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Marker brings little-known battle to light
Fog of history lifts on engagement at Bay St. Louis
By PATRICK PETERSON________________
STAFF WRITER
? BAY ST. LOUIS ? A fishing pier now stands at the site where, according to legend, a woman fired the first shot in the Battle of Bay St. Louis.
?Practically no one ever knew they uad a battle here, except for history buffs,? said Margaret M. Gibbens, past president of the Hancock County Historical Society.
On Sunday, the society dedicated a marker commemorating the 173-year-old Battle'of the Bay of St. Louis Oi, DcceillLlci 13 and 14, 1S14, ill which seven American ships tried to stop a fleet of 42 British barges advancing on New Orleans with 1,000 men.
With orders to ?sink the enemy or be sunk,? the small American fleet delayed the British several days, giving Gen. Andrew Jackson time to prepare fortifications at Chalmette, La., in the last days of the War of 1812.
Gibbens said the historical marker ould stimulate tourism in Bay St. Louis, while promoting a sense of pride in the area?s history.
The battle began near the bluff along what is now Beach Boulevard.
The American fleet was anchored across the entrance of Lake Borgne, and the British ships were anchored off Pass Christian. An American schooner went to Bay St. Louis to retrieve ammunition from a warehouse near where the marker now stands, at the intersection of Ulman Avenue and Beach Boulevard.
Three British barges tried to capture the schooner, while a crowd of townspeople gathered to watch. A few soldiers guarding the storehouse were preparing to retreat, wrote J.F.H. Claiborne, when his aunt took
TIM ISBELL/SUN HtHAI.D PHOIOGHAI?I
History buffs admire a plaque, dedicated by the Hancock County Historical Society, commemorating the Battle of Bay St. Louis.
men. In a three-hour battle, 6 Americans were killed and 35 were wounded. While inflicting small damage on the British fleet, the battle allowed Gen. Jackson several days to prepare fortifications and to receive new troops.
a man?s cigar and lit the fuse on one of two cannons defending the storehouse.
With the battle begun, the American schooner immediately attacked the three British barges and drove them back to their fleet. However.
seven barges returned, overpowering the schooner. It and the storehouse were burned so that the supplies could not be captured.
The next day, the British fleet advanced on the remaining ships, which were defended bv 23 sains cn'i 183
In memory of that first fateful c non blast, the historical society sh( canon across the waters of the 1 The Battle of Bay St. Louis was last fight the U.S. Navy waj against a foreign enemy in Ameri waters.