The Battle of New Orleans: Eyewitness Accounts Map of the position of the Armies “Such a destruction of men, for the time it lasted, was never before witnessed” American Engineer Major Tatum Howell Further Reading More Eyewitness Accounts

George Gleig Describes the Aftermath of the Southern Campaign Captain George Gleig recounts the scene of devastation as hundreds of his British comrades lie scattered in the field after the Battle of New Orleans. "Prompted by curiosity, I mounted my horse and rode to the front; but of all the sights I ever witnessed, that which met me there was beyond comparison the most shocking and the most humiliating. Within the narrow compass of a few hundred yards, were gathered together nearly a thousand bodies, all of them arrayed in British uniforms. "Not a single American was among them; all were English; and they were thrown by dozens into shallow holes, scarcely deep enough to furnish them with a slight covering of earth. Nor was this all. An American officer stood by smoking a cigar, and apparently counting the slain with a look of savage exultation; and repeating over and over to each individual that approached him, that their loss amounted only to eight men killed, and fourteen wounded." George Gleig, British Officer