Henry Harrison Bankston (abt. 1780 - 1815)

Born about 1780 in Georgia, United States of America

Ancestors

Died 8 Jan 1815 at about age 35 in New Orleans, Orleans, Louisiana, United States of America

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Henry Bankston served for Louisiana in the War of 1812
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Henry Harrison, was killed in the Battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815.^[1]

Biography

Henry was the son of John and Henrietta Coates Bankston. As he appears on the 1802 tax list he had to be born in 1781 or before, so likely he was born about 1780 in Georgia. He died the 8 Jan 1815 on the Chalmette Battlefield according to family tradition. However, there is no record of him being buried in the Chalmette National Cemetery.

War of 1812 - 8 Jan 1815

On January 8, 1815, the British marched against New Orleans, hoping that by capturing the city they could separate Louisiana from the rest of the United States. Pirate Jean Lafitte, however, had warned the Americans of the attack, and the arriving British found militiamen under General Andrew Jackson strongly entrenched at the Rodriquez Canal. In the early morning of January 8, Pakenham ordered a two-pronged assault against Jackson's position. Colonel William Thornton (of the 85th Regiment) was to cross the Mississippi during the night with his 780-strong force, move rapidly upriver and storm the battery commanded by Commodore Daniel Patterson on the flank of the main American entrenchments and then open an enfilading fire on Jackson's line with howitzers and rockets. Then, the main attack, directly against the earthworks manned by the vast majority of American troops,[37] would be launched in two columns (along the river led by Keane and along the swamp line led by Major General Samuel Gibbs).

The attack began under darkness and a heavy fog, but as the British neared the main enemy line the fog lifted, exposing them to withering artillery fire. Lt-Col. Thomas Mullins, the British commander of the 44th (East Essex) Regiment of Foot, had forgotten the ladders and fascines needed to cross a canal and scale the earthworks, and confusion evolved in the dark and fog as the British tried to close the gap. Most of the senior officers were killed or wounded, including General Gibbs, leading the main attack column on the right comprising the 4th, 21st, 44th and 5th West India Regiments, and Colonel Rennie leading a detachment of light companies of the 7th, 43rd, and 93rd on the left by the river.^[2]

Birth: 1780 Georgia

Tax list: 1802Clarke County, Georgia

Tax list: 1805Clarke County, Georgia

Tax list: 1809Clarke County, Georgia

Death: 8 Jan 1815Battle of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana

Sources

1. ↑ http://www.wikitree.com/photo.php/9/9c/War_of_1812_Louisiana-1.pdf
2. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_New_Orleans#Battle_of_January_8

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