Chalmette National Cemetery

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Chalmette National Cemetery
Details
Location Chalmette, Louisiana
Country United States
Type United States National Cemetery
Size 17.5-acre (7.1 ha)
Number of graves 15,300
Chalmette Unit of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park Historic District
Nearest city New Orleans, Louisiana
Coordinates 29°56′39″N 89°59′12″W / 29.94417°N 89.98667°W / 29.94417; -89.98667Coordinates: 29°56′39″N 89°59′12″W / 29.94417°N 89.98667°W / 29.94417; -89.98667
Area 142.9 acres (57.8 ha)
Built 1814
Governing body Federal
NRHP Reference # 66000889[1]
Added to NRHP October 15, 1966

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 17.5-acre (7.1 ha) plot adjacent to the site that once was the battleground of the Battle of New Orleans. Though now closed to new interments, it is the burial place to over 15,300 veterans of American military campaigns from the Revolutionary War to the Vietnam War.

History

Though used as a burial ground earlier, Chalmette was established as a National Cemetery in 1864 as a place to inter the Civil War battle dead, of both the Confederate and the Union militaries. After the war, makeshift battlefield burial plots around the state had their interments moved to the more permanent National Cemeteries. Nearly 12,000 of which were brought to Chalmette.

As part of the Chalmette National Historical Park, it was transferred to the stewardship of National Park Service in 1933. The cemetery and battlefield were listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966.

The cemetery suffered considerable damage due to Hurricane Katrina, toppling headstones and much of the perimeter wall. The days and hours the cemetery and battleground are open to the public are still limited as of 2008.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2010-07-09. 

External links

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