A cannonade was maintained by their batteries for several days 
on the American line, but they could not reach it, and had seve¬ 
ral of their own pieces dismounted by the well-directed fire of 
the American artillery. Finally, on the 8th of January, after 
General Jackson had time to procure reinforcements, of which 
the best were the volunteer riflemen of “Tennessee, who were dis¬ 
tributed along the line, well covered by the cotton bales, and each 
of which had one or two men behind him, to load the rifles, 
the English commenced storming the line, under Sir Edward 
Packenham’s personal direction. The soil in front of the line 
consisted of perfectly level cane fields, which had been cut down, 
not a single tree or bush was to be found. The unfortunate Eng¬ 
lishmen, whose force in the field was reckoned at from eight to 
ten thousand men, were obliged to advance without any shelter, 
and remain a long time, first under the fire of the well-directed 
cannon, afterwards under the fire of the rifles and small arms of 
the Americans, without being able to effect any thing in return 
against them. The first attack was made upon the left wing of 
the line. The British did not reach the ditch, but began soon to 
give way.. Sir Edward attempted to lead them on again; a cannon- 
shot, however, killed his horse and wounded him in both legs. 
The soldiers carried him off, but he unluckily received some rifle¬ 
shots, that put an end to his life, having five balls in his body. 
The Major-generals Gibbs and Keane were struck at the same 
time, the first killed and the latter mortally wounded. By this 
the troops, who had continually supported a most murderous fire, 
were at length obliged completely to give way. Major-general 
Lambert, who commanded the reserve, and upon whom also at 
this period the whole command of the army devolved, made a 
last attempt to force the line. He led his troops in a run upon 
the batture, between the levee and the river, (which at that time 
was very low,) against the right wing of the line, where the small 
redoubt was placed, stormed, and took possession of it, but was 
forced, by the well-supported fire of the ‘riflemen behind the line, 
to evacuate it again. The English colonel of engineers, Rennee, 
met with a glorious death, upon the breast-work, in this affair. 
After this unsuccessful attempt, the English retreated to their 
entrenchments at Villaret’s, and in a few days re-embarked. 
During the failure of this principal attack, the English had 
conveyed eight hundred men to the right shore of the river, who 
gained some advantages there against insignificant entrenchments. 
These advantages, when they heard of the bad results of the main 
attack, they were obliged to abandon, and to return to the left 
bank. Had the storm of the right wing, and the feigned assault 
on the left been successful, in all probability General Jackson 
would have been obliged to evacuate not only his lines, but the 
