Just downriver from New Orleans lies the neighborhood of Chalmette, and within it, the Chalmette National Historic Park. Just a few minutes in the car from downtown New Orleans, it’s here in this removed subsection of New Orleans that the famous Battle of New Orleans was fought in January of 1815. Many believe that this last great battle of the War of 1812 against the British was fought in vein, since the Treaty of Ghent that ended the war was signed in late 1814, but a provision of that treaty needed to be ratified in order to cease fighting, thus necessitating the epic battle that secured New Orleans as property of the United States and not that of the British.
Located within the Jean Lafitte National Historic Park and Preserve, today, the Chalmette National Historical Park is home to the Chalmette Battlefield and National Cemetery. The cemetery attracts historical buffs and holds he remains of both Union and Confederate soldiers, as well as soldiers from the Spanish-American War, the First and Second World Wars, and the Vietnam War.
Today you can visit the battlefield or even enjoy a reenactment of the famous battle, staged periodically throughout the year, or learn more about the war and New Orleans’ role in it from the visitor center.
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