Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve (french: Parc historique national et réserve Jean Lafitte) protects the natural and cultural resources of

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

Mississippi River Delta The Mississippi River Delta is the confluence of the Mississippi River with the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana, southeastern United States. The river delta is a area of land that stretches from Vermilion Bay on the west, to the Chandeleur Isl ...

region. It is named after French pirate

Jean Lafitte Jean Lafitte ( – ) was a French pirate and privateer who operated in the Gulf of Mexico in the early 19th century. He and his older brother Pierre spelled their last name Laffite, but English language documents of the time used "Lafitte". Th ...

and consists of six separate sites and a park headquarters.

Acadiana

Three sites interpret the

Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana. While Cajuns are usually described as ...

culture of the Lafayette (southern Louisiana) area, which developed after

Acadians The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the de ...

were resettled in the region following their expulsion from Canada (1755–1764) by the British, and the transfer of French Louisiana to Spain in the aftermath of the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the st ...

. * Acadian Cultural Center in Lafayette * Prairie Acadian Cultural Center in Eunice, obtained through the work of Mayor Curtis Joubert * Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center in

Thibodaux Thibodaux ( ) is a city in, and the parish seat of, Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States, along the banks of Bayou Lafourche in the northwestern part of the parish. The population was 15,948 at the 2020 census. Thibodaux is a principal cit ...

Nature preserve

The Barataria Preserve in Marrero interprets the natural and cultural history of the region. The preserve has trails and canoe tours through bottomland hardwood forests, swamps, and marsh. An Education Center provides curriculum-based programming for school groups and a visitor center with a film and exhibits. The Barataria area comprises 63 contributing properties and was added as a historic district on October 15, 1966. With .

Chalmette unit

The Chalmette Battlefield and National Cemetery is located in Chalmette, Louisiana, southeast of

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, on the site where the 1815

Battle of New Orleans The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815 between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the Frenc ...

took place. It is "an integral part of both the history of New Orleans and of the nation," according to National Park Service historians because the cemetery is one of the oldest in the United States. Established in May 1864, the national cemetery holds the remains of

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

casualties and veterans, as well as the remains of soldiers from the Indian Wars of the late 19th century, the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

, the First and Second World Wars, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Among the Civil War dead interred at Chalmette are members of the

47th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment The 47th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Formed by adults and teenagers from small towns and larger metropolitan areas of Pennsylvania, this regimen ...

, the only regiment from Pennsylvania involved in the 1864 Red River campaign, and the 12th Maine Infantry Regiment. There are also a few earlier graves from the 1815 Battle of New Orleans. During the 1930s, various improvements were made to the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, "including paving the entrance drive linking to St. Bernard Highway, paving the circle around the monument, and installation of two visitor parking areas." In addition, employees of the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

(WPA) realigned multiple headstones at the national cemetery in 1937. During the early 1960s, the historic community of Fazendeville was demolished in order to expand the battlefield in preparation for the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans, which took place in 1965. The town, which had been established sometime around 1870 by Jean-Pierre Fazende, had been "founded as a home for newly freed slaves," according to news reports. Local, state and federal elected officials had been engaged in efforts to acquire the community's lands since at least the early 1930s. ChalmetteWPAHeadstoneStraighten

Another major restoration took place from March 7 to April 1, 2016 when volunteers from HOPE Crew (Hands-on Preservation Experience) participated, in partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the National Park Service and the National Center of Preservation Technology and Training, in the cleaning and re-setting of 671 headstones in the oldest part of the national cemetery, which is "the final resting place for

US Colored Troops The United States Colored Troops (USCT) were regiments in the United States Army composed primarily of African-American (colored) soldiers, although members of other minority groups also served within the units. They were first recruited durin ...

, servicemen who consisted of 'free men of color' formerly known as the Louisiana Native Guard; free, mixed-race 'creoles' who the Confederacy barred from joining their forces, and refugees, or 'contraband' from nearby plantations who served the Union Army in exchange for food, clothing and housing for their families," according to a spokesperson for the trust. The headstones that were restored had been misaligned or damaged by air pollution and mold growth, and were cleaned with products donated by D/2 Biological Solution, Inc. Restoration experts from Pierre Masonry, Texas Cemetery Restoration, Oak and Laurel Cemetery Preservation and Monument Conservation Collaborative were recruited to oversee the volunteers' work. Freedmen's Cemetery, Chalmette, LA

Located adjacent to the Chalmette National Cemetery, and within the boundaries of the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, is the site of the defunct Freedmen's Cemetery, a four-acre African American burial ground that had been established by the federal government in 1867 to inter the remains of formerly enslaved men, women and children who had been receiving assistance from the U.S. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (also known as the

Freedmen's Bureau The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, usually referred to as simply the Freedmen's Bureau, was an agency of early Reconstruction, assisting freedmen in the South. It was established on March 3, 1865, and operated briefly as a ...

) in making the transition from slavery to freedom after the Civil War. Initially well maintained, the cemetery fell into disrepair during the 1870s as various Freedmen's Bureau services were curtailed and then eliminated due to budget cuts and "the politics of race and Reconstruction." U.S. Quartermaster's Office records document the debates by federal government officials regarding the creation and management of this cemetery, as well as their decision to ultimately abandon the Freedmen's Cemetery. The site is now memorialized by a historical marker located near the entrance to Chalmette National Cemetery.

Chalmette Monuments and Visitors' Center

In 1840, a cornerstone was laid for a proposed monument commemorating the American victory in the Battle of New Orleans, but completion of that monument's construction was delayed due to budget issues. Frustrated by the federal government's lack of progress, members of the Louisiana Society of the United States Daughters of 1776 and 1812 began lobbying elected officials for help during the 1890s, finally securing the support necessary from the administration of President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

for the monument's erection. Known as the Chalmette Monument, the one-hundred-foot-tall obelisk was completed in 1908. Closed for repairs after parts of the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve were damaged or destroyed by

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

in 2005, it was reopened to the public during a rededication ceremony on National Public Lands Day on September 28, 2013. The monument features an observation deck which offers visitors views of the battlefield and City of New Orleans. In February 1874, members of the

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy ( U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, ...

's Joseph Mower Post in New Orleans secured permission to erect a G.A.R. monument on the grounds of the national cemetery to pay tribute to deceased Union Army soldiers. Although implementation of this project was also delayed due to funding problems, construction was able to be finished more quickly than it was for the proposed obelisk. Completed in 1882, the G.A.R. monument was inscribed with the Latin phrase, "Dum Tacent Clamant" ("While They Are Silent, They Cry Aloud"), and has served as "a focal point" for Memorial Day ceremonies since that time. The present-day visitors' center located near the battleground obelisk offers information and exhibits. Rebuilt after it was destroyed in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina, this new center reopened in 2010. Special events held at the Chalmette National Battlefield and Cemetery each year include commemoration ceremonies related to the Battle of New Orleans and Memorial Day, living history demonstrations, and wreath-laying ceremonies.Battle of New Orleans commemoration at Chalmette Battlefield begins Saturday
" New Orleans, Louisiana: NOLA.com, January 5, 2022.

New Orleans unit

The park operates a French Quarter Visitor Center at 419 Decatur Street (New Orleans), in the historic French Quarter. It interprets more generally the

history of New Orleans The history of New Orleans, Louisiana, traces the city's development from its founding by the French in 1718 through its period of Spanish control, then briefly back to French rule before being acquired by the United States in the Louisiana Pu ...

and the diverse cultures of Louisiana's

region. The headquarters of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve are located in New Orleans.

Administrative history

Chalmette Monument and Grounds were established on March 4, 1907, to commemorate the site of the Battle of New Orleans. It was transferred from the War Department to the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properti ...

on August 10, 1933, and re-designated as Chalmette

National Historical Park National Historic Site (NHS) is a designation for an officially recognized area of national historic significance in the United States. An NHS usually contains a single historical feature directly associated with its subject. The National Historic ...

on August 10, 1939. The Chalmette site and the Barataria Preserve were both listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

October 15, 1966. The Chalmette site was later incorporated into the multi-site Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, which was authorized on November 10, 1978.

Gallery

File:Barataria Preserve Louisiana Sunset.jpg, Sunset in Barataria Preserve, Louisiana File:Bayou.jpg, Kenta Canal at Barataria Preserve, Louisiana File:Chalmette Battlefield, 2003.JPG, Line Jackson File:ChalmetteMonumentRangerStairs.jpg, Chalmette Monument

References

External links

National Park Service: Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jean Lafitte National Historical Park And Preserve National Historical Parks of the United States National Preserves of the United States Cajun culture French-American culture in Louisiana Landmarks of the War of 1812 Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana Museums in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana Museums in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana Museums in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana Museums in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana Museums in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana History museums in Louisiana Protected areas established in 1907 National Park Service areas in Louisiana Protected areas of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana Protected areas of St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana Ethnic museums in Louisiana Museums in New Orleans Atchafalaya National Heritage Area 1907 establishments in Louisiana Protected areas established in 1978 1978 establishments in Louisiana National Register of Historic Places in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana National Register of Historic Places in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana National Register of Historic Places in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana National Register of Historic Places in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana National Register of Historic Places in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana