ADDITIONAL NAVAL ASPECTS OF THE OPERATIONS AROUND NEW ORLEANS IN 1814 AND 1815 Since beginning this series several years ago in the old format EE&L, the research has continued in an effort to identify and locate the various vessels and units on both sides that participated in the New Orleans Campaign of 1815. This has sometimes taken me beyond the original scope intended for this series, but that is OK as the more knowledge is sought, the more is thus uncovered. This column should be considered more of an update on that original research as this new data is presented. First, to deal with additional vessels of the Royal Navy: HMS PLANTAGENET : 3rd rate, 74 guns, length 181 ft., beam 47 ft., depth in hole 19.9 ft., 1= tons. She was built at Woolwich Dockyard, being launched on October 21, 1801, and broken up in May of 1817. Just when she arrived to participate in the campaign is not, at present, known. She departed from Pea Island in the Gulf of Mexico, January 29,1815, carrying dispatches to England on the failure of the operations to take New Orleans. Likewise, a few more notes have surfaced (no pun intended) on H.M. vessels, most, if not all, being transports. But no mention as to whether they were naval merchant transports. These vessels were: Daniel Woodruffe, Thames (not to be confused with the frigate listed earlier in this series), Diana, Active, Cyrus and Elizabeth. While these names do correspond to naval vessels, it is very possible that all transports were civilian vessels hired by the navy; or as it is known nowadays STUFT (Ship Taken Up From Trade). On the American side, a few "references" to vessels have been uncovered, although mainly in secondary sources. In a previous column of the old EE&L (#110, page 43), mention was made of the possible existence of additional U.S. naval vessels included in the New Orleans Campaign, other than those listed in the first part of this series. Several new publications on the battle suggest this. The first is The Battle of the Bayous, by Harry Albright (Hippocrene Books, New York, 1990) where on page 90 he states: "Commodore Patterson readied what naval power he had left with the Carolina and Louisiana, along with two smaller gunboats, to be retained in front of New Orleans." And then on page 111, he adds: "All through the fogbound forenoon of December 24, the Carolina, now joined by the sixteengun converted sloop-of-war Louisiana and two of the small gunboats, kept a constant bombardment on the British encampment." Finally, on page 115: "When Pakenham got out into the battlefield of the December 23 night battle to inspect his troops, he found the American schooner Carolina and two small boats lobbing shells into the British position." These three references would seem to indicate the presence of at least two additional gunboats. However, in checking the rather small bibliography in the book, The British at the Gate by Robin Reilly was listed, from which the references in EE&L #110 were mentioned. This might make the above reference to gunboats suspect as no other sources, including the staff at Chalmette, have any references on these vessels. Yet, in the footnote provided on page 347, Robin Reilly states that no less than five different British sources mention these additional American vessels, including two which actually show their positions on maps. Originally, twenty gunboats had been stationed at New Orleans. These are identified in an excellent new book The Jeffersonian Gunboat Navy by Spencer C. Tucker, which also follows their various individual problems until only six are left. The constant misuse of appropriated military and naval funds by General James Wilkinson is the main reason for the huge reduction of available, effective naval craft, as well as a Secretary of the Navy who had little understanding of his job. New Type of Vessal Mention should also be made here of a new type of vessel that was just beginning to be seen on the Mississippi River. Captain Henry Miller Shreve brought the steamboat Enterprise to New Orleans in 1814. This vessel was essentially a river keelboat with a steam engine in her hold for power. Taking into consideration the dimensions of the average size for a river keelboat, the Enterprise likely displaced thirty to fifty tons, with a length of less than 100 feet. Though her speed, by comparison to later steamboats, was not great, she was capable of reliably making headway against the Mississippi's current, the trip upriver to Louisville, Kentucky, requiring an average of twenty-five days. Shreve's career, incidentally, took off in 1816, when he built the Washington, the prototype for all the shallow-draft riverboats that followed. He also developed the snag boat to clear obstacles, and established Shreveport on the Red River for the Texas Trade after breaking up the Red River raft, a notorious logjam. Shreve supposedly served at gun number six on Jackson's line during the January 8 battle. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON THE WAR OF 1812 Over the past year we have received a number of questions from our readers regarding a variety of topics dealing with the 1812 conflict in North America. Some of them are presented below. QUESTION 1812-8- 1: On March 3, 1813, the U.S. Congress authorized the appointment of eight topographical Engineers and eight assistants. As these appointments were made largely from the line, what uniform distinctions constituted their uniform? QUESTION 1812-8-2: During the 1814 Campaign along the Niagara River, a unit of uniquely trained engineers joined the army of General Jacob Brown, bringing with them not only their special skills but also two 18-pars. Who were they and how were these guns transported? ANSWER TO QUESTION 1812-8-2: The name of the unit was the Company of Bombardiers, Sappers and Miners, under the command of Lieutenant David Bates Douglas. Provisions for this company were made under the Act of April 29, 1812. Much of the unit's time was spent as garrison at the Young military academy of Westpoint, where they also doubled as waiters! In May 1814, the unit was ordered north to join the forces of General Brown, arriving around June 9, with a strength of five officers and 113 other ranks. Lieutenant Douglas left his account of the Campaign in "An Original Narrative of the Niagara Campaign of 1814," which appeared in Niagara Frontier, Volume II, 1964,pp. 1-36. He mentions that his unit was armed with a part of the battering train of artillery. QUESTION 1812-8-3: What "regular" troops were assigned to the 6th Military District? ANSWER TO QUESTIO1V 1812-8-3: The 6th Military District, under the command of General Pinckney, was allocated the following regiments: 8th, 10th and 18th U.S. Infantry Regiments 2nd Artillery (part) 2nd Light Dragoons (part) The 10th U.S. Infantry was ordered to the Northern frontier in the fall of 1813. It had been recruited briefly in North Carolina. A second battalion was authorized for the regiment in 1814. Later, the 43rd U.S. Infantry was authorized for the Southern Department. QUESTION 1812-8-4: One of the few cavalry units to be active during the Blandensburg and Washington D.C. Campaign was Captain Caldwell's Troop of City Cavalry, as mentioned on page 98 of The Darkest Day: 1814 by Charles G. Muller. Unfortunately, it does not state from which city they were from or anything else about them, Can anyone help? QUESTION 1812-8-5: In 1814, the British landed two field cannon and gave them to the Creek Indians, who were trained by the British to handle thern. What type of pieces were these and what became of them? What kind of training did the native American "crew" receive? Back to Empire, Eagles, & Lions Table of Contents Vol. 2 No. 8 Back to EEL List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1994 by Emperor's Headquarters This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com