Jackson then ordered General Humbert, a French officer acting as a volunteer, to take four hundred men and cross the river at New Orleans to repulse the enemy, cost what it might;[572] but had the enemy pressed his advantage, no force at Jackson’s command could have stopped their advance, without causing the sacrifice of Jackson’s lines. Fortunately the only remaining British general, Lambert, was not disposed to make another effort. The eight regiments of regular troops which made the bulk of Pakenham’s army had suffered severely in the assault. One of these regiments, the Eighty-fifth, was with Thornton on the west shore. Two, the Seventh and Forty-third, had been in the reserve, and except two companies had never approached the works within musket-shot, yet had lost fifty-two killed, and about one hundred wounded and missing, in an aggregate of less than eighteen hundred. The five remaining regiments--the Fourth, Twenty-first, Forty-fourth, Ninety-third, and Ninety-fifth--were nearly destroyed. They went into battle probably about three thousand strong:[573] they lost seventeen hundred and fifty men killed, wounded, and missing. The total British loss was two thousand and thirty-six.[574] The American loss was seventy-one. Even on the west bank the American loss was much less than that of the British. The loss of three major-generals was almost as serious as the loss of one third of the regular Infantry. Lambert, the fourth major-general, weighed down by responsibility and defeat, had no wish but to escape. He recalled Thornton’s corps the same evening from its position on the opposite bank, and the next day, January 9, began preparations for his difficult and hazardous retreat.[575] Pakenham’s assault on Jackson’s lines at New Orleans, January 8, repeated the assault made by Drummond, August 15, at Fort Erie. According to the British account of that battle, Drummond’s engaged force numbered twenty-one hundred and forty men; the reserve, about one thousand.[576] Drummond’s direct attack, being made by night, was more successful than Pakenham’s; his troops approached nearer and penetrated farther than those of Gibbs and Keane; but the consequences were the same. Of three thousand men, Drummond lost nine hundred and five. Of six thousand, engaged in the double action of Jan. 8, 1815, Pakenham lost two thousand and thirty-six. In each case the officers commanding the assaulting columns were killed or wounded, and the repulse was complete. After the battle General Lambert’s position was critical. His withdrawal of Thornton’s corps from the west bank betrayed his intention of retiring, and his line of retreat was exposed to attack from the bayou which headed near Jackson’s camp. Fortunately for him, Jackson was contented with checking his advance.