Camp Parapet
Encyclopedia
Camp Parapet was a Civil War
fortification at Shrewsbury
, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
, a bit more than a mile upriver from the current city limits of New Orleans.
defensive line about a mile and 3/4 long stretching from the Mississippi River northward to Metairie Ridge. (The area further north from the ridge to Lake Pontchartrain
was at the time swamp
.) This was intended to protect the city of New Orleans from Union attack from upriver. As the Union fleet took the city by sailing in from below, the fortification was never used. After the capture of New Orleans, U.S. forces manned and expanded the fortifications to defend against a Confederate counter-attack which never came.
, of brick enclosed in an earth mound. It is located off Causeway Boulevard near the American Legion Post 267, preserved in a small park and added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 1977.
, the site of the camp's cemetery, where 7,000 Union bodies were once interred before being moved to Chalmette National Cemetery
.
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
fortification at Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury, Louisiana
Shewsbury is an unincorporated town in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, along the Mississippi River about 1 mile upriver from the border of the city of New Orleans...
, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
Jefferson Parish is a parish in Louisiana, United States that includes most of the suburbs of New Orleans. The seat of parish government is Gretna....
, a bit more than a mile upriver from the current city limits of New Orleans.
History
The fortification consisted of ConfederateConfederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
defensive line about a mile and 3/4 long stretching from the Mississippi River northward to Metairie Ridge. (The area further north from the ridge to Lake Pontchartrain
Lake Pontchartrain
Lake Pontchartrain is a brackish estuary located in southeastern Louisiana. It is the second-largest inland saltwater body of water in the United States, after the Great Salt Lake in Utah, and the largest lake in Louisiana. As an estuary, Pontchartrain is not a true lake.It covers an area of with...
was at the time swamp
Swamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
.) This was intended to protect the city of New Orleans from Union attack from upriver. As the Union fleet took the city by sailing in from below, the fortification was never used. After the capture of New Orleans, U.S. forces manned and expanded the fortifications to defend against a Confederate counter-attack which never came.
Powder magazine
The only remaining structure of the fortification is the powder magazineMagazine (artillery)
Magazine is the name for an item or place within which ammunition is stored. It is taken from the Arabic word "makahazin" meaning "warehouse".-Ammunition storage areas:...
, of brick enclosed in an earth mound. It is located off Causeway Boulevard near the American Legion Post 267, preserved in a small park and added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1977.
Cemetery site
Nearby is the historic Shrewsbury (Camp Parapet) CemeteryShrewsbury (Camp Parapet) Cemetery
Shrewsbury Cemetery is an old burial grounds near New Orleans, Louisiana, on the site of a Confederate military camp during the American Civil War...
, the site of the camp's cemetery, where 7,000 Union bodies were once interred before being moved to Chalmette National Cemetery
Chalmette National Cemetery
Chalmette National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located within Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve in Chalmette, Louisiana. The cemetery is a plot adjacent to the site that once was the battleground of the Battle of New Orleans...
.
External links
- New Orleans area Forts with information on Camp Parapet.