name of two battles fought near New Orleans, La., one battle in the War of 1812 and the other in the American Civil War.

The Battle of New Orleans of the War of 1812 was fought on Jan. 8, 1815, between about 6500 American troops, mostly irregulars, under the command of the American general Andrew Jackson and a British force of about 7500, commanded by the British general Sir Edward Pakenham (1778–1815). The British planned to attack New Orleans and thereby gain access to the entire Mississippi Valley. The entrance of British troops into the Gulf of Mexico in the autumn of 1814 prompted Jackson’s arrival at New Orleans on Dec. 1, 1814. Later that month a fleet of 50 British vessels made a surprise landing at Lake Borgne, east of New Orleans, after which some 2000 British troops walked across the swamps to the banks of the Mississippi just below New Orleans. Jackson hastily fortified the area. After a number of skirmishes during late December and early January, Jackson, with the valuable aid of the French pirate Jean Laffite, won the decisive battle in less than a half hour on January 8. Jackson’s improvised fortifications proved highly effective, and the American force suffered only 71 casualties while inflicting more than 2000; Pakenham was one of the 289 British dead. The overwhelming defeat caused the British to abandon further combat projects, and they soon embarked for England. The battle had no effect on the war. Peace terms had already been agreed on in the Treaty of Ghent, signed on Dec. 24, 1814; at the time of the battle, however, the treaty had not yet been ratified by the U.S. Senate.

The Battle of New Orleans of the American Civil War occurred as a result of the federal government’s plan to seize New Orleans, one of the most important cities in the South. A naval squadron under the Union captain David Farragut, carrying troops led by Benjamin Butler, appeared in the lower Mississippi River in the spring of 1862. To prevent the capture of New Orleans, the Confederates placed a heavy chain cable across the river near the city; New Orleans was also defended by forts Jackson and Saint Philip. After several days of firing on the forts, Farragut succeeded in cutting the chain and passing the forts during the earliest hours of April 24. The Union forces sank or captured 9 of the 17 Confederate vessels; emerging virtually without damage to their own ships, they proceeded to New Orleans. The city, inadequately protected by only 3000 Confederate troops, fell on April 25, was occupied by federal troops on May 1, and was held for the duration of the war. The loss of New Orleans, gateway to the Mississippi River and Valley and chief city and port of the Confederacy, was catastrophic.

The scene of the 1815 Battle of New Orleans has been preserved as the Chalmette Unit of the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve.

For further information on this topic, see the Bibliography, sections 1152. War of 1812, 1155. Civil War, military.