B

attle of New Orleans

 

April 5, 2003





USA flag



Our first destination was a couple of miles out of town to the south-east: Chalmette, the site of the Battle of New Orleans. For those of us not educated in the U.S., the Battle of New Orleans was part of the war of 1812 when the British and Americans tussled over whether Canada (and Louisiana) would be English or American. While negotations were going on (in France), Andrew Jackson defeated a British invasion force in January, 1815; his success made him a national hero.

We looked for Louisiana 46 but found ourselves going on a narrow street; it took us to the “Naval Support Facility” located on the Intercoastal Waterway. The fence and security devices made it clear that visitors weren’t welcome. But we did find the place. Parking in the lot we immediately saw the tall monument to the battle, a bit short because there wasn’t enough money to finish it properly. First we walked along the battlelineand then went into the visitor center where we saw a film that filled us in on the history. From there we walked to the Missippi River and found one of the riverboats tied up. We talked briefly to a woman and her son who had come by boat to tour the battle site. It was the Creole Queen, a boat that we could have taken from the Vieux Quartier in central New Orleans. The tall downtown buildings were visible so we felt we could almost see the tourist dock. From our discussion with the woman we got the feeling that she only did it for her son; we didn’t feel that we’d missed anything.






Updated August 8, 2003