of America of their communication with the sea; and,
secondly, to occupy some important and valuable possession, by the
restoration of which the conditions of peace might be improved, or
which we might be entitled to exact the cession of, as the price of
peace." Entire discretion was left with the two commanders as to the
method of proceeding, whether directly against New Orleans, by water,
or to its rear, by land, through the country of the Creeks; and they
were at liberty to abandon the undertaking in favor of some other,
should that course seem more suitable. When news of the capture of
Washington was received, two thousand additional troops were sent to
Bermuda, under the impression that the General might desire to push
his success on the Atlantic coast. These ultimately joined the
expedition two days before the attack on Jackson's lines. Upon the
death of General Ross, Sir Edward Pakenham was ordered to replace him;
but he did not arrive until after the landing, and had therefore no
voice in determining the general line of operations adopted.

These were the military instructions. To them were added certain
others, political in character, dictated mainly by the disturbed state
of Europe, and with an eye to appease the jealousies existing among
the Powers, which extended to American conditions, colonial and
commercial. While united against Napoleon, they viewed with distrust
the aggrandizement of Great Britain. Ross was ordered, therefore, to
discountenance any overture of the inhabitants to place themselves
under British dominion; but should he find a general and decided
disposition to withdraw from their recent connection with the United
States, with the view of establishing themselves as an independent
people, or of returning under the dominion of Spain, from which they
then had been separated less than twenty years, he was to give them
every support in his power. He must make them clearly understand,
however, that in the peace with the United States neither independence
nor restoration to Spain could be made a _sine qua non_;[442] there
being about that a finality, of which the Government had already been
warned in the then current negotiations with the American
commissioners. These instructions to Ross were communicated to Lord
Castlereagh at Vienna, to use as might be expedient in the discussions
of the Conference.

No serious attempt was made in the direction of Baton Rouge, through
the back countries of Ge