US Navy cannon from the battlefield

November 1, 1814, All Saints Day

New Orleans – In a tradition dating back to the city’s early days nearly a century ago, citizens gather in local cemeteries to clean and decorate the above-ground tombs on a holy day of obligation honoring the departed souls in heaven. Friends Poul and Gérard meet a new American friend Matthew as Poul’s sister Aimée and her friend Lucia decorate their family tombs. The young men are immediately drawn to the pretty girls who try their best to ignore them.

Spithead, England – Just after sunset, brevet Lieutenant-General Sir Edward Michael Pakenham and his staff set sail aboard frigate HMS Statira to rendezvous with their army assembling in Jamaica. Pakenham, brother-in-law of the Duke of Wellington, will lead the conquest of New Orleans and establish himself at Royal Governor of Louisiana.

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