Battle of Pensacola (1812)

Battle of Pensacola
Part of the War of 1812
Jackson and his troops entering Pensacola on November 6, 1814.
Date November 7–9, 1814 Location Pensacola, Spanish Florida Result American victory British withdrawal from Pensacola United States occupation of Pensacola
Belligerents
United States	United Kingdom  Spain Creek
Commanders and leaders
Andrew Jackson John Gordon	Mateo Manrique
Strength
4,000 infantry	British: 100 infantry from Royal Marines, Red Sticks and Royal Marine Artillery Unknown artillery 1 fort 1 coastal battery Spanish: 500 infantry Unknown artillery 1 fort Creek: Unknown warriors
Casualties and losses
~7 killed and 11 wounded	~15 killed or wounded

American victory

The Battle of Pensacola was a battle in the War of 1812 in which American forces fought against forces from the kingdoms of Britain and Spain, along with Creek Native Americans and African-American slaves allied with the British. The American commander, General Andrew Jackson, led his infantry against British and Spanish forces controlling the city of Pensacola in Spanish Florida. The British abandoned the city and it was surrendered to Jackson by the Spanish.

After defeating the Red Stick Creeks at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, there was a migration of refugees to Spanish West Florida. The presence of the Creek refugees had motivated British Captain George Woodbine of the Royal Marines to travel to Pensacola in July 1814. Woodbine's liaisons with the refugees and the Spanish governor of Pensacola would subsequently lead to the British having a military presence at Pensacola from August 23, 1814, initially occupying Fort San Miguel. and the town itself. The potency of the British force, and its perceived ability to see off any American forces were leveraged by Edward Nicolls in his negotiations with the Spanish. The measure of perceived potency, however, was somewhat reduced in the aftermath of the failed attack on Fort Bowyer in September 1814. Just prior to the arrival of the Americans, as relations with the Spanish governor deteriorated, the British force left the town and was consolidated in the outlying Fort San Carlos, and at the Santa Rosa Punta de Siguenza battery (later rebuilt as Fort Pickens).

The armed Creeks at Horseshoe Bend prompted Jackson to send a Tennessee militia captain, John Gordon, to reconnoiter Pensacola to see if the British were using it as a base to arm Indians hostile to the United States. The mission, all of it through Creek territory, included a couple brief moments when Creeks could have overwhelmed Gordon's scout regiment, but they escaped. Gordon successfully arrived at Pensacola, finding the union jack flying at the fort, and British officers training and arming Creek warriors. With this knowledge, Jackson decided to attack Pensacola – a move that would prove controversial with the Federal Government. Gordon's son-in-law, Felix Kirk Zollicoffer, wrote of the affair saying:

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