"Buckeye Bill"
I also visited there last month.
Perhaps overlooked is the involvement of New Orleans immediately after the Civil War. I would like to extract several observations by the men from my
Dixie Odyssey. The IV Army Corps and the XIII Army Corps were preparing to go to Texas and deal with situations in northern Mexico and Texas. Following the 19th OVI . . . After stopping at Cairo and Vicksburg, the regiment was camped four and a half miles south of New Orleans on Plain Chalmette where Jackson had whipped the British in 1815. It was described as a "low and sickly place about 400 yards from the Mississippi River, in the land of alligators, mosquitoes, snakes and creoles, the latter are the most peaceable of all." The men couldn't help but notice the unfinished monument of the Battle of New Orleans present at the site.. Though the place was miserable, good food, including vegetables, apples, oranges, lemons and plums, adorned their plates at mealtimes . There they were organized and continued their preparations for their mission to Texas.
The men were impressed with the city, noting stone-paved streets, streetcars on principal streets and that some parts of the city had only residences with outstanding lawns and yards.
When they left on July 7 they observed "the many plantations, fine homes and other agriculture that supplied the city of New Orleans as they sailed down the Mississippi River to land at Indianola,Texas three days later.