Rededicating the Chalmette Monument

The 15-star, 15-striped banner of the United States during the War of 1812 flies beside the Chalmette Monument

NPS

At the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans, in 1840, citizens laid a cornerstone for a proposed monument to the American victory. A memorial obelisk one hundred feet high was finally completed in 1908 on land that would become known as Chalmette Battlefield and one of Jean Lafitte's six sites. From an observation deck at the top, visitors can view the entire battlefield and its surroundings, including the Mississippi River and the city of New Orleans, five miles away.

Initially open to the public, the monument had been closed for maintenance intermittently since Hurricane Katrina struck the area in 2005. As part of National Public Lands Day on September 28, 2013, the National Park Service officially began public programming for the bicentennial of the Battle of New Orleans by re-opening the monument to public visitation. Speeches by park officials, local government, and members of the National Society United States Daughters of 1812 were presented alongside a color guard of living history reenactors portraying the US army and citizen soldiers of the battle.

 

Chalmette Battlefield, 1830s Malus-Beauregard House, and the Mississippi River, as viewed from the top of the Chalmette Monument. Since this picture was taken, the bridge over Rodriguez Canal has been removed and the sidewalks rerouted to be more in keeping with current knowledge of historical access to the monument and the house.