At Chalmette, Major General Andrew Jackson's troops, though outnumbered and less experienced, defended and secured the port of New Orleans from British invasion on January 8, 1815, in the last major battle of the War of 1812. The American victory preserved U.S. claims to the Louisiana Purchase territory, prompted settlement in the Mississippi River valley, made Jackson a national hero, and encouraged American pride and unity. President Abraham Lincoln approved legislation on July 17, 1862, establishing national cemeteries for American forces, and two years later, near the end of the Civil War, Chalmette National Cemetery was established to receive Union troops who died in Louisiana. In later years it became a final resting place for veterans of all major U.S. wars from the War of 1812 to Vietnam, including four Americans who fought in the War of 1812, one of whom took part in the Battle of New Orleans. The cemetery contains nearly 16,000 burials.
