The document discusses how several historical battles were affected by cold weather conditions during the Little Ice Age period: - The Spanish Armada in 1588 was forced to retreat north after battling the British, and over 21,000 troops were lost due to freezing temperatures. - During the American Revolutionary War in 1776, George Washington's troops battled harsh cold and ice chunks in the Delaware River on their march to victory in Trenton. - Napoleon's retreat from Russia in 1812 was a disaster as over 36,000 men died from freezing or starvation in the extreme cold. - The Battle of New Orleans in 1815 at the end of the War of 1812 took place during a year without a summer

1. Battling the Little Ice Age
A look at how battles were effected by the Little Ice Age
Stephanie Kastner
History 141 (71154)
September 2011

2. 1588 - Defeating the Spanish Armada
 The Spanish Armada battled British
troops off England’s coast for 5 days
before declaring a stalemate.
 Two days after the stalemate, Britain
sent five flaming ships towards the
Armada, blocking off their retreat to
Spain.
 The Armada was forced to travel
north, toward Scotland and into more
freezing temperatures.
 When the Armada returned to Spain,
they had lost 56 ships and 21,000
troops.
Route of the Spanish
Armada’s Retreat

3. 1776 - Washington’s Victory in Trenton
After losing New York to the British during the Revolutionary War, future first President
George Washington was forced to cross the Delaware River. The weather was so cold,
chucks of ice had clogged the river. It took Washington’s troops 9 hours to cross the water.
After crossing the river, he marched on to Trenton, New Jersey. Washington lost two on the
march to Trenton and is credited with the victory in Trenton because he and his troops were
able to battle the cold weather better than the British. The painting below, by Emanuel
Gottlieb Luetze, is often critized because of the depiction of the ice chunks in the river.
Most critics claim that the Delaware River has never had ice in it.

4. 1812 - Napoleon's Horrific Retreat
• After his defeat in Russia, Napoleon
decided to retreat.
• It was reported that it was so cold, ice
crystals would float in the air; this was
because the air was so dense, the
crystals would not fall.
• His men either died in their sleep as
they froze or died of starvation.
• To avoid starvation, men would slice
the skin off their horses; the horses
showed little response because their
skin too had froze and gone numb.
• Of the original 40,000 men only 4,000
– 5,000 survived the trip.

5. 1815 - Battle of New Orleans
• Final battle in the Battle of 1812.
• Indiana was about to become another
state in the Union.
• This year was a year without a summer.
– This is reportedly due to the eruption of
Mt. Tambora on April 11 (which killed
about 90,000 people during its initial
eruption).

6. Sources
• Cosmeo. 2006. Discovery Communications. 23 September 2011.
http://www.cosmeo.com/viewPicture.cfm?guidImageId=DAB7591E
-2035-4F40-9BD5-F416DE0A678A&&nodeid=
• Emerson Kent. 2011. 23 September 2011.
http://www.emersonkent.com/history_notes/elizabeth_i.htm
• Little Ice Age: The Big Chill. 2005. History Channel. 21 September
2011.
• Smithsonian. Smithsonian Institution. 23 September 2011.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/blast.html
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2000-2011. 23 September 2011.
http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/gw/el_gw.htm