Caribbean Sea

November 21, 1814

Caribbean Sea – Aboard HMS Tonnant, 80-gun ship-of-the-line, Sir Alexander Cochrane, Vice Admiral of the White, meets with his staff as his ship approaches Jamaica.

The attack on New Orleans is Cochrane’s idea. He salivates at the booty in the city. Years of blockade has warehouses overflowing with cotton, tobacco, indigo and especially sugar from the cane fields of Louisiana. Creoles banks are filled with gold and silver as New Orleanians refuse to move their money from the city. In the long-held Royal Navy tradition, prize money and booty go to the victors and avaricious Cochrane wants his loot. An impatient man, Cochrane’s spies tell him he can take New Orleans with as little at 3,000 men.

from BATTLE KISS, Part 1, “The Redcoats are Coming” www.oneildenoux.net