LEH Celebrates Battle of New Orleans with Partnerships, New Content

As Louisiana commemorates the 200th anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans, the LEH offers several ways to look back at the heroic events of 1815.

The Winter 2014-15 issue of  Louisiana Cultural Vistas offers four new articles on the battle. Just like Andrew Jackson, we had some help.

The Historic New Orleans Collection opened a new exhibit on Jackson in November. On January 23 and 24, HNOC hosts Forgotten Conflicts: Indians, Andrew Jackson, and the War of 1812 in the South, a two-day symposium. Register here, then read the article in LCV by THNOC’s Jason Wiese.

The Louisiana State Museum’s Joyce Miller contributed this article on LSM’s current exhibit From “Dirty Shirts” to Buccaneers: The Battle of New Orleans in American Culture. Along with early 19th-century maps, uniforms, weapons and images, the exhibit utilizes movie clips, music samples and a variety of memorabilia, to consider what the battle meant to subsequent generations of Americans.

In “The Glorious Eighth of January,” historian Shelene C. Roumillat looks at the history of annual commemorations of the battle, which once surpassed Fourth of July celebrations in New Orleans as displays of patriotism. “For Louisianians,” writes Roumillat, “the timing of the battle had never detracted from its significance because what made the battle meaningful was what it symbolized in terms of Louisiana’s incorporation into the United States.”

On Jan. 8 the LEH’s new partnership with producer Eve Abrams and New Orleans public radio station WWNO 89.9FM was broadcast on the morning of the bicentennial. “The Defeat of Fazendeville” tells the story of the community that once lived on the Chalmette Battlefield. Click here to listen to the segment and click here to read Abrams’ article in the new issue of LCV.

We hope you’ll subscribe to LCV today and join us as we continue the explore the history and culture of Louisiana.