Lake Borgne was the site of the largest naval battle on the Gulf Coast during the War of 1812. On December 14, 1814, a fleet of forty-five British barges under Captain Thomas Lockyer defeated five American gunboats led by Lieutenant Thomas ap Catesby Jones guarding the lake near Malheaureux
Island. The battle gave the British control over the lake and many avenues of invasion into New Orleans.

The site of the Battle of Lake Borgne is only accessible by boat. An historical marker commemorating the conflict once stood on Beach Boulevard in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, but was destroyed during Hurricane Katrina.