Chalmet Plantation

In June 1813 Ignace Delino de Chalmet purchased a sugar plantation that began at Rodriguez Canal and extended along the river for about a mile. The property was typical of many plantations and included 25 slaves, a great house, and outbuildings. To prevent British forces from using the site, American troops packed the main house with gunpowder and started a fire that destroyed most of the property. Although de Chalmet died a little more than a month after the battle, his name became forever attached to the battlefield and the surrounding community. Jean Hyacinthe Laclotte served the Americans as an engineer during the New Orleans campaign, and the ruins of the plantation are visible in his circa 1840 painting. Lacarriere Latour, the principal American engineer during the New Orleans campaign, produced maps for his 1816 historical memoir that show topography, property lines, and troop movements.

Chalmette, Louisiana · United States