Jackson Barracks

About this property

Jackson Barracks is the headquarters of the Louisiana National Guard. It is located in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans, Louisiana. The base was established in 1834 and was originally known as New Orleans Barracks. On July 7, 1866, it was renamed in honor of Andrew Jackson. The National Register of Historic Places listed Jackson Barracks in 1976. After the War of 1812, the U.S. Congress realized coastal cities did not have adequate defenses, so they prescribed the Federal Fortifications Act. The Act, signed by Congress on July 19, 1832, provided over $180,000 (~$6.21 million in 2024) (USD) for the acquisition of lands, the building of barracks to house U.S. Troops, and the establishment of command and control centers. On December 14, 1833, the Federal government purchased a 100 by 300-yard property from Pierre Cotteret to establish a new barracks in New Orleans to support the new Forts Pike, Macomb, Jackson, Livingston, and St. Philip. Lieutenant Frederick Wilkinson, designed and supervised the building of the new logistics base; built from 1832 to 1836, the new Barracks called "New Orleans Barracks" housed four infantry companies and was equipped with a prison, a storehouse, and four 3-story guard towers. His quadrangle design, in the center of the post, was intended to be a rallying point in the event of an attack. The backs of the buildings were designed with no outward facing windows and acted as a wall. A 10-foot brick facade joined the houses and fortified the post. The front of the Barracks by the river, had a levee, road, railroad, and a trolly-car track for supplements. The back of the Barracks by St. Claude Avenue, housed a powder magazine to store ammunition. The first troops were in the barracks by February 1837. Colonel David E. Twiggs, the commanding officer of the 2nd Regiment of Dragoons, was chosen as the first commandant of the Post. During this time, Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, George B. McClellan, J.E.B. Stuart, P. G. T. Beauregard, were all stationed at the Barracks, although not at the same time. During the Mexican–American War, New Orleans Barracks became a post for sending and receiving troops. The wounded troops returning from Mexico initiated the construction of a federally operated hospital in 1849. It became the first Public Service Hospital for Veterans in the country. On May 17, 1848, additional property was purchased from Mrs. Prudence Desilets expanding the Barracks north of Saint Claude Avenue to allow for the new hospital. The facility was a French-designed, four-building, two-story, open-bay hospital ward, with one surgical operating theater in the center. The hospital remained active until its demolition in 1888. The sturdy wood was salvaged and used to construct bungalows around the Barracks. In 1861, Louisiana seceded from the United States. Confederate forces took control of the Barracks and held it for less than one year, when in 1862, Federal forces re-captured it.

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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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