January 8

1815
Battle of New Orleans takes place two weeks after the War of 1812 officially ended with the treaty of Ghent. General Andrew Jackson’s 4,500 men, many of them expert marksmen from Kentucky and Tennessee, faced 7,500 British regulars under the command of Sir Edward Pakenham. The British made two assaults but were unable to penetrate the American lines. When it was over, Pakenham was dead and the British had suffered nearly 2,000 dead, wounded or missing while the Americans had only 8 killed and 13 wounded.

1877
Crazy Horse fights his final battle against the U.S. cavalry along Montana’s Tongue River. Attacked by General Nelson Miles during a raging blizzard, Crazy Horse rallied his warriors in defense of their camp long enough for the women and children to escape before they too retreated in the face of superior firepower. Bowing to the inevitable, Crazy Horse would lead his people to the Red Cloud reservation near Fort Robinson the following May.

This Day In History