Chalmette Battlefield and National Cemetery

Chalmette Battlefield and National Cemetery, at 8606 West St. Bernard Highway in Chalmette, Louisiana, about six miles downriver from the French Quarter of New Orleans, preserves the site of the Battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815. In that engagement American forces under General Andrew Jackson, a mixed army of regulars, militia, free men of colour, Choctaw allies, Baratarian privateers and volunteers, defeated a British force commanded by Major General Edward Pakenham. The battle took place after the Treaty of Ghent had been signed in December 1814, though word had not yet reached the combatants, and it ended the last major British attempt to seize the lower Mississippi. The site is administered by the National Park Service as part of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve. The park includes the battlefield grounds along the Mississippi River, a self-guided driving and walking tour with interpretive markers, the Malus-Beauregard House, a circa 1833 plantation home that served as a landmark during the Civil War era, and the visitor centre with exhibits and a short film. A 100-foot obelisk, the Chalmette Monument, begun in 1840 and completed in 1908, commemorates the victory. Adjacent is Chalmette National Cemetery, established in 1864 for Union soldiers, which holds the remains of thousands of Civil War dead, including many United States Colored Troops, as well as veterans of later wars. The interpretive approach is chronological, following the campaign and the battle from the British landing to the final assault, with attention to the diverse participants and to the role of slavery in the region. Preservation efforts have restored parts of the earthworks and landscape and addressed erosion along the river. Visitors usually spend about one to two hours. Rangers lead talks on select days.