During the end of the War of 1812 peace negotiations had begun in Europe but the word had not reached forces in Louisiana. The British made an attack but were defeated by the Americans and New Orleans went under the control of the Americans. Later in peace negotiations the two sides agreed to return Spanish-Florida, which was controlled but the Americans at the time, back to the Spaniards.
In the heat of the moment, watchmaker Jonathan Dillon unscrewed the dial from Lincoln's watch and engraved a message with a sharp tool. In 1906 at the age of 84, he recalled the message to the New York Times: The first gun is fired. Slavery is dead.
