(01-05-2015 06:53 PM)MJY Wrote: Measuring the costs (to the victors - probably less than 200 men total) against the benefits gained, the Horseshoe Bend/New Orleans/San Jacinto trilogy have to be three of the most "valuable" military victories in world history.
Sorry, but for my money (though there isn't a third battle), but crossing the Delaware to the Battle of Trenton on Christmas Day, 1776, and then the Battle of Princeton a week later are probably the most valuable military victories in the Western Hemisphere in the last 500 years. (My world history is spotty, so I won't try to speak for world history.)
Without the victory at Trenton, much of Washington's force probably doesn't stick around to reenlist at the end of the year, given the recent loss of New York and generally low morale. And with his defeat at Princeton, Howe doesn't really ever threaten southern New Jersey, much less Pennsylvania, ever again. That gives Washington's army the room it needs to survive and ultimately win it.
If the US is never founded (a good possibility if Washington's army is crushed/disbands), then the nature of westward expansion is remarkably different in the 19th century. For example, there is no Louisiana Purchase - France is definitely not selling those lands to England when the 2 are at war. Those battles you mention were key to that expansion, but if Washington doesn't quickly turn around his fortunes (most armies quarter during the winter, especially during that little ice age of the time), the promise of the US is history.
I was at the Marine Corps museum (an absolute must for anyone interested in US history) over the weekend, and there were a couple of displays about Marines at the Battle of New Orleans.
