Batteries 5 and 6

Fire from these positions played an important role in stopping the British attack on January 8, 1815. The cannons displayed here represent batteries 5 and 6, which defended the center of Major General Jackson’s line. The field carriages were painted in U.S. Army regulation colors, sky blue and black. Battery 6 contained guns mounted on a more compact mobile naval carriage. These carriages were painted in U.S. Navy regulation Spanish red and black. The artillery used at the Battle of New Orleans was of three basic types: guns, howitzers, and mortars. Guns, as in batteries 5 and 6, were most common. They were long-barreled weapons that fired solid shot, grape shot, and canister on relatively flat trajectories. Although the range was over a mile for most guns, their accuracy decreased rapidly at ranges greater than 500 yards. Howitzers, one of which was in battery 1, had shorter barrels and fired shell, grape shot, and canister on an arcing trajectory, and their ranges rarely exceeded 800 yards. Mortars, which were present but not used in the battle, had extremely short barrels and fired shells on very high angled arcs, making them useful against troops behind fortifications. If the British had mortars available, American losses would have been much higher.

Chalmette, Louisiana · United States