Visited: Nov 2022
Nearby city: New Orleans, LA
Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve protects the natural and cultural resources of Louisiana's Mississippi River Delta region.
The Park is made up of six separate and distinct units.
(1) French Quarter Visitor's Center - in downtown New Orleans, also serves as Park HQ
(2) Chalmette Battlefield - all about the Battle of New Orleans during War of 1812
(3) Acadian Cultural Center - in Lafayette
(4) Prairie Acadian Cultural Center - in Eunice
(5) Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center - in Thibodaux
and the focus of today's blog post: (6) Barataria Preserve - protects the bottomland hardwood forests, swamps, and marshes south of New Orleans.
We started our visit at the Visitor Center in the French Quarter. We will focus more on the French Quarter and downtown New Orleans in a future blog post, but the museum here is a good starting point to familiarize yourself with the history of New Orleans, the diverse cultural influcences of the region, and the significance of Jean Lafitte.
Visitor's Center in the French Quarter
The marshes and swamps of Barataria Preserve served as the hideout for the infamous pirate and privateer, Jean Lafitte. Lafitte is the namesake of the park.
Jean Lafitte, nicknamed "The Terror of the Gulf" was born on September 25, 1780. The history of Lafitte's childhood and early years are unknown, Lafitte himself claimed he was born in Bordeaux, France, but other reputable sources indicate that he was born in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (present day Haiti). By the early 19th century, he was operating a warehouse in New Orleans (which, at that time, was a part of the French colony of Louisiana).
In 1803, New Orleans and the rest of the colony of Louisiana became a part of the United States by virtue of the Louisiana Purchase. In 1807, as tensions heightened between the United States and Britain, Congress passed the Embargo Act, which barred American ships from docking in any foreign port and imposed an embargo on any goods imported into the US. The act was devastating to New Orleans' economy, which relied heavily on trade with European colonies in the Caribbean.
Jean Lafitte and his brother, Pierre, created a secret base on a remote and marshy island in the Barataria Bay in order to smuggle foreign goods to local merchants in the city. Lafitte's clandestine operations were largely tolerated by local officials, because they and their consitutents were happy to benefit from the illicit trade. Furthermore, the harsh conditions and remoteness of the island in Barataria Bay made it very difficult for the US Navy to quash Lafitte and his band of outlaws. However, after the US declared war on Great Britain in 1812, the state and federal government became more determined to put an end to Lafitte's smuggling.
Lousiana Gov. William C.C. Claiborne raised a militia that managed to caputre Pierre Lafitte in 1814. Pierre was arrested, tried and convicted for acts of piracy. In late 1814, it became apparent that the British army was prepared to invade New Orleans. US Army General Andrew Jackson arrived in New Orleans on December 1, 1814, and found the town ill-defended and knew he was greatly outnumbered by the British. Jean Lafitte met with Andrew Jackson and offered to assist Jackson in the defense of the city on the condition that his brother, himself, and his band be pardoned of any crimes. Jackson agreed to do so. The Lousiana legislature granted a full pardon to Lafitte and his men. Lafitte later served with bravery and distinction at the Battle of New Orleans and played a pivotal role in thwarting the British invasion and ending the War of 1812.
In his later years, Lafitte moved to Galveston Island (in Texas, which was then part of the Spanish Empire) and worked as a spy for Spain during the war of Mexican Independence. Lafitte also became a slave trader and continued to run smuggling operations in Cuba, Colombia, and other Caribbean islands. He died (presumably) in 1823, at the age of 42, while raiding a Spanish ship off the coast of Honduras.
Lafitte's exploits became legendary and his colorful and adventurous life has been the subject of many books and films.
We visited the Barataria Preserve and walked a few trails: the Bayou Coquille Trail and the boardwalk trail near the small Visitor Center at the Preserve.
It was fun to explore this harsh swampland just a few miles outside of the bustling city of New Orleans, and imagine what life was like for Lafitte and his pirates.
we cut this hike short when we saw a big gator chillin' by the boardwalk 😀
a little too close for comfort 😬😀
saw these big spiders near the bathrooms at the Barataria Visitor's Center...yikes 😳
a small snake along the trail
saw another gator along the trail
It was fun to explore this harsh swampland just a few miles outside of the bustling city of New Orleans, and imagine what life was like for Lafitte and his pirates.
BONUS: we did not visit the units of the Park about Acadian (or "Cajun") culture, they are quite a distance away from New Orleans. However, we did visit the Oak Alley Plantation in the small town of Vacherie, LA. Oak Alley Plantation is about an hour drive west of New Orleans.
I highly recommend. We took the tour (no photos allowed inside the house). It was very informative and interesting.
The mansion was built in 1839 and the plantation was owned by Jacques Telesphore Roman.
the mansion is famous for the double row of southern live oak trees that create a canopied path as you approach the house. Many branches and overgrowth of the oaks were destroyed in 2021 by Hurricane Ida.
After your tour of the mansion, make sure to take some time to go through the Slave Quarters and exhibits. Learn about the harsh realities and deplorable conditions of the enslaved people who lived and worked on the plantation.
There was a restaurant at the Plantation that served southern cuisine. We splurged! We got fried green tomatoes w/ shrimp, catfish po'boy, gumbo, mint juleps, and praline cheescake and pecan pie for dessert. It was delicious!
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