In Early January, 1815, a British army numbering 15,000 men attacked the city of New Orleans in a conflict that marked the end of the War of 1812. The American forces, numbering only 6,000, were expected to crumble easily to the invading British. Fearing the might of the British army, the Catholics of New Orleans gathered at the Chapel with the Ursuline Nuns the night before the battle to pray to Our Lady of Prompt Succor.
On January 8th the British forces advanced against the outnumbered Americans. Against all odds the British attack failed, and within 25 minutes the British suffered 2,500 casualties. The Americans suffered only 7 dead and 6 wounded. The battle could not have been more decisive, and Catholics to this day credit the intercession of Our Lady as the cause for the overwhelming victory. An article with more on this miracle and Our Lady of Prompt Succor can be found
here.
A light-hearted southern folk song about the conflict, The Battle of New Orleans, was written by teacher James Corbitt Morris in 1936. It is sung here by Benny Martin.
Listen to The Battle of New Orleans
Lyrics:
In 1814 we took a little trip
Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip
We took a little bacon and we took a little beans
And we caught the bloody British in the town of New Orleans
We fired our guns and the British kept a'comin
But there wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago
We fired once more and they began to runnin' on
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
We looked down the river and we see'd the British come
And there must have been a hundred of 'em beatin' on the drum
They stepped so high and they made the bugles ring
We stood by our cotton bales and didn't say a thing
We fired our guns and the British kept a'comin
But there wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago
We fired once more and they began to runnin' on
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
They ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles
And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go
They ran so fast that the hounds couldn't catch 'em
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
We fired our cannon 'til the barrel melted down
So we grabbed an alligator and we fought another round
We filled his head with cannon balls, and powdered his behind
And when we touched the powder off, the gator lost his mind
We fired our guns and the British kept a'comin
There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago
We fired once more and they began to runnin' on
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
They ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles
And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go
They ran so fast that the hounds couldn't catch 'em
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
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