<Li> Valparaíso (capture of USS Essex) </Li> <Li> Action of 9 May 1814 </Li> <P> The Battle of New Orleans was a series of engagements fought between December 14, 1814 and January 18, 1815, constituting the last major battle of the War of 1812 . American combatants, commanded by Major General Andrew Jackson, prevented a much larger British force, commanded by Admiral Alexander Cochrane and General Edward Pakenham, from seizing New Orleans and the vast territory the United States had acquired with the Louisiana Purchase . </P> <P> The Treaty of Ghent had been signed on December 24, 1814 (but was not ratified by the US Government until February 1815), and hostilities continued without the involved parties knowing about the Treaty, until January 18 by which time all of the British forces had retreated, finally putting an end to the Battle of New Orleans . </P>

Who was in charge of the british forces sent to capture new orleans