03/24/2024
Wondering where the 1st Battalion of the 44th (East Essex) Regiment of Foot saw action during the late years of the War of 1812? Seek no further! The 1/44th saw some rather extensive action during the closing year of the War of 1812.
The Battalion had recently spent many hard fought years fighting their way up through Portugal & Spain during the Peninsular Campaign against the French troops in Iberia. Once the fighting had reached the French Pyrenees region, all was pretty well lost for the French Imperial Forces, and the British and Spanish Armies successfully removed the threat of Napoleonic Forces from Iberia.
With the conclusion of the Peninsular Campaign, the British government was free to commit more troops to the "American War", in which a consistent stalemate was being observed, with neither side truly gaining much progress. By 1814, a considerably sizable British Expeditionary Force of around 14,000 battle hardened veteran troops under the command of Major General Robert Ross (distinguished in service during the Peninsular War), landed on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. Major General Ross was mortally wounded during the campaign.
The Chesapeake Campaign initially proved very successful for British Forces. With a great victory at the Battle of Bladensburg, the burning of government buildings in Washington, D.C. The 1/44th were part of a significant flanking maneuver during the Battle of Bladensburg, which set the American Militia on an absolute rout. However success soon turned to misfortune, as the British Forces were defeated during their attack on Baltimore, with American Forces causing the British invasion fleet to withdraw during the Siege of Fort McHenry. The British kept a small contingent in the vicinity to perform raiding sorties.
Around the same time, a British fleet was defeated in the Battle of Plattsburgh in the Lake Champlain region of New York. This forced the British commanders to change their plan of action, and committed to an attack on the southern city of New Orleans in January 1815. Unbeknownst to the combatants, a peace treaty had recently been signed between the United States & the United Kingdom. The Battle of New Orleans was technically fought outside of the legal time-frame of the War of 1812, and was generally of no consequence to the outcome of the overall war.
The originally stalemate and lack of territorial gains had continued from before. This British attack on New Orleans led by Major General Sir Edward Pakenham suffered catastrophic set-backs and ultimately saw the British invasion of America ended. During the preparation for the attack, the 1/44th was chosen as the first wave to be sent in against the American positions, however the Commander of the 1/44th didn't adequately take note of the units engineering supplies, and caused the Battalion to become bogged down during the assault, without sufficient ladders and equipment.
References:
-History of the 44th from the website of the recreated 44th East Essex Regiment of Foot.
-Chesapeake Bay Campaign by the US National Parks Service
