The War of 1812 saw America threatened on every side. Encouraged by the British, Indian tribes attacked settlers in the West, while the Royal Navy terrorized the coasts. By mid 1814, President James Madisons generals had lost control of the war in the North, losing battles in Canada. Then British troops set the White House ablaze, and a feeling of hopelessness spread across the country. If the British conquered New Orleans, they would control the mouth of the Mississippi River, cutting Americans off from that essential trade route and threatening the previous decades Louisiana Purchase. The new nations dreams of western expansion would be crushed before they really got off the ground.So Jackson had to convince President Madison and his War Department to take him seriously, even though he wasnt one of the Virginians and New Englanders who dominated the government. He had to assemble a coalition of frontier militiamen, French speaking Louisianans,Cherokee and Choctaw Indians, freed slaves, and even some pirates. And he had to defeat the most powerful military force in the world in the confusing terrain of the Louisiana bayous. In short, Jackson needed a miracle. The local Ursuline nuns set to work praying for his outnumbered troops. And so the Americans, driven by patriotism and protected by prayer, began the battle that would shape our young nations destiny.
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