Battle of New Orleans reenactments Jan. 5-8 in St. Bernard Parish

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - St. Bernard Parish is set to observe the 208th anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans on January 5-8.

The Battle of New Orleans, a military campaign extending from December 1814 through January 1815, was the final engagement between British and American armed forces in the War of 1812. The American victory in the Battle of New Orleans forever resolved the question of the United States of America’s ownership of New Orleans and the Mississippi River Valley. American ownership of the Mississippi Valley ultimately guaranteed national expansion westward to the Pacific Coast.  That expansion made the United States a great global power economically and politically. 

Consequently, events that took place in modern-day St. Bernard Parish determined the destiny of the United States of America. Additionally, descendants of Anglo-American colonists, Louisiana French, Spanish, and Western European colonists, St. Domingue survivors, enslaved Africans, Free People of Color, Filipinos, and Native Americans all fought as Americans to repel the British invasion of Louisiana thus establishing a diversity based cultural identity of American residents and citizens.

The following schedule of events marking the 208th anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans will occur in St. Bernard Parish Thursday, January 5th, 2023, through Sunday, January 8th, 2023:

THURSDAY, January 5th, 2023

• 3:00 p.m.   Dedication of the Blue Star Memorial Highway Marker, Chalmette National Cemetery, 8606 West St. Bernard Highway, donated by the St. Bernard Parish Tourist Commission.

FRIDAY, January 6th, 2023

• The Friends of the Battle of New Orleans have organized a living history/battle reenactment for St. Bernard and New Orleans metro area schools.  The program will take place on the Woodlands Development tract owned by the Arlene and Joseph Meraux Charitable Trust.  The property faces Patricia Street directly behind the Chalmette Super Wal-Mart.  Hours for the program will be 9:30 am – 3:30 pm.
• The National Park Service has organized living history programs at the Chalmette Battlefield. 8606 West St. Bernard Highway, Chalmette, which will be concurrent with the programs occurring at the Woodlands site.  The Covid19 Pandemic had interrupted the program at the Chalmette Battlefield, the site of the decisive January 8th, 1815, engagement which marked the ultimate American victory in the campaign for New Orleans.  The Chalmette Battlefield is a unit of the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve.  Program hours will be 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
• Nunez Community College will sponsor its eighth annual Battle of New Orleans Symposium in the college auditorium, 3710 Paris Road, Chalmette, 70043.  Hours for Friday, January 6th, 2023, are 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The symposium will conclude the following day, Saturday, January 7th, 2023, in the chambers of the St. Bernard Parish Council.

SATURDAY, January 7th, 2023

• The Friends of the Battle of New Orleans will present a second day of living history demonstrations and a battle reenactment from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.  The programs will take place on the Woodlands Development tract facing Patricia Street.
• The National Park Service has organized additional living history programs which will take place at the Chalmette Battlefield.  The programs will take place from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm.
• Nunez Community College, concluding day of the Battle of New Orleans Symposium, Chambers of the St. Bernard Parish Council, 8201 West Judge Perez Drive, Chalmette, 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
• Daughters of the British Empire, wreath laying ceremony at the Pierre Denis de La Ronde Ruins Historic Site, 4:00 p.m., St. Bernard Highway median near Paris Road.  The Denis de La Ronde House served as a temporary headquarters and hospital for the British Expeditionary Force January 8th, 2023.

SUNDAY, January 8th, 2023

• New Orleans Track Club will sponsor its annual Jackson Day Race Sunday, January 9th, beginning at 7:00 a.m. and ending at the Aycock Street Barn, 409 Aycock Street, Arabi.
• The National Park Service, Chalmette Battlefield, 11:30 a.m., wreath laying ceremony at the Chalmette Monument.

For additional information about these Battle of New Orleans Anniversary events, please visit www.visitstbernard.com.

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