Editing Battle of New Orleans (section)

==Background==
In August 1814, Britain and the United States began negotiations to end the War of 1812.{{sfnp|Lorusso|2019}} The British [[Secretary of State for War and the Colonies]] [[Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst|Henry Bathurst]] issued Pakenham's secret orders on October 24, 1814, commanding him to continue the war even if he heard rumors of peace. Bathurst expressed concern that the United States might not ratify a treaty and did not want Pakenham either to endanger his forces or miss an opportunity for victory.{{sfnp|Grodzinski|2011|p=1}}{{NoteTag|'Nor did he &#91;[[Sir Henry Bunbury, 7th Baronet|Bunbury]]&#93; favour attacking New Orleans... the target looked difficult with nightmarish navigation, climate, and logistics.... Despite Bunbury's incisive critique, an attack on New Orleans was ordered.'{{sfnp|Lambert|2012|p=342}} }} Prior to that, in August 1814, Vice Admiral Cochrane had convinced the [[Admiralty (United Kingdom)|Admiralty]] that a campaign against New Orleans would weaken American resolve against Canada and hasten a successful end to the war.{{NoteTag|Gene Allen Smith makes reference to a letter from the Secretary of the Admiralty to Cochrane dated August 10, 1814. A copy of this document is accessible at The Historic New Orleans Collection, via microfilm. Smith also mentions how several Royal Navy officers had suggested the idea of attacking Louisiana from 1813 onwards.{{sfnp|Smith|2008|p=89}} }}

There was a major concern that the British and their Spanish allies wanted to reclaim the territories of the [[Louisiana Purchase]] because they did not recognize any land deals made by [[Napoleon Bonaparte|Napoleon]] (starting with the [[Third Treaty of San Ildefonso|1800 Spanish cession of Louisiana to France]], followed by the [[Three Flags Day|1804 French sale of Louisiana to the United States]]). This is why the British invaded New Orleans in the middle of the [[Treaty of Ghent]] negotiations. It has been theorized that if the British had won the Battle of New Orleans, they would have likely interpreted that all territories gained from the 1803 Louisiana Purchase would be void and not part of U.S. territory.{{sfnp|Vergun|2015}} There was great concern by the Americans that Britain would hold onto the territory indefinitely, but it is left unanswerable due to the outcome of the New Orleans battle. This is contradicted by the content of Bathurst's correspondence,{{sfnp|Bathurst|2006}}{{sfnp|Grodzinski|2011|p=1}} and disputed by Latimer,{{sfnm|Carr|1979|1p=273–282|Eustace|2012|2p=293|Latimer|2007|3pp=401-402}} with specific reference to correspondence from the [[Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool|Prime Minister]] to the [[Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh|Foreign Secretary]] dated December 23, 1814.{{sfnp|British Foreign Policy Documents|p=495}}