Note 74 — Part II

For years after the Civil War, one of the most picturesque figures in New Orleans was Jordan B. Noble, who at the time of the Battle of New Orleans was a slim youth. It was his tireless beating of the drum which led to battle the American forces on the nights of December 23 and January 8. He lived to be an old man, and appeared on several occasions at the St. Charles theatre, where a great audience turned out to do him honor and give an ovation when he beat the drum again as he had on those memorable nights. The Delta records a benefit given him at the theatre in 1854. In 1851 The New Orleans Picayune in commenting on the celebration of the victory of New Orleans notes the presence in the line of parade of 90 colored veterans. "And who did more than they to save the city?" it asks in the midst of a highly eulogistic review of the battle. Grace King, "New Orleans, the Place and the People," 256; and Grace King's letter to A. O. Stafford in 1904.