23 8 Naval War of 1812 



by a total of 5,500 men. 37 Having kept a constant 

 watch on the British, Jackson had rightly concluded 

 that they would make the main attack on the east 

 bank, and had, accordingly, kept the bulk of his 

 force on that side. His works consisted simply 

 of a mud breastwork, with a ditch in front of it, 

 which stretched in a straight line from the river on 

 his right across the plain, and some distance into 

 the morass that sheltered his left. There was a 

 small, unfinished redoubt in front of the breast 

 works on the river bank. Thirteen pieces of artil 

 lery were mounted on the works. 38 On the right 



the First regiment, 176 of the Second, and no of the Sixth. 

 Jackson had ordered 500 Kentucky troops to be sent to rein 

 force them; only 400 started, of whom but 180 had arms. 

 Seventy more received arms from the Naval Arsenal; and 

 thus a total of 250 armed men were added to the 546 already 

 on the west bank. 



37 Two thousand Kentucky militia had arrived, but in 

 wretched plight; only 500 had arms, though pieces were 

 found for about 250 more; and thus Jackson's army re 

 ceived an addition of 750 very badly disciplined soldiers. 



"Hardly one-third of the Kentucky troops, so long ex 

 pected, are armed, and the arms they have are not fit for 

 use." (Letter of Gen. Jackson to the Secretary of War, 

 Jan. 3d.) 



88 Almost all British writers underestimate their own force 

 and enormously magnify that of the Americans. Alison, for 

 example, quadruples relative strength, writing: "About 6,000 

 combatants were on the British side ; a slender force to attack 

 double their number, intrenched to the teeth in works brist 

 ling with bayonets and loaded with heavy artillery." In 

 stead of double, he should have said half ; the bayonets only 

 "bristled" metaphorically, as less than a quarter of the 



