I sit back and imagine what the Battle would have looked like; Early morning fog, heavy and low. The British with all their pageantry and flags. Drums beating. The Red Uniforms in long straight lines. Slowly moving forward to the beat of the drums. Line after line. Then, all of a sudden, fifty caliber tracers go streaking through the fog. One fifty caliber machine gun at each end of the American Battlements catching the British in a crossfire. Each weapon spewing 7-9 round bursts of fire at about 500 rounds per minute, cutting so many of the Redcoats in half. BUT..........the British are extremely ordered and calm. As the first line of Redcoats takes a knee and prepares to fire, Apache Gunships suddenly appear over the tree tops. Their M230 30mm chain guns banging away at 650 rounds per minute. The British are dropping like flies now. As they start to retreat, a distant droning can be heard. That is from the AC130 Gunship slowly circling the battlefield. All of a sudden, what sounded very much like a loud jackhammer reverberated through the morning fog. That was actually two 20mm rotary cannons, a 40mm Bofors canon, and a 105mm howitzer turning the remainder of the British force into a red gelatinous substance. The Battle of New Orleans was over, and in came the era of "Shock and Awe"!
Mike
