FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A CENTURY, MAJOR PRESERVATION EFFORT UNDERWAY AT CHALMETTE, WAR OF 1812'S LAST BATTLE

American Battlefield Trust's $1 million fundraising campaign will protect 40 acres from Andrew Jackson victory outside New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS, July 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Battlefield Trust has launched a $1 million fundraising campaign to protect a 40-acre property associated with the Battle of Chalmette, the final, climactic engagement of the War of 1812. Portions of the iconic battlefield are preserved within Jean Lafitte National Historic Park and Chalmette National Cemetery, but much of the surrounding area is lost to industrial development. If successful, this will be the battlefield park's first major expansion in a century.

"Just days ago, we marked the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the powerful document that propelled the American Revolution; now, we are delighted by this rare opportunity to preserve a portion of the Battle of New Orleans, an engagement often hailed as the grand finale to America's 'Second War of Independence,'" said David Duncan, president of the American Battlefield Trust.

Because of zoning considerations and intense development pressure, the transaction costs $3.6 million. But thanks to anticipated matching funds from the federal American Battlefield Protection Program and the Trust's first-ever award from the Louisiana Outdoors Forever Program, plus early gifts from major donors, the Trust needs to raise just $1 million by September 2.

The engagement's unconventional story was popularized in 1959 with Johnny Horton's Grammy-winning Billboard #1 hit, "The Battle of New Orleans."

When British troops landed just south of New Orleans in December 1814, diplomats across the Atlantic were already negotiating the Treaty of Ghent that ended the war. But word had not yet reached General Andrew Jackson on January 8, 1815, when a hastily assembled combination of U.S. Army regulars, Choctaw Indians, pirates and volunteers of every race, language, religion and social class in the southeastern United States inflicted more than 2,000 casualties on the British, while suffering only 71 themselves.

The American Battlefield Trust is dedicated to preserving America's hallowed battlegrounds and educating the public about what happened there and why it matters today. The nonprofit, nonpartisan organization has protected more than 62,000 acres associated with the Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and Civil War across 160 sites in 25 states. Learn more at www.battlefields.org.

SOURCE American Battlefield Trust