Revelation: A threat is possible.
December 12, 1814
Andrew Jackson expected the British to strike New Orleans by marching overland from Lake Pontchartrain, to the north, up the river from the gulf, or to Lake Borgne, just southeast of Lake Pontchartrain.
The lake approaches did not seem likely, though. First, the entire British army would have to be rowed in small boats across the miles of hazardous open water, as the lakes were only six to twelve feet deep and filled with sand bars—impossible for the English fleet, with its heavy cannon. Then they would have to be further transported to the city through bayous, streams, and canals.
Nonetheless, Naval Lieutenant Thomas ap Catesby Jones, who commanded two hundred seamen in five small gunboats, was assigned to guard the entrance to Lake Borgne and report on any sightings of the British. Jackson also ordered that all of the marshy outlets that connected the lake with the city be blocked with felled trees.
It was with some surprise then, that Naval Lieutenant Jones’s flotilla spotted the fleet of British warships on December 12. Word was sent to Jackson that the British fleet had appeared. Jones was ordered to observe their movements from a safe distance. For two days, the Americans watched as the British armada passed the Chandeleur Islands, as well as the Dog and Ship Islands, and finally anchored near the mouth of Lake Borgne.
General Jackson, however, was not concerned; he suspected it was merely a ruse. He still concentrated his meager forces in approaches from the north and east.