Which Battle of New Orleans?
Thanks for the excellent January 2014 article on British amphibious operations during the Battle Studies War of 1812. However, you did make an uncharacteristic mistake. The illustration on page 43 is not from the War of 1812. Instead, it shows Admiral David G. Farragut’s Union fleet shelling Fort St. Philip as it moved upriver on the Mississippi to capture New Orleans in 1862 during the Civil War.
WAYNE E. LONG
KENT ISLAND, MD.
I’m an avid reader of the magazine and have been reading it for years. Since I’ve come to college, though, I’ve started to analyze things more for accuracy. In the January 2014 issue, I noticed that the painting on page 43 is clearly from the Civil War, as evidenced by the Confederate “Stars and Bars” flag over both forts in contrast to the “Stars and Stripes” on the warships. I’d say it portrays the 1862 Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, which led to the Union capture of New Orleans. So, correct area, wrong war.
PHILIP LARUSSA
VIA EMAIL
ACG thanks both readers for pointing out that the painting actually shows the 1862 Civil War Battle of New Orleans, not the War of 1812 battle. The source from which ACG obtained the image sent it with the caption “WAR OF 1812, BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. British ships attack the American defenders at the Battle of New Orleans, 8 January 1815.” Clearly, however, this information was erroneous. Our images editor has notified the source of what the painting actually depicts.
Historic Unit
In response to the wonderful article by D.M. Giangreco regarding War of 1812 British amphibious operations, I have a bit of unit history to add. The 5th Regiment of Maryland militia mentioned by Giangreco during the run-up to the attack on Fort McHenry is still active today. After several re-designations it is now 1st Battalion, 175th Infantry Regiment, of which I am a proud member.
The unit is headquartered in Dundalk, Md., the site of the Battle of North Point, where the British were stopped in their tracks and where Major General Ross was killed. This makes us the only unit in the U.S. Army headquartered on ground it successfully defended in combat.
Our unit has one of the U.S. military’s longest continuous histories, tracing its lineage from the “Maryland 400” militia during the Revolution, which was nearly wiped out serving as George Washington’s rear guard at the August 1776 Battle of Long Island, but allowing him to escape and ultimately win America’s freedom.
SERGEANT WILLIAM WHITE
B CO. 1-175 INFANTRY
MARYLAND NATIONAL GUARD
“Ike Under Fire” Article
Thank you for writing the January 2014 Battlefield Leader article on Dwight Eisenhower. I really enjoyed it. I can’t imagine anyone else trying to do the job as Supreme Allied Commander as well as he did it. Also, it would be nice to give an article to some lesser known army and corps commanders of U.S. 12th Army Group, such as Courtney Hodges and William Simpson. George Patton, as good as he was, receives too much credit in comparison to other army commanders who were covering just as much ground but who hardly, if ever, received front-page mention.
TERRENCE MURPHY
VIA EMAIL
Our Battlefield Leader article “Ike’s Warriors” in the May 2009 issue focused on 9th Army commander General William H. Simpson and other lesser known 12th Army Group commanders, including Major General Troy Middleton, VIII Corps; Major General John S. Wood, 4th Armored Division; and Brigadier General Bruce C. Clarke, hero of St. Vith during the Battle of the Bulge.
Originally published in the May 2014 issue of Armchair General.
