The Greatest Fury: The Battle of New Orleans And The Rebirth of America by William C. Davis

It is one of the most consequential battles ever fought on American soil. In the waning days of 1814, British warships close in on the waters below New Orleans, the gateway to the Mississippi. Whoever controls the river effectively controls access to America's heartland. With the very existence of his nation in jeopardy, General Andrew Jackson arrives with two regiments of soldiers to repel the invasion. To reinforce his troops he assembles a motley crew of farmers, merchants, backwoodsmen, smugglers, Choctaws, free blacks, and the enslaved. Many of the men in his makeshift army are unarmed. With sharp, vivid prose and thrilling descriptions of combat, acclaimed historian William C. Davis reconstructs the political and military landscape of the Battle of New Orleans, delivering an astonishing tale of resilience, bravery and uncommon heroism.

Soft Cover.

About the author: William C. Davis is a retired history professor who taught at Virginia Tech. An acclaimed expert on the Civil War, he has served on a number of advisory boards, including the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission; the American Battlefield Trust; The National Museum of the Civil War Soldier in Petersburg, Virginia; the National Park Service; and the Lincoln Prize and Pulitzer Prize nominating juries.