City History: New Orleans

An invading British army is obliterated by an unlikely coalition: American frontiersmen, French speakers, free men of color, pirates and a hundred kinds more. New Orleans is saved.

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The Greatest Fury: The Battle of New Orleans and the Rebirth of America by William C. Davis

The British at the Gates: The New Orleans Campaign in the War of 1812 by Robin Reilly

The Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson and America's First Military Victory by Robert V. Remini

The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans by Lawrence N. Powell

The Pirates Laffite: The Treacherous World of the Corsairs of the Gulf by William C. Davis

The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square by Ned Sublette

"Jean Lafitte, the Baratarians, and the Battle of New Orleans: A Reappraisal" by Robert C. Vogel

"Always 'En Garde': The Effects of Slave Insurrection upon the Louisiana Mentality, 1811-1815" by Junius P. Rodriguez

"William Claiborne and New Orleans's Battalion of Color, 1803-1815: Race and the Limits of Federal Power in the Early Republic" by James E. Wainwright

"The Battle of New Orleans Reconsidered: Andrew Jackson and Martial Law" by Matthew Warshauer

"British Command Decisions Relative to the Battle of New Orleans" by John K. Mahon

The Americans build a wall to defend New Orleans. The British army pays for it.

Donate to help the victims and families of the New Year's tragedy on Bourbon Street.

https://www.gnof.org/new-orleans-new-years-day-tragedy-fund-2/

https://www.unitedwaysela.org/UnitedforNOLA

LEARN MORE:

The Greatest Fury: The Battle of New Orleans and the Rebirth of America by William C. Davis

The British at the Gates: The New Orleans Campaign in the War of 1812 by Robin Reilly

The Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson and America's First Military Victory by Robert V. Remini

The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans by Lawrence N. Powell

The Pirates Laffite: The Treacherous World of the Corsairs of the Gulf by William C. Davis

The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square by Ned Sublette

"British Command Decisions Relative to the Battle of New Orleans" by John K. Mahon

Gabriel Villeré escapes the British invaders. Jackson attacks them immediately. As a thick fog rolls in below New Orleans, both sides manage feats of strength.

READ MORE:

The Greatest Fury: The Battle of New Orleans and the Rebirth of America by William C. Davis

The British at the Gates: The New Orleans Campaign in the War of 1812 by Robin Reilly

The Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson and America's First Military Victory by Robert V. Remini

The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans by Lawrence N. Powell

The Pirates Laffite: The Treacherous World of the Corsairs of the Gulf by William C. Davis

The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square by Ned Sublette

"British Command Decisions Relative to the Battle of New Orleans" by John K. Mahon

https://villerefamily.com/the-battle-of-new-orleans/

The British take the bad route to New Orleans. It is very cold.

READ MORE:

The Greatest Fury: The Battle of New Orleans and the Rebirth of America by William C. Davis

The British at the Gates: The New Orleans Campaign in the War of 1812 by Robin Reilly

The Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson and America's First Military Victory by Robert V. Remini

The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans by Lawrence N. Powell

The Pirates Laffite: The Treacherous World of the Corsairs of the Gulf by William C. Davis

The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square by Ned Sublette

"British Command Decisions Relative to the Battle of New Orleans" by John K. Mahon

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Andrew Jackson races to prepare New Orleans before the British invasion. The Lafittes cut a deal. An urgent message arrives from downriver.

READ MORE:

The Greatest Fury: The Battle of New Orleans and the Rebirth of America by William C. Davis

The British at the Gates: The New Orleans Campaign in the War of 1812 by Robin Reilly

The Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson and America's First Military Victory by Robert V. Remini

The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans by Lawrence N. Powell

The Pirates Laffite: The Treacherous World of the Corsairs of the Gulf by William C. Davis

The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square by Ned Sublette

"British Command Decisions Relative to the Battle of New Orleans" by John K. Mahon

We explore Andrew Jackson's path to New Orleans: His origins. The Creek War. Pensacola. And we see how he set up the American victory at New Orleans—before he even arrived.

READ MORE:

The Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson and America's First Military Victory by Robert V. Remini

The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans by Lawrence N. Powell

The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square by Ned Sublette

"'Remember Fort Mims:' Reinterpreting the Origins of the Creek War" by Karl Davis

"'A Slow, Laborious Slaughter': The Battle of Horseshoe Bend" by Thomas Kanon

"British Command Decisions Relative to the Battle of New Orleans" by John K. Mahon

"Red Stick War, 1813–1814" in Massacring Indians: From Horseshoe Bend to Wounded Knee by Roger L. Nichols

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The War of 1812 begins! Seven weeks after Louisiana wins statehood, America declares war on Britain. It goes poorly. Britain puts New Orleans in its sights, and the militias—particularly, black militias—are, for now, its best defense.

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The Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson and America's First Military Victory by Robert V. Remini

The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans by Lawrence N. Powell

The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square by Ned Sublette

"'The Preservation of Good Order': William C. C. Claiborne and the Militia of the Louisiana Provisional Government, 1803–1805" by Joseph F. Stoltz III

"British Command Decisions Relative to the Battle of New Orleans" by John K. Mahon

"Mr. Jefferson's Creoles: The Battalion D'Orleans and the Americanization of Creole Louisiana, 1803–1815" by Paul D. Gelpi, Jr.

"William Claiborne and New Orleans's Battalion of Color, 1803–1815: Race and the Limits of Federal Power in the Early Republic" by James E. Wainwright

"Always 'En Garde': The Effects of the Slave Insurrection Upon the Louisiana Mentality, 1811–1815" by Junius P. Rodriguez

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Pirate leader Jean Lafitte has a critical decision to make. So does the U.S. Navy. Nothing less is at stake than the future of Barataria Bay—and New Orleans.

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The Pirates Laffite: The Treacherous World of the Corsairs of the Gulf by William C. Davis

"Jean Lafitte and the British Offer of 1814" by John Sugden

"The Patterson and Ross Raid on Barataria, September 1814" by Robert C. Vogel

The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square by Ned Sublette

The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans by Lawrence N. Powell

Jean and Pierre Lafitte fight the law in the bays and bayous of Louisiana. The Lafittes usually win (or at least escape). But the Navy and New Orleans gear up for a big showdown with the pirates of Barataria Bay.

READ MORE:

The Pirates Laffite: The Treacherous World of the Corsairs of the Gulf by William C. Davis

"The Patterson and Ross Raid on Barataria, September 1814" by Robert C. Vogel

The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square by Ned Sublette

The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans by Lawrence N. Powell

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Piracy explodes in the Gulf. Pierre and Jean Lafitte establish a pirate empire in Barataria Bay. Despite Jefferson's embargo, New Orleans residents enjoy tons of cheap, illegal goods.

READ MORE:

The Pirates Laffite: The Treacherous World of the Corsairs of the Gulf by William C. Davis

"The Patterson and Ross Raid on Barataria, September 1814" by Robert C. Vogel

The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square by Ned Sublette

The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans by Lawrence N. Powell SOUNDS:

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Hundreds of enslaved Louisianans rise up against the sugar plantations. Led by Charles Deslondes, this army marches on New Orleans while the U.S. military is away.

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American Uprising: The Untold Story of America's Largest Slave Revolt by Daniel Rasmussen

The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans by Lawrence N. Powell

The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square by Ned Sublette

City of a Million Dreams: A History of New Orleans at Year 300 by Jason Berry

"'A Horde of Brigands?' The Great Louisiana Slave Revolt of 1811 Reconsidered" by Robert L. Paquette

"The Persistent Specter: Slave Rebellion in Territorial Louisiana" by James H. Dormon

"Historiographical Examinations of the 1811 Slave Insurrection" by Nathan A. Buman

"Commerce and Slavery in Lower Louisiana" in Slave Country by Adam Rothman

https://64parishes.org/entry/german-coast-slave-insurrection-of-1811

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Adelaide, a Domingan refugee of color, arrives in New Orleans. She is free. And she has the proof. But people continually try to re-enslave her anyway.

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"Paper Thin: Freedom and Re-enslavement in the Diaspora of the Haitian Revolution" by Rebecca J. Scott

"'She... Refuses to Deliver Up Herself as the Slave of Your Petitioner': Emigres, Enslavement and the 1808 Digest of the Civil Laws" by Rebecca J. Scott

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10,000 refugees from San-Domingue/Haiti suddenly land in New Orleans. Thousands get homes and jobs. Thousands are re-enslaved at the docks.

READ MORE:

The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans by Lawrence N. Powell

The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square by Ned Sublette

City of a Million Dreams: A History of New Orleans at Year 300 by Jason Berry

"The 1809 Immigration of Saint-Domingue Refugees to New Orleans: Reception, Integration and Impact" by Paul F. Lachance

"The Saint-Domingue Refugees and the Preservation of Gallic Culture in Early New Orleans" by Nathalie Dessens

"Paper Thin: Freedom and Re-enslavement in the Diaspora of the Haitian Revolution" by Rebecca J. Scott

"'She... Refuses to Deliver Up Herself as the Slave of Your Petitioner': Emigres, Enslavement and the 1808 Digest of the Civil Laws" by Rebecca J. Scott

https://64parishes.org/refugee-revolution

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Aaron Burr plots a conspiracy. To stop it, General Wilkinson places New Orleans under military dictatorship. French speakers prove their loyalty to the United States.

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The Burr Conspiracy: Uncovering the Story of an Early American Crisis by by James E. Lewis Jr.

The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans by Lawrence N. Powell

The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square by Ned Sublette

City of a Million Dreams: A History of New Orleans at Year 300 by Jason Berry

"William C. C. Claiborne: Profile of a Democrat" by John D. Winters

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/duel-burr-conspiracy/cx

https://www.history.com/news/aaron-burrs-notorious-treason-case

https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/99-01-02-4459

https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/99-01-02-4537

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Americans believe New Orleans is ignorant, hedonistic and overly Catholic. Governor Claiborne is given near-dictatorial powers to rule. New Orleans residents get a bit too passionate about their ballroom dancing.

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"'Too ignorant to elect suitable men': Characterizations of Louisianans in Congress: 1803–1805" by Julien Vernet

A Wilderness So Immense: The Louisiana Purchase and the Destiny of America by Jon Kukla

The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans by Lawrence N. Powell

The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square by Ned Sublette

City of a Million Dreams: A History of New Orleans at Year 300 by Jason Berry

"The Public Masked Balls of Antebellum New Orleans: A Custom of Masque Tradition Outside the Mardi Gras Tradition" by R. Randall Couch

"The Passion of the Prefect: Pierre Clément De Laussat, 1803 New Orleans, and the Bonapartist Louisiana That Never Was" by Eberhard L. Faber

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The French tricolor rises over New Orleans. Three weeks later, the American flag takes its place. The last French governor has a weird, impactful year in New Orleans. READ MORE:

"The Passion of the Prefect: Pierre Clément De Laussat, 1803 New Orleans, and the Bonapartist Louisiana That Never Was" by Eberhard L. Faber

A Wilderness So Immense: The Louisiana Purchase and the Destiny of America by Jon Kukla

The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans by Lawrence N. Powell

The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square by Ned Sublette

https://64parishes.org/entry/pierre-clment-de-laussat

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France secretly reacquires Louisiana, but only for a couple years. After military catastrophe in Haiti, Napoleon sells Louisiana to the United States. New Orleans's fate is changed forever.

READ MORE:

A Wilderness So Immense: The Louisiana Purchase and the Destiny of America by Jon Kukla

The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans by Lawrence N. Powell

The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square by Ned Sublette

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American settlers demand access to the Mississippi and New Orleans. Pinckney's Treaty chips away at Spanish control. "Kaintucks" and other Americans float downriver to New Orleans.

READ MORE:

A Wilderness So Immense: The Louisiana Purchase and the Destiny of America by Jon Kukla

The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans by Lawrence N. Powell

The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square by Ned Sublette

https://64parishes.org/entry/spanish-colonial-louisiana

https://64parishes.org/entry/anglo-americans

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In 1791 and 1795, enslaved people plot to overthrow Louisiana's plantation system.

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The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans by Lawrence N. Powell

The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square by Ned Sublette

Africans in Colonial Louisiana: The Development of Afro-Creole Culture in the Eighteenth-Century by Gwendolyn Midlo Hall

"The Pointe Coupee Conspiracy of 1791" by Ulysses S. Ricard, Jr.

"The 1795 Slave Conspiracy in Pointe Coupee: Impact of the French Revolution" by Gwendolyn Midlo Hall

"The Abortive Slave Revolt at Pointe Coupee, Louisiana, 1795" by Jack D. L. Holmes

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Revolutionary ideas make it to New Orleans. The new governor deports potential agitators. A conspiracy develops in Kentucky.

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The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans by Lawrence N. Powell

The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square by Ned Sublette

"Conflicting Loyalties: The French Revolution and Free People of Color" by Kimberly Hanger

"The 1795 Slave Conspiracy in Pointe Coupee: Impact of the French Revolution" by Gwendolyn Midlo Hall

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