Napoleon and New Orleans: The Emperor’s First Surrender and Its Impact on the British Operations in Last Great Battle of the War of 1812

Napoleon’s first abdication on April 6, 1814 changed Britain’s wartime prospects, not only on the Continent, but also in North America. Just ten days earlier a new naval CinC, Vice-Admiral Alexander Cochrane, assumed command of the war against the United States with the aim of tightening the blockade and extending it to cover the coast from Maine to the Gulf of Mexico. Buoyed by news of the French defeat, Cochrane had reason to believe that the additional ships and men needed to conclude the war in Britain’s favor would soon be on their way. But Britain’s naval and military focus remained on France, stifling Cochrane’s plans for large-scale combined operations at strategic locations like New Orleans. Bureaucratic prevarication in London caused him to overestimate the resources that would be forthcoming in the wake of Napoleon’s exile to Elba, just as he underestimated the challenges posed by terrain, weather, and the forces arrayed against him at Chalmette. This presentation explores the global nature of the War of 1812 and the prioritization of European interests on British land and sea operations in the last great battle of the conflict.