As a group of tourists stepped off their paddle wheeler in St. Bernard Parish Wednesday afternoon to wander the 145-acre Chalmette Battlefield, park ranger Karley Nugent gathered the group to talk about “one of the most important moments in United States history.”
“The Battle of New Orleans and its overall significance in our nation’s history can’t be overstated,” Nugent told the room of visitors not far from where U.S. forces under Andrew Jackson beat back the British troops. “Yet the reality is seldom people know about it.”
The Battle of New Orleans took place along the Mississippi River at the conclusion of the War of 1812, and now, as the nation celebrates its 250th anniversary, the historic site may receive a major expansion under a new initiative from a national nonprofit for battlefield preservation…