Rodriguez Canal


Rodriguez Canal was a ditch that cut across the battlefield during the Battle of New Orleans, 1815. Andrew Jackson arranged his defensive line behind it.

History

Rodriguez Canal is a disused millrace for a sawmill between the Chalmette and Macarty plantations. The dilapidated canal measured about four feet deep by twenty feet wide at the time of the Battle of New Orleans, and stood as a natural battlefield divide between the combatants. General Jackson arranged his defensive line behind this ditch, building ramparts behind it. Today, the canal ruins form part of the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve.

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