• Image of swamp, bayou, and marsh

    Jean Lafitte

    National Historical Park and Preserve Louisiana

Battle of New Orleans Anniversary Field Trips

A woman dressed in 1815-era clothes talks to children

History comes to life when reenactors in period dress share their stories at the Battle of New Orleans anniversary.

Bring your school, scout, or other group to the 198th Battle of New Orleans anniversary to experience an unforgettable trip back in time on Friday and Saturday, January 11 and 12. Education materials are available here to help your group get the most out of their visit.

Visit the site where a ragtag army of Americans worked together to accomplish the impossible: the defeat of the mighty British empire. Listen to the cannons roar, smell the smoky campfires, and discover why this battle changed the world's balance of power. Meet living history experts in period dress portraying British officers and soldiers as well as the American army: local citizens, free men of color, American Indians, Jean Lafitte's Baratarian pirates, US military men, and volunteers from Louisiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi.

The battlefield anniversary event is Friday, January 11, 9:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m., and Saturday, January 12, 9:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

To bring your group on Friday:

  • Registration deadline is Friday, December 7. Click here for a flier with basic information. A registration form is available here.
  • Read the important information below.

To bring your group on Saturday:

  • No registration is required for groups attending on Saturday.
  • Read the important information below.

To bring your group to the annual wreath-laying ceremony on Tuesday, January 8, at 10:00 a.m.:

  • No registration is required for groups attending Tuesday's wreath-laying ceremony.
  • Parking for Tuesday's ceremony will be at the battlefield. The battlefield opens at 9:00 a.m.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR ALL GROUPS ATTENDING EVENTS ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY:

  • No vehicles except school buses, battlefield shuttles, and vehicles with handicapped tags will be allowed to enter the battlefield on Friday and Saturday. Only vehicles with handicapped tags will be allowed to park on the battlefield. For information about chaperone parking, read the next paragraph.
  • Free public parking for all persons not on a registered school bus or in a vehicle with a handicapped tag will be available offsite. A map to the parking area will be posted here by December 1. Free shuttles will run continuously from offsite parking to the battlefield beginning at 9:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
  • All visitors are welcome to bring picnic lunches. No food will be available at the battlefield. Drinking fountains will be available and bottled water will be on sale.
  • Schedules of firings, ceremonies, and special demonstrations for Friday and Saturday will be posted here in December.

For more information, call 504-589-3882 ext. 226. Chalmette Battlefield is located at 8606 West St. Bernard Highway, Chalmette.


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Did You Know?

Two big red, black, and yellow lubber grasshoppers sit on a leaf

Lubber grasshoppers are sometimes known as devil's horses in south Louisiana. They lay their eggs in the fall and prefer loose dirt, so they often lay their eggs in cemeteries. These enormous flightless grasshoppers hatch in spring and spend the summer munching their way through vegetation.