The Battle of New Orleans is the major POD for the althist Short-lived US. (Note: The next paragraph was copied from Wikipedia, with small changes) The Battle of New Orleans took place on January 8, 1815, and was the final major battle of the first half of the War of 1812. American forces, commanded by General Andrew Jackson, fell to an invading British Army intent on seizing New Orleans and the vast territory America had acquired with the Louisiana Purchase. The Treaty of Ghent had been signed on 24 December 1814, but news of the peace would not reach the combatants until February.