Gulf Coast

The British invasion of Louisiana (1814–1815) was the final major campaign of the War of 1812, culminating in the Battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815. A British expeditionary force sought to seize New Orleans and control the Mississippi River but was decisively repulsed by American forces under Andrew Jackson, a victory that secured the Gulf Coast and elevated Jackson to national fame.

The New Orleans Battlefield, also known as Chalmette Battlefield, is the site of the January 8, 1815, Battle of New Orleans, where American forces under Andrew Jackson decisively defeated a British invasion. Today it is preserved as a unit of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve in Chalmette, Louisiana.

British strategy on the Gulf Coast during the War of 1812 aimed at seizing New Orleans and controlling the Mississippi River. The campaign culminated in the Battle of New Orleans on 8 January 1815, a tactical American victory fought after the Treaty of Ghent had been signed.

The Battle of New Orleans (January 8, 1815) is surrounded by enduring misconceptions, including claims that it was fought after the war ended, that it was a one-day struggle, and that Kentucky riflemen won the day. This article examines those myths and the historical record behind them.

The Battle of Lake Borgne (December 14, 1814) was a naval engagement in which British ship’s boats and barges defeated a small American gunboat flotilla, clearing the way for the British approach to New Orleans during the War of 1812. The British victory removed the last naval obstacle in Lake Borgne, but the delay it caused gave American forces under Andrew Jackson additional time to prepare the defenses that would win the Battle of New Orleans.