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Events Leading up to the

Battles of the Bay of St. Louis and Lake Borgne

Although the United States of America won its independence from England in 1781, British ships continued to raid American ships and impress our citizens, forcing them into service for the King. In response Congress declared war on Great Britain on June 18, 1812. Our fledgling country, then only 31 years old, had once again challenged the greatest naval and military forces in the history of the world.

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In April of 1814, England defeated Napoleon and was then able to turn its full fury on the United States. In the months that followed. our country suffered many dark moments, including the capture of the city of Washington and the burning of the White House and Capitol on August 24, 1814.

 

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The winning stance at Fort McHenry in Baltimore’s harbor on September 13-14, 1814, gave the Americans confidence in their cause. The valiant battle at Fort McHenry inspired the young attorney Francis Scott Key to write his poem The Star-Spangled Banner.

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The United States had more than doubled its size with the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. England saw this war as an opportunity to regain her lost colonies along with all of America’s newly-acquired territories. The British knew that seizing control of the Mississippi River and occupying New Orleans would deliver a death blow to the young United States. In the latter months of 1814, the British began positioning themselves to do just that.

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Leading the British fleet was Admiral Alexander Cochrane.  As the British fleet made its way from Pensacola, it travelled in the Gulf waters outside of the Mississippi barrier Islands.  The flotilla totaled sixth-two, including forty-five launches and barges.  

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​​​​​Commodore Daniel T. Patterson, who was stationed in New Orleans, was in command of the American naval forces in the gulf region.  He sent twenty-five-year-old Lieutenant Thomas ap Catesby Jones to prevent the British from entering Lake Borgne by any means necessary.  "Sink the enemy or Be Sunk!"  Under his command, Lt. Jones had five Jeffersonian gunboats, the schooner USS Seahorse and the sloop-of war Alligator.   He sent two gunboats led by Lt. Issac McKeever and Sailing-Master George Ulrick to Dauphin Island on the eastern end of the Mississippi Sound to monitor the British flotilla as it sailed westward.  His gunboat and the two other boats commanded by Lt. Robert Spedden and Sailing-Master John D. Ferris were positioned on the western end of Cat Island.   The Seahorse was ordered to Shieldsboro (now Bay St. Louis) to load the munitions and supplies that were stored there and carry them to General Andrew Jackson, who was fortifying his defenses to protect New Orleans.  The Alligator remained near the mouth of the Rigolets Pass, the entrance to Lake Borgne.

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The British knew of the munitions and supplies, and on December 13, 1814, three barges were sent into the Bay of St. Louis.  There they were confronted by the Seahorse, which was able to fend off the attack.   Townfolk had gathered on the bluff at what is now Ulman Avenue to watch the battle and celebrated the brief victory.  Unfortunately, the British barges returned with four more.  Captain Wiiliam Johnson of the Seahorse, now trapped in the Bay and greatly outnumbered, was forced to scuttle his ship.

 

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Lt. Jones and his gunboats sailed to the Rigolets and positioned them as a line of defense by tying them bow to stern across the channel.   Because of low tides and unfavorable winds, the larger Alligator was helplessly aground.

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​​​​​​​​On the morning of December 14, 1814, the British attacked the Alligator and forced it to surrender.   A few hours later, the gunboats were assaulted in three separate battles.  While the first two were successful, the third resulted in an American defeat.  The enemy then used the shallow-draft American gunboats to transport their troops from the larger ships to the land.  ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​In spite of the defeat at the Rigolets, the determined Americans succeeded in delaying the British, giving Gen. Jackson necessary time to complete his fortifications.  On January 8, 1815, the two enemies met in Chalmette, resulting in a resounding American victory, with the help of the band of pirates led by the infamous Jean Lafitte.

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