Chalmette Battlefield

Flags fly at every headstone in Chalmette National Cemetery during Memorial Day weekend. Click on the link below to find out how you can help honor America's fallen troops.

 

Special events for Memorial Day weekend (Friday, May 24, through Tuesday, May 28) at Chalmette National Cemetery and Chalmette Battlefield will include volunteer projects, a Memorial Day ceremony, and a living history program. Find out more here.

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Just downriver from New Orleans in Chalmette is the site of the January 8, 1815, Battle of New Orleans: Chalmette Battlefield. Many people believe that this last great battle of the War of 1812 between the United States and Britain was unnecessary, since the treaty ending the war was signed in late 1814, but the war was not over. The resounding American victory at the Battle of New Orleans soon became a symbol of a new idea: American democracy triumphing over the old European ideas of aristocracy and entitlement. General Andrew Jackson's hastily assembled army had won the day against a battle-hardened and numerically superior British force. Americans took great pride in the victory and for decades celebrated January 8 as a national holiday, just like the Fourth of July.

Learn about the War of 1812 from visitor center films and exhibits. Kids can earn a badge with the Junior Ranger program. The center's bookstore has books, period music, reproductions of items from the period, and children's books. Admission is free. Follow these links for directions and for program listings for specific dates. Learn about the visitor center (dedicated on January 8, 2011) and see a map of the site that includes troop movements from the Battle of New Orleans.

8606 West St. Bernard Highway, Chalmette
504-281-0510

Open daily 9:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Closed December 25 and Mardi Gras (Tuesday, February 12, in 2013). Useful information about public transportation, regulations on pets, etc., is available here. The paddlewheeler Creole Queen makes daily trips from New Orleans' French Quarter to the battlefield; visit the Creole Queen website for sailing times and ticket information.

The new management plan for the battlefield and national cemetery is now available online. Read it by clicking here.

Please note: Chalmette Monument is closed due to safety concerns.

Regularly scheduled programs:

• Battle of New Orleans ranger talk - daily at about 2:45 p.m. when Creole Queen excursion boat docks at battlefield. Free.

Special events and programs:

• Field trips for schools and other groups by reservation.
• Memorial Day at the battlefield and at Chalmette National Cemetery will involve special projects, a Memorial Day ceremony, and living history programs.
• Battle of New Orleans anniversary event every January. Dates for upcoming years are here.
• Planning for the bicentennial of the Battle of New Orleans in 2015 is now underway and public input is encouraged. Find out how you can share your ideas here.
• Information about the War of 1812 bicentennial (2012-2015) is located here.

Learn more about

• the Battle of New Orleans anniversary event via a blog by student i-reporters from the Jefferson Parish Public Schools TECHNEAUX 21S program.
• the Battle of New Orleans through the experiences of high school students who participate in the park's Recognizing Our Roots program and who serve as living history reenactors.
• Chalmette Battlefield and the Battle of New Orleans at the Places page, where you can find information about troops who fought at the battle.
• St. Bernard Parish, the home of Chalmette Battlefield
• the War of 1812 bicentennial 2012-2015

From muskets to tactics, from upcoming events to historical people and places, you can find out more about the War of 1812 at the links below.

• Visit 1812 website
• the War of 1812 website
• Discover 1812
• the War of 1812 - a public television documentary with a website that has information about War of 1812, ideas for classroom projects, excerpts from journals of participants, and more.
• Chalmette Battlefield and the annual Battle of New Orleans commemoration were featured as a National Park Getaway in December 2011. Follow the link to learn how history comes alive in January each year for the battle's anniversary. Please note that the dates mentioned in the Getaway are for 2012; anniversary dates for upcoming years are here.

 

Walk in the footsteps of the troops of 1815 at Chalmette Battlefield.