LCV Winter 2013-14 - (Page 18)
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he sesquicentennial of the American Civil War has been an
occasion for widespread reflection on the causes and
During the Union occupation,
legacies of that pivotal conflict. A new exhibition at The
locals treasured personal
Historic New Orleans Collection-Occupy New Orleans!
keepsakes of the
Confederacy, such as this
Voices from the Civil War-invites visitors to listen carefully to voices
command of Flag Officer David
miniature hand-stitched flag.
from the past, the better to refine their own visions for the future. The
Glasgow Farragut advanced on Forts
exhibition culls first-person perspectives of wartime New Orleans
Jackson and St. Philip, some 65
from THNOC's rich manuscript and pictorial holdings, the archives of
miles downriver from New Orleans. Sixteen ships ran past the
the Library of Congress and the collections of New Orleans's own
forts in the early morning hours of April 24. Cutting their losses,
Confederate Memorial Hall Museum. Occupy New Orleans! remains on
Confederate leadership made a strategic decision to withdraw
view through March 9, 2014. See the calendar listings, at right, for a
ordnance and troops from the city. Mayor John T. Monroe was
full list of related programming.
left to negotiate with the occupying
War crept steadily upon Louisiana. On
army; he counseled citizens to retreat to
December 10, 1860, Governor Thomas
their houses and, although defiant to
Overton Moore called a special session of
the end, prudently oversaw the city's
the state legislature to debate secession.
transfer.
On January 23, 1861, delegates convened
Monroe is one of many individuals
in Baton Rouge; three days later Louisiana
represented in Occupy New Orleans!
became the sixth state-following South
through correspondence, proclamation,
Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama and
portraiture and caricature. The stories of
Georgia-to secede from the Union. On
other well-known historical figures such
March 21 it joined the Confederate States
as President Abraham Lincoln, Major
of America.
General Benjamin F. Butler and William
The sixth most populous city in the
B. Mumford-hanged in June 1862 for
nation and the undisputed queen of the
tearing an American flag from its perch
Deep South-more than six times larger
above the US Mint, in defiance of the
than regional rivals Mobile and Memphis-
Union occupation-intersect with
New Orleans met shifting circumstances
those of lesser-known characters such
with a mixture of anxiety and bravado. The
as Henry Ross, Isabel Walton Waldo,
board members of St. Anna's Asylum
Isachar Zacharie and James Cross
assessed potential supply shortages and
Murphy. Display items range from the
decided "to distribute the bread in smaller
monumental-painter Mauritz Frederik
quantities" to the destitute women and
De Haas' panoramic Farragut's Fleet
children in their care. Prices fluctuated but
Passing the Forts below New Orleans-to
business remained brisk in the offices of
an intimate series of sketches by William
local sugar and cotton factors. The French
Waud, artist-correspondent for the
Opera House enjoyed a triumphant second
popular periodical Frank Leslie's
season in a grand new edifice at the corner
Illustrated Newspaper. An interactive
of Bourbon and Toulouse streets. And
timeline provides a nuts-and-bolts
parents strove to provide a semblance of
account of military operations across
normalcy for their children: merchant
the Gulf South, while other interactive
Edward Murphy, an Irish immigrant, bought
features further enhance the gallery
a pony for his ten-year-old son, James.
experience.
This Harper's Weekly cartoon from January
When change came, it came quickly. On
1863 depicts Union General Benjamin Butler in
a none-too-flattering light as a menial laborer.
April 18, 1862, mortar boats under the
- Jessica Dorman
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THE HISTORIC NEW ORLEANS COLLECTION, GIFT OF CLAY WATSON, 1979.108
18 LOUISIANA ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES * Winter 2013-14
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LCV Winter 2013-14
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