Lehi vs Jackson

The Book of Mormon story comes to us from [Alma 49](https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/49?lang=eng).  The Battle of New Orleans in 1812 will be our comparison

Comparing the stories:

Book of Mormon | Battle of New Orleans
---|---
they had cast up dirt round about to shield them from the arrows and the stones of the Lamanites | Farmers fighting without proper weaponry transform the canal into a heavily fortified earthwork.
Now at this time the chief captains of the Lamanites were astonished exceedingly, because of the wisdom of the Nephites in preparing their places of security. | The British General was surprised and angry with the position that the army had been placed in due to the defenses.
because the Lamanites had destroyed it once because of the iniquity of the people, they supposed that it would again become an easy prey for them | Admiral Cochrane believed the veteran British soldiers would easily destroy Jackson's ramshackle army, and he allegedly said that if the army did not do it, his sailors would.
the Lamanites had supposed, because of the greatness of their numbers, yea, they supposed that they should be privileged to come upon them as they had hitherto done|Jackson's force was greatly outnumbered by the attacking forces (who supposed they could take the place with no trouble). | The British artillery finally exhausted its ammunition, which caused Pakenham to cancel the attack.
Now behold, the Lamanites could not get into their forts of security by any other way save by the entrance. | The British were left with only a single invasion route (really a second one, but that is a historical note, Joseph Smith's day would have believed it was a single assault point)
their chief captains had sworn with an oath to attack the city | Andrew Jackson reportedly said, "By the Eternal they shall not sleep on our soil." (an oath). This oath is said by the opposite side, however in the Battle of New Orleans
insomuch that they were slain with an immense slaughter...until their chief captains were all slain | the British commander of the 44th (East Essex) Regiment of Foot, had forgotten the ladders and fascines needed to cross the eight-foot-deep and fifteen-foot-wide canal[37]:361 and scale the earthworks, and confusion evolved in the dark and fog as the British tried to close the gap. Most of the senior officers were killed or wounded
in these attempts they were swept off by the stones and arrows which were thrown at them; and instead of filling up their ditches by pulling down the banks of earth, they were filled up in a measure with their dead and wounded bodies | within half an hour, Rennie and nearly all of his men were dead. In the main attack on the right, the British infantrymen either flung themselves to the ground, huddled in the canal, or were mowed down by a combination of musket fire and grapeshot from the Americans.
And it came to pass, that when the Lamanites saw that their chief captains were all slain they fled into the wilderness | Pakenham and his second-in-command, Major General Samuel Gibbs, were fatally wounded while on horseback, by grapeshot fired from the earthworks...He[General Lambert] gave the order for his reserve to advance and ordered the withdrawal of the army. The reserve was used to cover the retreat of what was left of the British army in the field.
yea, and more than a thousand of the Lamanites were slain; while, on the other hand, there was not a single soul of the Nephites which was slain | The Battle of New Orleans was remarkable for both its brevity and lopsided lethality.

**Results of the battle in each**

Three days after the battle, General Lambert held a council of war where, despite just receiving the news that the battery on the west bank of the river had been captured, it was concluded that despite his request for reinforcements as well as a siege train, capturing New Orleans and continuing the Louisiana campaign would be too costly and thus agreed with his officers to withdraw. By January 19 the British camp at Villere's Plantation had been completely evacuated

* The retreating British army then attacked and captured Fort Bowyer at the mouth of Mobile Bay on February 12, a move retreating lamanites do in later chapters

* A british soldier, Major Wilkinson of the 21st Regiment, earned recognition from the Americans during the battle when he reformed his lines and made a third assault. They were able to reach the entrenchments and attempted to scale them. Wilkinson made it to the top, before being shot. The Americans were amazed at his bravery and carried him behind the rampart.  This noted enemy idea shows up in Alma 52 (3 chapters later) with Jacob the Zoramite:

>And it came to pass that Jacob, being their leader, being also a Zoramite, and having an unconquerable spirit, he led the Lamanites forth to battle with exceeding fury against Moroni.

> 34 Moroni being in their course of march, therefore Jacob was determined to slay them and cut his way through to the city of Mulek. But behold, Moroni and his men were more powerful; therefore they did not give way before the Lamanites.

> 35 And it came to pass that they fought on both hands with exceeding fury; and there were many slain on both sides; yea, and Moroni was wounded and Jacob was killed.

Jacob also leading multiple attacks on a fortified nephite position the same way Major Wilkinson did in the battle of New Orleans.

**A Bone to Pick(et)**

[Update: I've been informed that Dan Vogel did a report here: https://user.xmission.com/~research/central/vogel3.htm

Where the moundbuilder's earthenwork mounds were described at the time as having a picket of timbers at the top.  Another 1800's term put into effect that Joseph would be aware of.  Interesting]

* Chapter 50 begins by talking about earthen walls with timbers and "pickets" at the top, a very 1800's concept that was used to defend the cannons during the battle of New Orleans.  Pickets, as a construction concept are not as useful against infantry.

The Picket's placed at the top in the Book of Mormon are made:

> And he caused that upon those works of timbers there should be **a frame of pickets built upon the timbers round about**; and they were strong and high.

Like a picket fence.

Whereas the "Pickets" on top of the earthenworks and timbers in the Battle of New Orleans were military pickets: [A group of Soldiers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picket_(military) ).  This shows that Joseph was borrowing from literature of his day (Fr. piquet, a pointed stake or peg, from piquer, to point or pierce), is thought to have originated in the French army about 1690) without understanding the difference or that the term only makes sense in French after 1690.  It's not a case of Loan-shifting, because "picket" being a frame doesn't make sense as a concept, so much as posting soldiers at the top of the defenses.

**Differences**

We shouldn't just call it a win for similarities, as the number of differences matters too.  Here are a few:

* British attack relied heavily on the Navy, Nephites and Lamanites have no navy battles whatsoever.  In any conflict.  At all. Despite having advanced sailing technology that allowed the originating families to cross the Pacific or Atlantic ocean given to them by God.  None.

* American casualties for the entire campaign totaled 333 with 55 killed, 185 wounded, and 93 missing.  Nephites had zero deaths, 50 wounded.  British deaths were 386 killed, 1,521 wounded; whereas the Lamanites lost 1,000 no report to the number of wounded.

* The modern war used modern weaponry like cannons.  The listing of the cannons is in a similar placement as the mention of bows, arrows and methods of warfare in the Book of Mormon as it is in various accounts of the Battle of New Orleans... including *The Late War*.

**Would Joseph have known about this battle**

Joseph Smith Jr. was sure to be aware of the victory, being 7 years old, and the battle happening a few days after his birthday.  The anniversary of the battle was celebrated as a national holiday for many years, called "The Eighth", following Jackson's election as President and ended after 1861.  The 8th of January became a traditional American fiddle tune, honoring the date of the battle.

**The victory was seen by Americans as shocking and by divine providence and very commonly known**:

>Americans believed that a vastly powerful British fleet and army had sailed for New Orleans (Jackson himself thought 25,000 troops were coming), and most expected the worst. The news of victory, one man recalled, "came upon the country like a clap of thunder in the clear azure vault of the firmament, and traveled with electromagnetic velocity, throughout the confines of the land."

* In a very Captain Moroni-like move General Jackson went to the convent himself to thank the nuns for their prayers:

>"By the blessing of heaven, directing the valor of the troops under my command, one of the most brilliant victories in the annals of war was obtained."

This should be compared with the end of chapter 49 in the Book of Mormon

>"And it came to pass, that on the other hand, the people of Nephi did thank the Lord their God, because of his matchless power in delivering them from the hands of their enemies."

* There was a political spin to the telling of the battle; in which a political party were seen as "king men" or being for the British King; the Federalists.  "The battle was immediately politicized by the Democratic-Republican Party. Across the nation, it used the great victory to ridicule the Federalists as cowards, defeatists, and secessionists. Pamphlets, songs, newspaper editorials, speeches and entire plays on the battle drove home the point, and glorified Jackson's heroic image."

Even the King Men portion of Alma, two chapters later in Alma 51, fits right in with this battle being the source.

**Conclusion**

Remember, plagiarism is more than direct copying whole paragraphs, it is when a writer lifts concepts, structure, ideas and events to construct a narrative.  Even without direct plagiarism a derivative work is an expressive creation that includes major elements of an original, previously created first work.  There is ample evidence to suggest that the war chapters in the Book of Mormon are derivative works from the War of 1812 literature of the day.  Especially with misunderstandings of very 1800's military terms like "picket" and the use of a wooden framework for artillery on top of an earthenwork defense in a book set up before artillery was a concept.