The War of 1812 begins! Seven weeks after Louisiana wins statehood, America declares war on Britain. It goes poorly. Britain puts New Orleans in its sights, and the militias—particularly, black militias—are, for now, its best defense.

READ MORE:

The Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson and America's First Military Victory by Robert V. Remini

The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans by Lawrence N. Powell

The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square by Ned Sublette

"'The Preservation of Good Order': William C. C. Claiborne and the Militia of the Louisiana Provisional Government, 1803–1805" by Joseph F. Stoltz III

"British Command Decisions Relative to the Battle of New Orleans" by John K. Mahon

"Mr. Jefferson's Creoles: The Battalion D'Orleans and the Americanization of Creole Louisiana, 1803–1815" by Paul D. Gelpi, Jr.

"William Claiborne and New Orleans's Battalion of Color, 1803–1815: Race and the Limits of Federal Power in the Early Republic" by James E. Wainwright

"Always 'En Garde': The Effects of the Slave Insurrection Upon the Louisiana Mentality, 1811–1815" by Junius P. Rodriguez

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French Quarter Bourbon walk.wav by volivieri -- https://freesound.org/s/110012/ -- License: Attribution 4.0