Review of the book Andrew Jackson and the Miracle of New Orleans by Brian Kilmeade

The film, “The Buccaneer,” was my introduction to the events of the Battle of New Orleans at the conclusion of the War of 1812.  It stared Charlton Heston as General Andrew Jackson, and Yul Brenner as the infamous pirate, Jean Lafitte.  This fictionalized account focused more on the character of Jean Lafitte and his romantic entanglement with the governor of New Orleans’ daughter and his personal struggle with determining which side of the upcoming battle for the port of New Orleans he would support, the British or the American.

The truth of this historic and final encounter between British and American military forces is better told by Brian Kilmeade in his book, “Andrew Jackson and the Miracle of New Orleans.”  The title, itself, captures well Kilmeade’s perspective on this decisive event in American history.  He labels it a “miracle” and not simply a battle; such were the odds against an American victory in the face of their very formidable British adversary. It took inspired leadership, some miscalculations on the side of the British, and perhaps the prayers of the Ursuline sisters before the sculptured statue of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, but prevail the Americans did, solidifying this country’s standing in the world community and throwing the door wide open to complete the expansion of our boundaries determined by the Louisiana purchase.

Kilmeade does a commendable job in laying the groundwork for what preceded this battle, i.e. how poorly the war had been administered early on by President James Madison and his Secretary of Wars, William Eustis and John Armstrong; General Jackson’s felicitous forays into Florida and Alabama which kept the British from establishing beachheads for its assault on New Orleans; his troops expeditious trek back through the bayous to face the eventual incursion of the British forces at the mouth of the Mississippi.  And then very methodically Kilmeade takes us movement by movement through the miracle itself.

But the anecdotal information that Kilmeade provides in the prologue of his book is what fascinated me the most.  It tells of a teenage Jackson as he is in the custody of his British captors during the Revolutionary War.  This episode gives us insight into the deep resentment that he held towards the British and his unfeigned character as a man of war.

Brian Kilmeade is an excellent chronicler of history, as was shown in the other book of his that I reviewed, Sam Houston & the Alamo Avengers.  He is equally effective here as he relates the story of “the battle that shaped America’s destiny.”

Reviewed by Richard Dick, Library Assistant, O’Kelly Memorial Library