Discover Chalmette

If you’re looking for hotels in Chalmette, its historic sites and opportunities for nature watching can help shape your travel plans. The area’s history can be explored from several perspectives: battlefield history, military remembrance, architectural history, and the development of a community. There is also a seasonal focus on birdwatching.

Battlefield History and Remembrance

Chalmette Battlefield is the site of the Battle of New Orleans and is designated as a National Historical Park. Visitors can walk in the footsteps of the troops of 1815. At the visitor center, films and exhibits provide information about the War of 1812. These offer two different perspectives: the Battlefield is connected to the specific events of the battle, while the films and exhibits focus on the War of 1812. When planning your visit, you can decide whether you’re most interested in the historic site itself or the exhibits at the visitor center.

Chalmette National Cemetery offers another historical focus. It was established in May 1864 as a final resting place for Union soldiers who died in Louisiana during the Civil War. More than 15,000 headstones mark the graves of veterans there. Compared with the Battle of 1815, the cemetery’s founding points to a different era and to remembrance of the Union soldiers who died in the Civil War.

Architecture and Community History

The Malus-Beauregard House adds an architectural dimension to the area’s history: it is a Greek Revival-style house built in 1832–1833. Its construction dates fall between the Battle of 1815 and the founding of Chalmette National Cemetery in May 1864. For your travel plans, the house is an architectural landmark alongside the battlefield and military remembrance.

Fazendeville broadens the focus from events and buildings to a community. Fazende divided his land into 33 plots and sold them. A small but thriving, self-sufficient community with strong social and cultural traditions grew from this. The development of Fazendeville thus complements the military history and architecture with a social and cultural perspective.

January Commemorative Event

The commemoration of the Battle of New Orleans takes place at Chalmette Battlefield every year on the second weekend in January. If you’re planning a visit during this period, check that year’s program in advance.

Birdwatching Along the Mississippi River

Chalmette Battlefield is also a designated stop on the America’s WETLAND Birding Trail. The battlefield’s boat landing on the nearby Mississippi River serves as a viewing platform for gulls, terns, Double-crested Cormorants, Lesser Scaups, Ospreys, and Red-tailed Hawks. These birds are a particular focus in fall, winter, and spring. If nature watching is a focus of your stay, you can take the season into account when planning your visit.

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