Living History Days at Chalmette Battlefield

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NEW ORLEANS — Gunsmoke fills the air as commands are called. A hot meal cooks over an open fire. Militia members write letters home, and women make clothing for the war effort. Come see life as it was during the time of the Battle of New Orleans as history comes to life! Chalmette Battlefield and National Cemetery is sponsoring two days of Living History demonstrations this spring. The two dates, Saturday, April 22nd, and Saturday, May 6th, will feature living historians demonstrating open fire cooking, sewing, music, musketry, and artillery fire as it would have occurred at the Battle of New Orleans. The public is cordially invited to visit the park at 1 Battlefield Road, Chalmette, LA, 70043 during these two days from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. For more information, visit the Chalmetette Battlefield webpage or call 504-281-0510.

Activities each day at the Chalmette Battlefield:

• Hands-on activity stations – learn to spin yarn, start a fire, or other historic skills

• Ranger talk and black powder demonstration at 2:45 p.m. (weather permitting)

• Park rangers and living history volunteers will be on-site to answer questions and point out areas of interest

• Especially for kids: visit the Junior Ranger Zone in the Visitor Center to earn a Junior Ranger badge.

Chalmette Battlefield, located roughly 6.5 miles east of New Orleans on St. Bernard Highway, is a unit of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve within the National Park System. The park is comprised of 145 acres of lands forming the core of the scene of the 1815 Battle of New Orleans. Chalmette National Cemetery is also located on the former battlefield, established in 1864 and the final resting place for more than 16,000 interments from every major U.S. conflict between the War of 1812 and Vietnam. The Battlefield was the former home to the Fazendeville community. Long before the Battle, the land was initially used and occupied by many different Native American Tribes.