Battle's importance fades
The Battle of New Orleans was the final engagement of the final war with England and came at a perilous time for the young republic. Jackson was a decided underdog, facing a much larger and better trained army of British forces with a ragtag group that included regular U.S. troops, New Orleans militia, Kentucky and Tennessee frontiersmen, freed slaves and blacks, and a band of outlaws led by the pirate Jean Lafitte.
"The British had come in and burned the capital, burned the White House. The country was in a state of panic," Guzzi said. "Jackson came in in the midst of all this and delivered this triumphant victory.
"It was sort of a second victory of independence for the United States. It was their statement to the world that we're here to stay."
Jackson's victory actually came after the war was over. The Treaty of Ghent was signed in Europe ending the War of 1812 weeks before the Battle of New Orleans. But word of the treaty didn't reach the United States until after the British were defeated at New Orleans.
Still, the victory made Jackson a national hero and propelled him to political prominence. He became a U.S. senator and ran for the presidency in 1824, but when neither candidate won a majority, the decision went to the House of Representatives and it chose John Quincy Adams.
Four years later, Jackson ran again and won the first of his two terms.After that, the Eighth of January became intertwined with politics. Places that supported Jackson celebrated it more vehemently than those that didn't, and his political opponents used the day to hold rallies against him."A lot of the celebration was wrapped around Jackson himself," Guzzi said. "His popularity and the political equation really drove it for many years. Once he's out of the picture and once the tragedy of the Civil War takes shape, it just sort of gets lost in all of that."By 1865, after the large and bloody battles of the Civil War and Jackson's death in 1845, the holiday had faded.
The battle was resurrected in popular culture again in 1959 with Johnny Horton's hit song, "The Battle of New Orleans," which was sung to a traditional American fiddle tune called "The Eighth of January."Today, the anniversary is still celebrated in Nashville and New Orleans. A ceremony is held each year at Jackson's tomb at The Hermitage, with free admission to the home that day. At Chalmette National Battlefield, a living history encampment draws thousands. In New Orleans, the Daughters of 1812 have a wreath laying ceremony on Jackson Square.But the attention is very different from what it was 170 years ago. In fact, on Jan. 8, Jackson is sure to be upstaged by another Tennessee icon."When I ask tour groups if they know why January 8th is important, someone always brings up Elvis' birthday," Forbis said. "January 8th is really a bigger deal in Memphis than anywhere else now."
FAST FACTS
BATTLE OF ALL BATTLES:
The Battle of New Orleans, waged 190 years ago, was the final engagement of the final war with England.
THE VICTOR:
Andrew Jackson defeated the British on Jan. 8, 1815; the day became a national holiday after Jackson became president in 1828.
FADED GLORY:
By 1865, after the Civil War and Jackson's death in 1845, the holiday had faded. Historians argue Americans no longer remember a significant event.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Forget about Christmas, Thanksgiving and New Year's. What are you doing for the Eighth of January - the 190th anniversary of Andrew Jackson's defeat of the British at the Battle of New Orleans?
If this were 1835 instead of 2005, you'd surely have plans because the day was a national holiday with parades, feasts, dances and speeches.
Perhaps no other major American holiday has been so forgotten, historians argue.
"We've lost touch with a significant event," said Danny Forbis, park ranger at Chalmette National Battlefield about six miles south of New Orleans where the battle - the last in a series of skirmishes fought for control of the strategic port - was waged in 1815
"It was a great turning point in U.S. history and a lot of people in New Orleans don't even know that the battlefield is here," Forbis said.
The Eighth was celebrated widely in the years after the battle and became a national event after Jackson took the presidency in 1828. Newspaper accounts tell of balls and parades and speeches in the nation's largest cities. One report from Nashville in 1844 recounts cannon blasts, early adjournment of the state Legislature, a parade and large crowds at The Hermitage, Jackson's home near Nashville.
"This was a national holiday that rivaled everything but July 4th. It was bigger than Christmas," said Tony Guzzi, curator of The Hermitage.
