May 31, 1814, Jackson was made a maj.gen. of the regular army, and was looked upon as the leader in the s. w. The British were preparing for a formidable attack upon Mobile, and thither Jackson went in July. The enemy were making free use of the Spanish port of Pensacola, where they arranged two expeditions against the United States, and at the same time stirred up the Indians of Florida (then belonging to Spain) to hostilities against the white'settlements in Georgia. The Spaniards lacked the dispo sition even if they had the power to stop this abuse, as was shown when the English commander made his head-quarters in the mansion of the Spanish governor. Jackson determined to take possession of Pensacola, and wrote to Washington for permission, but it was six months before the answer came. He wrote a protest to the Spanish governor, to which no attention was paid. He then " took the responsibility," called upon his Tennessee veterans, and prepared to seize the Spanish port. lie put a force into a small unfinished fort (Bowyer)on Mobile bay, under command of inaj. Lawrence. This place the English attacked by sea Sept. 15, but they were driven off, losing one of their vessels and 72 men. At this time occurred an event for which Jackson received more censure than from all other acts of his life. There had been a mutiny among the Tennessee troops whereby Coffee's reinforcements had been delayed. Jackson hung six of the offenders, thereby mutiny in armies tinder his command. At length lie was ready„ and marched upon Pensacola with 3,000 men. :Negotiations were pro posed, but lie was not there to talk; he took the place Nov. G; the English blew up the fort that defended the harbor, went aboard their ships, and left the bay. Two days later he was again in Mobile, expecting an attack from the English. There being no prospect of such attack, he sent the greater part of his troops to New Orleans. and arrived there himself Dec. 2, 1814. The place had no defenses worth notice, and but for their proverbial slowness the English might have taken it almc3t without effort. Jackson knew they were coming, and made preparations for their reception. On the 14th the English seized five American gunboats and a schooner, clearing the course up the river to New Orleans; but they did not avail themselves of the rdvantage. On the 15th Jackson, who had already called out the militia, proclaimed martial law.
He had a motley army, comprising a few regulars, militia from the neighboring states, privateers from Barataria, and one battalion of negroeS. On the 16th the British advances landed, and came within 9 m. of the city on the morning of, the 23d. Learning the facts early in the afternoon, Jackson hastily gathered a force of 2,130 (of whom only 1800 were hi the engagement), and with the assistance of a solitary schooner made an •attack, the result of which, after a very sharp conflict, was decidedly to the advantage of the Americans. The advance upon the city was checked, and, had not large additions been made to the British force during the night, there would have been a substantial American victory. It is generally believed that this check, and the remark able caution with which the British moved, saved New Orleans from capture. After that battle Jackson retired to a canal about 4 m. from the city, where he prepared for defense ,from whatever quarter an attack might come. Packenham arrived on Christmas day and made many changes in the disposition of the British troops. On the 28th he made an attack, but was repulsed. He made another effort on New Year's day. chiefly with artillery, and this was not only a repulse but a defeat. These results were due to Jackson's incessant activity, and the spirit which he had aroused among his men. He greatly annoyed the enemy by sudden attacks in the night, and by other means kept them in constant alarm. Jan. 12, 2,250 Kentuckians came to Jackson, but were of little use as their arms were delayed on the river.. On the 6th the English gathered all their forces, including marines and seamen, the number being about 14,000, though English authorities declared that 8,000 was the right count, while they absurdly insisted that the Americans had 25,000. (Jackson had about 4,000 men.) The Amer
ican line was on the left bank of the river in a very strong position; it was about 1700 yards long, and manned by 12 guns and 3,200 men. The handling of the guns under lieut. Armstrong (afterwards gen.) was most effective. In the first assault upon Jack son's line the British commander Packenham was killed, and another gen. mortally wounded. A second assault produced no impression, the well-directed lire of the Amer icans being too terrible to face. A battery near the river was captured by the English after the loss of three-fourths of the assailants, but it was quickly abandoned. The famous 93d Highlanders, who had won distinction in many parts of the world, lost half their number. After losing heavily and seeing no prospects of success, gen. Lam bert, who had succeeded Packenhain, proposed an armistice. But while the British lied been so badly beaten before Jackson's line they had gained decided success on the other side of the river, from which position they might be troublesome. In granting the armistice, therefore, Jackson required that it should not take effect on the other side, nor should either party send reinforcements there. This was agreed to, and in doing so the English abandoned their only advantage. The armistice ended the attempt to capture New Orleans and control the great river. The British retired with a loss of about 2,000 in all; the loss on the other side was seven killed and six wounded. The battle of New Orleans, which crowned Jackson with fame, was fought Sunday, Jan. 8, 1815, some weeks after the signing of the treaty of peace at Ghent. The anniversary of the day was for many years celebrated with enthusiasm surpassed only by the rejoic ings on July 4. Following the war there were many legal troubles in which Jackson was involved, the most notable of which was a fine of $1000 for contempt of court, the contempt being the arrest of judge Hall during the time of martial law. Jackson refused pecuniary assistance and paid the fine. Nearly 30 years afterwards, and only a year before his death, congress refunded the fine with interest.
In April, 1815, Jackson was appointed commander-in-chief of the southern division, and congress voted thanks for his services. His next active work was in the Seminole Indian war, in the course of which occurred another of his acts which created no little excitement. At the Spanish fort of St. Marks, of which he had taken possession, was one Arbuthnot, a Scotchman, whom he arrested; and at Suwanec he arrested a native of the Bahamas named Ambrister. These men (British subjects) were tried by court inertial, and declared guilty of inciting the Indians to war and. supplying them with arms, and the sentence of death was immediately executed. At the same time Jackson hung two Indian chiefs, and then seized Pensacola in spite of the remonstrance of the Spaniards. These proceedings created intense excitement in England; but after much angry correspondence there was a peaceable settlement. In congress Jackson's conduct was very generally condemned, but all attempts to pass a vote of censure failed. As for himself, at this time, he was in constant and towering passion. He believed that his action was in accordance with the desires of the administration, and the criticisms so freely made were as goads to his hot temper, carrying him so far that he threatened to cut off the ears of certain free-speaking senators. In 1819 Jackson went as far north is New York, and was well received, but with little cordiality. On the cession of Florida to the United States he was appointed governor, and during his brief term of office had some serious difficulties in consequence of the arrest of a judge for issuing a writ of habeas corpus. Efforts in congress to pass censure for this act were not successful. Li 1822 he was offered but refused to accept the Spanish mission.