LONESOME HISTORIC SITE
2006 TN-96 • Burns, TN 37029 • 615-804-5851
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Later, as General Coffee gathered volunteers in Tennessee to assist General Jackson with the defense of New Orleans, William re-enlisted for his second tour of duty 28 September 1814 through 4 May 1815. He gained the rank of Corporal. As a participant in the Battle of New Orleans, Corporal William Austin is listed in Captain Cuthbert Hudson’s Company of Colonel Robert Dyer’s 1st Regiment of West Tennessee Volunteer Mounted Gunmen. The Battle of New Orleans was a resounding victory for the Americans, thanks in part to the arrival of General Coffee and his Brigade of Tennessee Volunteers. Gaining a new respect for the Americans, the British Empire and the United States of America would subsequently become allies in future wars.
Later in life, William Austin’s military experience made him the logical choice to be in leadership of the local militia. He became known as “Captain Billy.”
William Austin & The War of 1812
The call came for William Austin and other able-bodied young Tennesseans to fight the British in the War of 1812. William Austin enlisted as a Private in The Tennessee Volunteer Militia for his first tour of duty 10 December 1812 through 22 April 1813. This was known as “The Natchez Expedition.”