Battle of New Orleans' Ephraim Brank-- Part 1: The War Is Over, Or Was It?

From the January 9, 2017, Ky Forward "Old Time Kentucky: Bluegrass sharpshooter Ephraim Brank hero of New Orleans, never missed his mark" by Berry Craig.

This is another War of 1812 person I'd never heard of before.

Ephraim Brank, from Muhlenberg County, Kentucky was a hero to the Americans at the Battle of New Orleans.  But to the British, he was "Some Great Spirit of Death."

A British officer recalled:  "We lost the battle, and to my mind, that Kentucky rifleman contributed more to our defeat than anything else."

The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815.  The bloodiest battle in the war and fought even after it was over.  The Treaty of Ghent had been signed on Christmas Eve, 1814, in Belgium and Henry Clay of Kentucky had been a part of it.

--Brock-Perry