"I do not remember ever looking for the first signs of day-break with
more intense anxiety than on this eventful morning; every now and then I
thought I heard the distant hum of voices, then again something like the
doleful rustling of the wind before the coming storm, among the leaves
of the foliage. But no; it was only the effect of the momentary buzzing
in my ears; all was silent--the dew lay on the damp sod, and the
soldiers were carefully putting aside their entrenching tools, and
laying hold of their arms to be up and answer the first war-call at a
moment's warning. How can I convey a thought of the intense anxiety of
the mind, when a sombre silence is broken by the intonations of the
cannon, and when the work of death begins? Now the veil of night was
less obscured, and its murky mantle dissolved on all sides, and the mist
sweeping off the face of the earth; yet it was not day, and no object
was very visible beyond the extent of a few yards. The morn was
chilly--I augured not of victory, an evil foreboding crossed my mind,
and I meditated in solitary reflection. All was tranquil as the grave,
and no camp-fires glimmered from either friends or foes.
Soon after this, two light companies of the seventh and ninety-third
regiments came up without knapsacks, the highlanders with their blankets
rolled and slung around their backs, and merely wearing the shell of
their bonnets, the sable plumes of real ostrich feathers brought by them
from the Cape of Good Hope, having been left in England. One company of
the forty-third light infantry also followed, marching up rapidly. These
three companies formed a compact little column of two hundred and forty
soldiers, near the battery on the high road to New-Orleans. They were to
attack the crescent battery near the river, and if possible to silence
its fire under the muzzles of twenty pieces of cannon; at a point, too,
where the bulk of the British force had hesitated when first they
landed, and had recoiled from its fire on the twenty-eighth of last
December, and on the first of January. I asked Lieut. Duncan Campbell
where they were going, when he replied, "I'll be hanged if I know:"
"then," said I, "you have got into what I call a good thing; a far-famed
American battery is in front of you at a short range, and on the left of
this spot is flanked, at 800 yards, by their batteries on the opposite
bank of the river." At this piece of information he laughed heartily,
and I told him to take off his blue pelisse-coat to be like the rest of
the men. "No," he said gayly, "I will never peel for an American--come,
Jack, embrace me." He was a fine young officer of twenty years of age,
and had fought in many bloody encounters in Spain and France, but this
was to be his last, as well as that of many more brave men. The mist was
slowly clearing off, but objects could only be discerned at two or three
hundred yards distance, as the morning was rather hazy; we had only
quitted the battery two minutes, when a Congreve rocket was thrown up,
whether from the enemy or not we could not tell; for some seconds it
whizzed backward and forward in such a zigzag way, that we all looked up
to see whether it was coming down upon our heads. The troops
simultaneously halted, but all smiled at some sailors dragging a
two-wheeled car a hundred yards to our left, which had brought up
ammunition to the battery, who, by common consent, as it were, let go
the shaft, and left it the instant the rocket was let off.--(This
rocket, although we did not know it, proved to be the signal of attack.)
All eyes were cast upward, like those of so many astronomers, to descry,
if possible, what could be the upshot of this noisy harbinger, breaking
in upon the solemn silence that reigned around. During all my military
services I do not remember seeing a small body of troops thrown into
such a strange configuration, having formed themselves into a circle,
and halted, both officers and men, without any previous word of command,
each man looking earnestly, as if by instinct of his imagination, to see
in what particular quarter the anticipated firing would begin.
The Mississippi was not visible, its waters likewise being covered over
with the fog; nor was there a single soldier, save our little phalanx,
to be seen, or the tramp of a horse or a single footstep to be heard, by
way of announcing that the battle-scene was about to begin, before the
vapoury curtain was lifted or cleared away for the opposing forces to
get a glimpse one of the other. So that we were completely lost, not
knowing which way to bend our footsteps, and the only words which now
escaped the officers were "steady, men," these precautionary warnings
being quite unnecessary, as every soldier was, as it were, motionless
like fox-hunters, waiting with breathless expectation, and casting
significant looks one at the other before Reynard breaks cover.
All eyes seemed anxious to dive through the mist; and all ears attentive
to the coming moment, as it was impossible to tell whether the blazing
would begin from the troops who were supposed to have already crossed
the river, or from the great battery of the Americans on the right bank
of the Mississippi, or from the main lines. From all these points we
were equidistant, and within point-blank range; and were left, besides,
totally without orders, and without knowing how to act or where to find
our own corps, just as if we had formed no part or parcel of the army.
The rocket had fallen probably in the Mississippi, all was silent, nor
did a single officer or soldier attempt to shift his foot-hold, so
anxiously were we all employed in listening for the first roar of the
cannon to guide our footsteps, or as it were to pronounce with loud
peals where was the point of our destination, well knowing that to go
farther to the rear was not the way to find our regiment. This silence
and suspense had not lasted more than two minutes, when the most
vehement firing from the British artillery began opposite the left of
the American lines, and before they could even see what objects they
were firing at, or before the intended attacking column of the British
were probably formed to go on to the assault. The American artillery
soon responded, and thus it was that the gunners of the English and the
Americans were firing through the mist at random; or in the supposed
direction whence came their respective balls through the fog. And the
first objects we saw, enclosed as it were in this little world of mist,
were the cannon-balls tearing up the ground and crossing one another,
and bounding along like so many cricket-balls through the air, coming on
our left flank from the American batteries on the right bank of the
river, and also from their lines in front.
At this momentous crisis a droll occurrence took place; a company of
blacks emerged out of the mist, carrying ladders, which were intended
for the three light companies for the left attack, but these Ethiopians
were so confounded at the multiplicity of noises, that without farther
ado, they dropped the ladders and fell flat on their faces, and without
doubt, had their claws been of sufficient length, they would have
scratched holes and buried themselves from such an unpleasant admixture
of sounds and concatenation of iron projectiles, which seemed at war
with one another, coming from two opposite directions at one and the
same time.
If these blacks were only intended to carry the ladders to the three
light companies on the left, they were too late. The great bulk of them
were cut to pieces before the ladders were within reach of them; even if
the best troops in the world had been carrying them, they would not have
been up in time. This was very odd, and more than odd; it looked as if
folly stalked abroad in the English camp. One or two officers went to
the front in search of some responsible person to obtain orders _ad
interim_; finding myself the senior officer, I at once, making a double
as it were, or, as Napoleon recommended, marched to the spot where the
heaviest firing was going on; at a run we neared the American line. The
mist was now rapidly clearing away, but, owing to the dense smoke, we
could not at first distinguish the attacking columns of the British
troops to our right.
We now also caught a view of the seventh and the forty-third regiments
in _echelon_ on our right, near the wood, the royal fusileers being
within about 300 yards of the enemy's lines, and the forty-third
deploying into line 200 yards in _echelon_ behind the fusileers. These
two regiments were every now and then almost enveloped by the clouds of
smoke that hung over their heads, and floated on their flanks, and the
echo from the cannonade and musketry was so tremendous in the forests,
that the vibration seemed as if the earth were cracking and tumbling to
pieces, or as if the heavens were rent asunder by the most terrific
peals of thunder that ever rumbled; it was the most awful and the
grandest mixture of sounds to be conceived; the woods seemed to crack to
an interminable distance, each cannon report was answered one hundred
fold, and produced an intermingled roar surpassing strange. And this
phenomenon can neither be fancied nor described, save by those who can
bear evidence of the fact. And the flashes of fire looked as if coming
out of the bowels of the earth, so little above its surface were the
batteries of the Americans.
We had run the gauntlet, from the left to the centre in front of the
American lines, under a cross fire, in hopes of joining in the assault,
and had a fine view of the sparkling of the musketry, and the liquid
flashes of the cannon. And melancholy to relate, all at once many
soldiers were met wildly rushing out of the dense clouds of smoke,
lighted up by a sparkling sheet of fire, which hovered over the
ensanguined field. Regiments were shattered and dispersed--all order was
at an end. And the dismal spectacle was seen of the dark shadows of men,
like skirmishers, breaking out of the clouds of smoke, which
majestically rolled along the even surface of the field. And so
astonished was I at such a panic, that I said to a retiring soldier,
"have we or the Americans attacked?" for I had never seen troops in such
a hurry without being followed. "No," replied the man, with the
countenance of despair, and out of breath, as he ran along, "we
attacked, sir." For still the reverberation was so intense toward the
great wood, that any one would have thought the great fighting was going
on there instead of immediately in front.
Lieut. Duncan Campbell, of our regiment, was seen to our left running
about in circles, first staggering one way, then another, and at length
fell upon the sod helplessly on his face, and again tumbled, and when he
was picked up, he was found to be blind from the effect of grape-shot,
which had torn open his forehead, giving him a slight wound in the leg,
and also ripped the scabbard from his side, and knocked the cap from his
head. While being borne insensible to the rear, he still clenched the
hilt of his sword with a convulsive grasp, the blade thereof being
broken off close at the hilt with grape-shot, and in a state of delirium
and suffering he lived for a few days.
The first officer we met was Lieutenant-Colonel Stovin, of the staff,
who was unhorsed, without his hat, and bleeding down the left side of
his face. He at first thought the two hundred were the whole regiment,
and he said, "Forty-third, for God's sake save the day!"
Lieutenant-Colonel Smith of the rifles, and one of Packenham's staff,
then rode up at full gallop from the right, (he had a few months before
brought to England the despatches of the capture of Washington) and said
to me, "Did you ever see such a scene?--There is nothing left but the
seventh and forty third! just draw up here for a few minutes, to show
front, that the repulsed troops may re-form." For the chances now were,
as the greater portion of the actually attacking corps were stricken
down, and the remainder dispersed, that the Americans would become the
assailants. The ill-fated rocket was discharged before the British
troops moved on; the consequence was, that every American gun was warned
by such a silly signal to be laid on the parapets, ready to be
discharged with the fullest effect.
The misty field of battle was now inundated with wounded officers and
soldiers, who were going to the rear from the right, left, and centre;
in fact, little more than one thousand soldiers were left unscathed out
of the three thousand who attacked the American lines, and they fell
like the very blades of grass beneath the scythe of the mower. Packenham
was killed; Gibbes was mortally wounded; his brigade dispersed like the
dust before the whirlwind, and Keane was wounded. The command of his
Majesty's forces at this critical juncture now fell to Major-general
Lambert, the only general left, and he was in reserve with his fine
brigade.
The rifle corps individually took post to resist any forward movements
of the enemy, but the ground already named being under a cross fire of
at least twenty pieces of artillery, the advantage was all on the side
of the Americans, who in a crowd might have completely run down a few
scattered troops, exposed to such an overpowering force of artillery.
The black troops behaved in the most shameful manner to a man, and,
although hardly exposed to fire, were in abominable consternation, lying
down in all directions. One broad beaver, with the ample folds of the
coarse blanket, thrown across the shoulders of the Americans, was as
terrible in their eyes as a panther might be while springing among a
timid multitude. These black corps, it is said, had behaved well at some
West India islands, where the thermometer was more congenial to their
feelings. Lieut. Hill (now Capt. Hill) said, in his shrewd manner, "Look
at the seventh and the forty-third, like seventy-fours becalmed!" As
soon as the action was over, and some troops were formed in our rear, we
then, under a smart fire of grape and round shot, moved to the right,
and joined our own corps, which had been ordered to lie down at the edge
of the ditch; and some of the old soldiers, with rage depicted on their
countenances, were demanding why they were not led on to the assault.
The fire of the Americans, from behind their barricades, had been indeed
so murderous, and had caused so sudden a repulse, that it was difficult
to persuade ourselves that such an event had happened--the whole affair
being more like a dream, or some scene of enchantment, than reality.
And thus it was: on the left bank of the river, three generals, seven
colonels, and seventy five officers, making a total of seventeen hundred
and eighty-one officers and soldiers, had fallen in a few minutes.
The royal fusileers and the Monmouthshire light infantry, from the
beginning to the end of the battle, were astounded at the ill success of
the combat; and while formed within grape range, were lost in amazement
at not being led on to the attack, being kept as quiet spectators of the
onslaught.
About an hour and a half after the principal attack had failed, we heard
a rapid discharge of fire-arms, and a few hurried sounds of cannon on
the right bank of the river, when all was again silent, until three
distinct rounds of British cheers gladdened our ears from that
direction, although at least one mile and a quarter from where we were
stationed. They were Colonel Thornton's gallant troops, who were
successful in the assault on the American works in that quarter, the
details of which, for a brief space, I must postpone.
For _five_ hours the enemy plied us with grape and round shot; some of
the wounded lying in the mud or on wet grass, managed to crawl away; but
every now and then some unfortunate man was lifted off the ground by
round shot, and lay killed or mangled.--During the tedious hours we
remained in front, it was necessary to lie on the ground, to cover
ourselves from the projectiles. An officer of our regiment was in a
reclining posture, when a grape-shot passed through both his knees; at
first he sank back faintly, but at length opening his eyes, and looking
at his wounds, he said, "Carry me away. I am _chilled to death_;" and as
he was hoisted on the men's shoulders, more round and grape shot passed
his head; taking off his hat, he waved it; and after many narrow
escapes, got out of range, suffered amputation of both legs, and died of
his wounds on ship-board, after enduring all the pain of the surgical
operation, and passing down the lake in an open boat.
A wounded soldier, who was lying among the slain, two hundred yards
behind us, continued, without any cessation, for two hours, to raise his
arm up and down with a convulsive motion, which excited the most painful
sensations among us; and as the enemy's balls now and then killed or
maimed some soldiers, we could not help casting our eyes toward the
moving arm, which really was a dreadful magnet of attraction; it even
caught the attention of the enemy, who, without seeing the body, fired
several round shot at it. A black soldier lay near us, who had received
a blow from a cannon-ball, which had obliterated all his features; and
although blind, and suffering the most terrible anguish, he was
employing himself in scratching a hole to put his money into. A tree,
about two feet in diameter and fifteen in height, with a few scattered
branches at the top, was the only object to break the monotonous scene.
This tree was near the right of our regiment; the Americans, seeing some
persons clustering around it, fired a thirty-two pound shot, which
struck the tree exactly in the centre, and buried itself in the trunk
with a loud concussion. Curiosity prompted some of us to take a hasty
inspection of it, and I could clearly see the rusty ball within the
tree. I thrust my arm in a little above the elbow joint, and laid hold
of it; it was truly amazing, between the intervals of firing the cannon,
to see the risks continually run by the officers to take a peep at this
good shot. Owing to this circumstance, the vicinity of the tree became
rather a hot berth; but the American gunners failed to hit it a second
time, although some balls passed very near on each side, and for an hour
it was a source of excessive jocularity to us. In the middle of the day
a flag of truce was sent by Gen. Lambert to Gen. Jackson, to be allowed
to bury the dead, which was acceded to by the latter on certain
conditions."