The British fleet of some 30 warships sailed out of Negril Bay, Jamaica on 26 November, 1814. The fleet under command of Admiral Cochrane moved into the Gulf of Mexico ready to attack New Orleans. Cochrane's fleet was transporting 14,450 British troops who had recently been fighting in the Napoleonic wars in France and Spain. The first the Americans learned of this was through the leader of the Baratarian pirates, Jean Lafitte. The British had offered him several thousand dollars if he would join them. They wanted him to guide them through the swamps in and around New Orleans. Asking for time to consider, Lafitte contacted the American governor of Louisiana, Claiborne and told him of their plans. Claiborne contacted General Andrew Jackson. At first the Americans were wary but they accepted his help. Lafitte offered much needed gunpowder, fuses, cannonballs and the artillery expertise of his men. The pirates knew the swamps around New Orleans and helped guide the Americans to outmaneuver the British.