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The British finally caught her. USS Carolina had spent weeks as a thorn in their
1814 Event

December 27

USS Carolina Destroyed: Last of Commodore Patterson's Fleet

The British finally caught her. USS Carolina had spent weeks as a thorn in their side — a converted merchant schooner turned gunship, firing on British positions from the Mississippi River with whatever cannon Patterson could scrounge. On December 27, British artillery heated their shot red-hot and pumped it into her wooden hull until she caught fire. Her crew abandoned ship minutes before she exploded. Those weeks of harassment had done their job, though. The British advance stalled just long enough. Two weeks later, Jackson's ragtag defenders would slaughter the British regulars at New Orleans, winning a battle fought after the war had already ended. Carolina bought them the time they needed, one burning schooner at a time.

December 27, 1814

212 years ago

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