Andrew Jackson was the kind of man whose parrot, Poll, felt at home attending his funeral — and also the kind of man whose parrot had to be removed from his funeral because no one could get it to stop cursing.
Jackson was impulsive, irreverent, and (as one historian dubbed him) an “atrocious saint.” But he was good at his job — whether it was being the President of the United States of America, or being the general that finally routed the British in America’s forgotten war.
For Jackson, the War of 1812 was a chance to move from relative obscurity to widespread popularity — and he used that opportunity to the fullest. By late 1814, Jackson had been made Major General of the U.S. Army’s 7th Military District, which included a large portion of Louisiana and, of course, New Orleans.
The territory had been part of the United States for just over a decade (the Louisiana Purchase was completed in 1803), most of its inhabitants spoke French, and there was a rather large contingent of the British Navy — the most powerful navy in the world — off of its coast preparing for battle. (READ MORE from Aubrey Gulick: Coming in From England: The Letter ‘S’)
The Brits and Americans had been at war since earlier that year. Having defeated France (a relatively easy task given the recent revolution), British troops burned the White House and marched on Baltimore. Word on the street was that they intended to invade the South to split up American forces, which is why Jackson was in Louisiana on Dec. 1, 1814.
Just two weeks later, the British began their invasion of Louisiana — curiously, Jackson didn’t seem interested in stopping them. On Dec. 23, he suddenly attacked and stopped the advancing troops in their tracks. The attack gave Jackson’s troops enough time to withdraw and create a series of barricades outside New Orleans that would prove vital in the coming artillery battle. (READ MORE: Out Here, War Is a Precious Memory)
On Jan. 8, 1815, Jackson managed to not only route the British on two fronts using well-protected artillery — he did so losing just 71 Americans to more than 2000 British casualties.
What Jackson, his Army, and the Brits in New Orleans didn’t know was that just two weeks before, on Dec. 24, 1814, American and British diplomats in Belgium had signed the Treaty of Ghent — a document that would be ratified by Congress in February. Technically speaking, the battle was rather unnecessary, although it did help American perception after the war.
While Jackson’s surprising win had very little to do with ending the war, the American people saw him as a hero — and he didn’t lay down his sword at New Orleans, after waging several military campaigns against Native American tribes and the Spaniards in Florida, he decided to run for the presidential office. (READ MORE: Is the Legacy of Pearl Harbor Crumbling?)
As it turns out, the American people love a personable person — and Jackson was exactly that. Not only did his parrot curse like a sailor, he paid off the national debt (incurred during the Revolutionary War), and graciously accepted a 1400-lb wheel of cheese as a gift before inviting anyone who wanted someone to drop in at the White House. Allegedly the place reeked of spoiled milk for weeks.
This article originally appeared on Aubrey’s Substack, Pilgrim’s Way, on Jan. 8, 2023.