Women looks closely at the sculpture of a head in the Dirty Shirts Exhibit

From "Dirty Shirts" to Buccaneers: The Battle of New Orleans in American Culture

The Cabildo

This exhibition commemorates the Battle of New Orleans. The overwhelming defeat of the British Redcoats at the hands of a rag tag band of “dirty shirts”—as the British derisively called their foes—captured the American imagination, contributed to a sense of national identity, and propelled Andrew Jackson to the White House. Using a variety of artifacts, images, and documents, the exhibit is an exploration of the battle’s history emphasizing the diversity of its participants.