Editing Battle of New Orleans (section)

===Lake Borgne===
{{main|Battle of Lake Borgne}}
[[File:Lake Borgne de la Tour map 1720.jpg|left|thumb|[[Lake Borgne]], Louisiana, 1720.]]
A fleet of British ships had anchored in the [[Gulf of Mexico]] to the east of [[Lake Pontchartrain]] and [[Lake Borgne]] by December 14, 1814, under the command of Admiral Sir [[Alexander Cochrane]].{{sfnp|Roosevelt|1900|p=73}}{{NoteTag|Refer to the map of Louisiana.}} An American flotilla of five gunboats, commanded by Lieutenant [[Thomas ap Catesby Jones]], blocked British access to the lakes. On December 14, around 980 British [[Naval rating|sailors]] and [[Royal Marines]] under Captain Nicholas Lockyer{{sfnp|Roosevelt|1900|p=73}} set out to attack Jones's force. Lockyer's men sailed in 42 rowboats, almost all armed with a small [[carronade]]. Lockyer captured Jones's vessels in a brief engagement. Casualties included 17 British sailors killed and 77 wounded, while 6 Americans were killed, 35 wounded, and the remaining crews captured.{{sfnmp|Hickey|1989|1p=208|Roosevelt|1900|2p=77}} The wounded included both Jones and Lockyer.

One unintended consequence is that it is believed the gunboat crews in captivity were able to mislead the British as to Jackson's strength in numbers, when they were questioned.{{sfnmp|Brown|1969|1p=81|Daughan|2011|2p=381|Smith|2000|3p=30}} There is a popular story concerning Purser Thomas Shields and Surgeon Robert Morrell, who were sent under a flag of truce to negotiate the return of the prisoners on parole. They were placed in a cabin where their conversation could be heard. Shields, having hearing difficulties, talked loudly and mentioned that 20,000 troops were under Jackson's command. There was nothing in the actions of the British commanders to indicate they believed they were faced with superior numbers.{{sfnp|Reilly|1976|pp=228-229}}