said that the
war was already over. On December 24, 1814, the
United States and Great Britain had signed a treaty to
end the war. This was two weeks before the Battle of
New Orleans! But Jackson and his men did not know
that.
In those days news traveled slowly. There were no
radios or television sets. There were no phones. There
were no computers to send emails. A letter could
only travel as fast as the man who carried it. It took
a couple of weeks for news of the treaty to get from
Europe to the United States. That is why Jackson
and his men did not find out about the treaty until