British
Further Reading
More eyewitness accounts of the Battle of New Orleans
The Americans Devastate the British Army The Battle of New Orleans |
George Gleig recalls the mood in the British camp the night before the battle
Captain George Gleig recalls
the exhaustion that spread through the British camp during the final days
of the New Orleans campaign. Remembering the night before the assault,
he highlights the small talk the soldiers engaged in for distraction.
It is known that there was an overall lack of confidence in Edward
Packenham’s command.
"Of the fatigue undergone
during these operations by the whole army, from the General down to
the meanest sentinel, it would be difficult to form an adequate conception.
For two whole nights and days, not a man had closed an eye, except such
as were cool enough to sleep amidst showers of cannon-ball..."
"Our spirits, in spite of the troubles of the night, were good, and our expectations of success were high, consequently many rude jests were bandied about, and many careless words spoken: for soldiers are, of all classes of men, the freest from care, and on that account, perhaps, the most happy. By being continually exposed to it, danger with them ceases to be frightful; of death they have no more terror than the beasts that perish; and even hardships, such as cold, wet, hunger, and broken rest, lose at least part of their disagreeableness, by the frequency of their recurrence."
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