Widely regarded as the best eyewitness account of the Battle of New Orleans, Ars ne LaCarri re Latour's Historical Memoir records first-hand the dramatic events of the climactic military campaign of the War of 1812. This revised and expanded edition includes a substantial new biographical introduction based on a group of manuscripts relating to the battle recently acquired from Latour's descendants in France.
Only months after the battle ended, Latour, who was General Andrew Jackson's principal army engineer, began interviewing witnesses and key participants in order to create a comprehensive record based on first-hand accounts. The work's most significant value derives from these accounts--reproduced in the book's appendix--by numerous individuals who participated in a crucial moment in the history of the United States.
As the first full-length treatment of the New Orleans campaign, the book also offers perceptive analysis of battle preparations, terrain, and strategy by the man who designed many of the American defenses. This edition also includes nine three-color foldout maps illustrating the course of the battle. Latour characterized it as a conflict "which preserved our country from conquest and desolation." As a key figure in the conflict who knew many of the other main actors and personally collected their reports and observations, Latour provides a record that will never be replaced.
Gene Allen Smith is associate professor of history at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth.