My Connection to the Battle of New Orleans: William T. Slater (About 1794 - 1847)

Today marks the 203rd anniversary of the famous battle won by American forces under the command of Andrew Jackson. That didn't affect the outcome of the War of 1812 because a peace treaty had already been signed although the news hadn't reached either army in the field. The victory made Jackson wildly popular and led to his eventual election as our seventh President in 1828.

[The battle of New Orleans for the piano forte; Composer P. Ricksecker. Published and sold at G. Willig's Music Store, 1816.

Source: Library of Congress]

According to Slater family stories shared by my cousin Sue, William T. Slater, our maternal third great grandfather, was part of the British invasion forces. It's been assumed that he was a sailor because the legend is that he deserted by going over the side of the ship. We know he was from Yorkshire, but Slater is a very common name and I haven't been able to find any convincing records of him in British archives.

He's the most recent of my foreign born ancestors--all the others seem to have gotten here well before the American Revolution.

[Ancestry.com]

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