THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS

The heavy fog of morning
Still hid the plain from sight,
When came a thread of scarlet
Marked faintly in the white.
We fired a single cannon,
And as its thunders rolled,
The mist before us lifted
In many a heavy fold.
The mist before us lifted,
And in their bravery fine
Came rushing to their ruin
The fearless British line.
--Thomas Dunn English.


THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS

When, in 1814, Napoleon was overthrown and forced to retire to
Elba, the British troops that had followed Wellington into
southern France were left free for use against the Americans. A
great expedition was organized to attack and capture New Orleans,
and at its head was placed General Pakenham, the brilliant
commander of the column that delivered the fatal blow at
Salamanca. In December a fleet of British war-ships and
transports, carrying thousands of victorious veterans from the
Peninsula, and manned by sailors who had grown old in a quarter