To be more politically correct - they changed the name to The Civil War Museum at Confederate Memorial Hall.
Inside it looks more like a temple to worship their former warriors. Everything is made of cypress to make it last a long time.
I did not realize that New Orleans was the biggest city in the Confederacy. They provided a lot of soldiers and sailors to fight on the gray side of the war. No wonder when it came time to build a museum to honor their soldiers - they put it here. Next to the museum in Richmond - this is the largest collection of Confederate memorabilia.
Confederate Memorial Hall was buit in 1891. It reminds one of a church or temple to worship their defenders. Jefferson Davis lived here after the war. His body laid in state in this temple in 1893 - before it was moved to Richmond. 60,000 people paid their respects to him here in 36 hours.
The Confederate Memorial Hall is still controversial. It was built my the Louisiana Historical Society on land allegedly given to them by the Howard Museum. Eventually - the art museum grew up on both sides of the Confederate Museum. Legal efforts to move them out have been futile. A compromise was reached a few years back - when the historical society agreed to allow the art museum to run a tunnel through the basement. But now - 10 years later - still no tunnel and they are still there.
Admission is $7.00.
Battle flags - swords - hat - guns- letters - uniforms - medals - and proclamations - and one cannon.
The museum is basically one big room. This narrow side room was added later. The side room contained a lot of rifles under glass.
Lots of rebel flags for sale.
Robert E Lee Circle is out front. His statue faces north - always watching the enemy. The streetscars complete a full circle around the statue.
This page is dedicated to my late cousin Bob Schleicher. He was an expert on the Civil War.
No comments:
Post a Comment