From a Swamp to a Battlefield

 We started Thursday with a trip to Baritaria Preserve. We went on the ranger walk. We saw an alligator, water snake & a pretty bird.

These flowers are purple iris

After a great walk in the swamp, we drove to Chalmette Battlefield. This was where the Battle of New Orleans took place in 1814.

This was after the White House was burned. The British set their sights on New Orleans & the port of the Mississippi River.

Colonel Andrew Jackson led the troops which consisted of a lot of non-military. The British got stuck in swamp mud. When they fought they stood in lines. The privateer Jean Lafitte led his men to build ramparts & the British couldn't break through.

The British leaders were killed & the British didn't know what to do, & they kept getting shot! They finally withdrew & the Americans won.

Only 20 Americans were killed & a whole lot of British soldiers.

The cemetery was made a  National Cemetery & burials from all wars through Viet Nam have soldiers there.

The monument to Andrew Jackson & his troops.

The mansions in the area were very damaged & one was destroyed by American troops so the British couldn't use it. His son/grandson who was a freed slave built this mansion. It was called The Malus-Beauregard House.

That was it for the day. We raced over to a T shirt shop so I could get my Mardi Gras New Orleans t shirt. We were so busy in town we never even went in a souvenir shop!