The Mint's location occupies a prominent place in civic history. It sits at one of the two River corners of the French Quarter, which had been the entire city, or "Vieux Carré", of New Orleans. Under French and Spanish rule this location was home to one of the city's defensive fortifications. In 1792 the Spanish governor, Francisco Luis Héctor de Carondelet, erected Fort San Carlos (later Fort St. Charles) here. The fort was demolished in 1821; and the nearby area was later named Jackson Square in honor of Andrew Jackson. As a general in the United States Army, Jackson's leadership had saved the city from invading British forces during December 1814 and through January 8, 1815, the date of the famous Battle of New Orleans, the last significant battle of the War of 1812.