Civil War places to visit in Louisiana

[gentlemanrob]

So I am currently looking at going to Louisiana next month I was wondering if there some good civil war battlefields or sites.

 

[bdtex]

So I am currently looking at going to Louisiana next month I was wondering if there some good civil war battlefields or sites.

Port Hudson. Camp Moore. Mansfield. Confederate Memorial Hall and Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans.

 

[bdtex]

So I am currently looking at going to Louisiana next month I was wondering if there some good civil war battlefields or sites.

Pretty much all that's left of battlefields accessible to the public, besides Port Hudson and Mansfield, is historical markers and a few monuments.

 

[Lubliner]

So I am currently looking at going to Louisiana next month I was wondering if there some good civil war battlefields or sites.

I believe skirting Lake Charles, getting a view of Lake Ponchartrain, and just looking into the topography of Louisiana could hold your attention. I have hiked up to Alexandria, on to Monroe, and crossed over into Vicksburg back about March-April of 1990. It is a beautiful State. There I was, in midday under a small bridge over a creek bed, where the road was maybe 10 feet higher than the marshy lands surrounding me. I was taking a break from the heat of the day, sitting on the under-support rocks, reading the Book Of Daniel (best library there is) when a wild stripped leopard of some cat species (bobcat etc). happened by. It took fright and so did I. Just a story to enjoy. Pleasant memories; I hope you enjoy your trip.
Lubliner.

 

[Rusk County Avengers]

So I am currently looking at going to Louisiana next month I was wondering if there some good civil war battlefields or sites.

There's Pleasant Hill, which is privately owned... However the "Friends of Pleasant Hill" that run the reenactment and who've been hard at work restoring a dogtrot house on the battlefield could probably help see the battlefield. Highway runs right through it so you'll see it anyway even if you don't get to walk it. The old VFW Hall that's been closed down and the "Friends" I've always heard was built right on the spot where Texas troops broke through the line if I remember right. There's no interpretive markers for the most part, but still a good out of the way place of importance CW wise.

(One of their close higher up officers of the reenactment was completely aghast at the notion I proposed to him of tearing that danged VFW building down now that they own it and restoring that part of the battlefield to its 1864 appearance for the reenactment and improve the event with more land to reenact on instead of the exact same scenario in the exact same narrow stretch of land. I might as well have been speaking Martian...)

Battle of Pleasant Hill | Annual Reenactment and Festival

There's also Harrisonburg, Louisiana, where Fort Beauregard was and its remains can still be seen, (I'm hoping to make the reenactment there in late February). Three Months in Southern States offers a good picture of that site right after it was attacked, as Arthur Fremantle stopped by and examined the fort:

Fort Beauregard - Wikipedia

I could personally think of many other sites not mentioned, a couple I desperately want to see, but politically correct politicians playing politics with budgets have axed them from existence, (Mansfield almost suffered this fate I think last year or the year before), and other good places have mentioned.

Here's some stuff to get you excited, even though more than a few of the Parks are gone, (mostly forts), from public access. Dang politicians....

Civil War Louisiana Photo Album (archive.org)

Enjoy the trip!

 

[J. D. Stevens]

So I am currently looking at going to Louisiana next month I was wondering if there some good civil war battlefields or sites.

Entering Louisiana on a main highway, stop at the travel center. They have a large "Civil War in Louisiana" brochure folded like a state map. It includes a map showing locations and synopsis of everything you wanted to know about the CW in Louisiana but was afraid to ask.

The only CW battlefields where you are able to actually see part of the battle and has a visitor center is Mansfield and Port Hudson. On the south side of New Orleans is the NPS 1815 Chalmette Battlefield which has a visitor center. Fort Jackson is about 70 miles south of New Orleans, but you should check to make sure the gates are open. In New Orleans is the Confederate Memorial Hall Museum. An added bonus is an excellent WWII museum across the street. The Battle of Baton Rouge was partly fought in the Magnolia Cemetery and a couple of the headstones have bullet marks, but like most of the small battlefields in Louisiana its difficult to figure out where the battle took place and how the action developed unless you have a book with maps or search the internet for a detailed map. Some of the small battlefields and skirmishes may have remnants of earthworks if you know where to look and if you are really lucky, a historical marker.

Good luck on your trip.

 

[gentlemanrob]

I will be staying in Donaldsonville Louisiana