Living history

Reenactors (in fur hats) portray Plauche"s Battalion, a French-speaking battalion of Creole soldiers from New Orleans, during the 200th Commemoration of the Battle of New Orleans on Thursday (Jan. 8) on the Chalmette Battlefield in the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park. Several events marking the battle were scheduled to take place throughout the weekend.

A reenactor performs as a member of the gun crew of the U.S.S. Carolina whose ship was sunk in the Mississippi River shortly before the battle began. Its sailors manned some of the cannons during the battle.

A young boy is watchful during the ceremony which commemorates the battle fought to defend New Orleans from the British in 1815. Not old enough to serve as a soldier, a boy this age may have been a drummer, an essential participant for the soldiers to keep pace.

Members of the Louisiana Living History Foundation, dressed in a variety of American troop uniforms, stand at attention.