Chalmette National Cemetery is a

United States National Cemetery The United States National Cemetery System is a system of 164 cemeteries in the United States and its territories. The authority to create military burial places came during the American Civil War, in an act passed by the U.S. Congress o ...

located within

Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve (french: Parc historique national et réserve Jean Lafitte) protects the natural and cultural resources of Louisiana's Mississippi River Delta region. It is named after French pirate Jean Lafitt ...

Chalmette, Louisiana Chalmette ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in, and the parish seat of, St. Bernard Parish in southeastern Louisiana, United States. The 2010 census reported that Chalmette had 16,751 people; 2011 population was listed as 17,119; however, t ...

. The cemetery is a graveyard adjacent to the site that was once the battleground of the

Battle of New Orleans The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815 between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the French ...

, which took place at the end of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. Despite its proximity to the site of the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812, the majority of the interments are of soldiers who were casualties or veterans of the American Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, or the Vietnam War. The cemetery was subsequently closed to new interments.

Description

The Chalmette National Cemetery is a rectangular parcel of land measuring 250 feet by 2200 feet. It runs from the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

on the south to West Saint Bernard Highway ( Louisiana Highway 46) on the north. The Chalmette National Battlefield bounds the cemetery on the west, while there is an industrial manufacturing facility on the east. Military Cemetery Road runs the length of the grounds from the entrance at West Saint Bernard Highway to the

levee A levee (), dike (American English), dyke (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is a structure that is usually soil, earthen and that often runs parallel (geometry), parallel to ...

along the Mississippi River. The cemetery's headquarters are near the entrance of the cemetery grounds. The Monument to the Grand Army of the Republic is at the opposite end of Military Cemetery Road, which runs lengthwise through the center of the cemetery. Though now closed to new interments, it is the final resting place of over 15,300 veterans and casualties of

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

military campaigns starting with the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

and extending to the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. There are also four graves of War of 1812 soldiers, one of whom participated in the Battle of New Orleans. There are approximately 7000 unknown soldiers buried there, mostly soldiers who died in the American Civil War. Graves at Chalmette National Cemetery range from simple square markers to elaborate monuments. John E. Jones (1834–1865), Civil War

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

Recipient, is buried there. Also buried is William H. Morgan (1825–1878), a Civil War Union Brevet Brigadier General.

Sarah Rosetta Wakeman Sarah Rosetta Wakeman (January 16, 1843 – June 19, 1864) was an American female soldier who served in the Union Army during the American Civil War under the male name of Lyons Wakeman. Wakeman served with Company H, 153rd New York Volunteer In ...

(1843–1864) is buried at Chalmette National Cemetery. She enlisted in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

of the Civil War disguised as a man, under the name Lyons Wakeman. She died of disease, not combat, in New Orleans in 1864. One British seaman,

able seaman An able seaman (AB) is a seaman and member of the deck department of a merchant ship with more than two years' experience at sea and considered "well acquainted with his duty". An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination ...

Watcyn G. Jones, of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

is among the war dead from

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

buried at Chalmette National Cemetery.

History

Chalmette National Cemetery was originally known as Monument Cemetery. It had been used as a burial ground prior to its establishment as a national cemetery. In the early part of the American Civil War, former slaves were buried at the site as were both Confederate and Union troops. In 1862, the federal government of the United States created the system of national cemeteries. Its purpose was to provide cemeteries for soldiers who died in service of the nation and included the acquisition of land. Chalmette National Cemetery was established as a United States National Cemetery in 1864 as a place to inter the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

troops. Even though Louisiana was part of the Confederate States of America, nearby New Orleans was occupied by the Union Army for the majority of the conflict, which is there was need for a Union cemetery in the New Orleans area. Originally some

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

soldiers were buried there but were moved to the now defunct Cypress Grove #2 Cemetery by the Ladies of the Benevolent Association of New Orleans. After the Civil War, makeshift battlefield burial plots around the state had their interments moved to the more permanent national cemeteries. The remains of nearly 12,000 soldiers were moved to Chalmette National Cemetery at that time, many of whom were unknown soldiers. At about the same time, the remains of approximately 7000 African-American civilians that were buried on the grounds of Chalmette National Cemetery were reinterred at the adjacent

Freedmen's Cemetery The Freedmen's Cemetery was a cemetery in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, where formerly enslaved men, women and children were buried following the end of the American Civil War. Established in 1867 as a four-acre civilian cemetery by the U.S. Bure ...

. Other civilians were also buried there in the early history of Chalmette National Cemetery, although this practice was discontinued in 1867. During the early 1960s, the historic community of Fazendeville was demolished in order to expand the battlefield in preparation for the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans, which took place in 1965. The town, which had been established sometime around 1870 by Jean-Pierre Fazende, had been "founded as a home for newly freed slaves," according to news reports. The cemetery, as part of the Chalmette National Historical Park, was transferred to the stewardship of the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

in 1933. Local, state and federal elected officials had been engaged in efforts to acquire the community's lands since at least the early 1930s.Kennedy Signs Chalmette Bill
" Arabi, Louisiana: ''The St. Bernard Voice'', October 12, 1962, front page (subscription required). The cemetery and battlefield were listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on October 15, 1966. The cemetery and battlefield became part of the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve in 1978.

Floral design

Consistent with widespread interest in the

language of flowers Floriography (language of flowers) is a means of cryptological communication through the use or arrangement of flowers. Meaning has been attributed to flowers for thousands of years, and some form of floriography has been practiced in tradition ...

during the late 19th century in the United States, designers of the cemetery made extensive use of landscaping to honor the deceased. These plants and trees in the 19th century landscaping of the cemetery included arbor vitae, cedar, magnolias, weeping willows, roses, olive trees, sago palms, and laurels, each species having symbolic value.

Changes to layout

The original entrance to the Chalmette National Cemetery was from the Mississippi River, as visitors typically arrived and departed by boat. By 1910, a railroad and a highway had been constructed at the northern end of the cemetery. The main entrance to the cemetery was moved to the northern end at that time. The levees at the riverside of the cemetery were widened following the

Great Mississippi River Flood of 1927 The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 was the most destructive river flood in the history of the United States, with inundated in depths of up to over the course of several months in early 1927. The uninflated cost of the damage has been estimat ...

. This expansion necessitated that the remains of approximately 400 soldiers had to be relocated, to a

mass grave A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of execution, although an exact ...

. The superintendent's house at the Mississippi River side of the cemetery was demolished and replaced by two smaller buildings near the new entrance to the cemetery. Chalmette National Cemetery suffered considerable damage in 2005 due to

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

and also

Hurricane Rita Hurricane Rita was the most intense tropical cyclone on record in the Gulf of Mexico and the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded. Part of the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, which included three of the top ten L ...

, with the toppling of headstones and much of the perimeter wall. The days and times that the park and cemetery were open to the public were limited for several years afterward. Previously, Hurricane Betsy and Hurricane Camille had damaged the cemetery, especially the foliage.

Gallery

File:NPS chalmette-battlefield-map.pdf, Chalmette Battlefield map showing the Chalmette National Cemetery (courtesy of the National Park Service) File:NOLA Chalmette Cemetery Trees.jpg, Old trees along Military Cemetery Road File:NOLA Chamette USCT graves.jpg, Two graves of

United States Colored Troops The United States Colored Troops (USCT) were regiments in the United States Army composed primarily of African-American (colored) soldiers, although members of other minority groups also served within the units. They were first recruited during ...

(USCT) File:Chalmette National cemetery (Grand Army of the Republic Memorial), New Orleans, La 4a19863u.tif, Grand Army of the Republic Memorial at Chalmette National Cemetery, as seen in 1910 File:Pvt. Lyons Wakeman headstone in the Chalmette National Cemetery.jpg, Pvt. Lyons Wakeman headstone in the Chalmette National Cemetery. Her real name was Sarah Rosetta Wakeman.

References

External links

*
National Park Service Cultural Landscapes Inventory: Chalmette National Cemetery
(1988) * * {{authority control Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana Protected areas of St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana United States national cemeteries 1814 establishments in the United States Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana National Register of Historic Places in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana National Park Service areas in Louisiana Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in the United States