The accounts of the battle fought along the levee, under the command of Jackson in person, were both confused and contradictory. Thornton’s brigade was composed of the Eighty-fifth and Ninety-fifth regiments, a company of rocketeers, one hundred sappers and miners, and the Fourth regiment as a support,--in all, sixteen hundred and eighty-eight rank-and-file.[513] At the point where the fighting began the British had merely an outpost, which was forced back by Jackson’s attack, with some difficulty, about one hundred and fifty yards.[514] Colonel Thornton ordered two of his regiments--the Eighty-fifth and Ninety-fifth, eight hundred rank-and-file[515]--to support the outpost, and their arrival checked Jackson’s advance. Indeed, the American line was driven back and lost ground, until the two field-pieces were in danger, and were hastily withdrawn.[516] Each party claimed that the other first withdrew from fire; but the American report admitted that the battle which began on the levee at eight ceased before nine, while Jackson seemed not to regard his attack as successful. His first brief report, written December 26,[517] said,-- “The heavy smoke occasioned by an excessive fire rendered it necessary that I should draw off my troops, after a severe conflict of upward of an hour.” Jackson’s official report of December 27 said,[518]-- “There can be but little doubt that we should have succeeded on that occasion with our inferior force in destroying or capturing the enemy, had not a thick fog which arose about eight o’clock occasioned some confusion among the different corps. Fearing the consequences, under this circumstance, of the further prosecution of a night attack with troops then acting together for the first time, I contented myself with lying on the field that night.”