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Fort Jackson, Louisiana

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Coordinates: 29°21′25″N 89°27′20″W / 29.3569°N 89.4556°W / 29.3569; -89.4556
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Fort Jackson
Fort Jackson, Louisiana is located in Louisiana
Fort Jackson, Louisiana
Fort Jackson, Louisiana is located in the United States
Fort Jackson, Louisiana
LocationPlaquemines Parish, Louisiana, USA
Nearest cityTriumph, Louisiana
Coordinates29°21′25″N 89°27′20″W / 29.3569°N 89.4556°W / 29.3569; -89.4556
Built1822–32
NRHP reference No.66000379
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1966[1]
Designated NHLDecember 19, 1960

Fort Jackson is a historic masonry fort located 40 miles (64 km) up river from the mouth of the Mississippi River in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. It was constructed as a coastal defense of New Orleans, between 1822 and 1832, and it was a battle site during the American Civil War.[2] It is a National Historic Landmark. It was damaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and its condition is threatened. It is marked Battery Millar on some maps,[3] for the Endicott era work built nearby it.

Plan for Fort Jackson, Drawn in 1817
Plan of Fort Jackson showing damage done by the mortar bombardment and gunboats from April 18 to 24, 1862.[4]
Confederate National Flag captured from Fort Jackson

Fort Jackson is situated approximately 70 miles (110 km) south of New Orleans on the western bank of the Mississippi, approximately 2.5 miles (4.0 km) south of Triumph, Louisiana. The older Fort St. Philip is located opposite of Fort Jackson on the eastern bank; this West Bank fort was constructed after the War of 1812 on the advice of Andrew Jackson, for whom it is named.

The fort was occupied off and on for various military purposes from its completion until after World War I, when it served as a training station. It is now a National Historic Landmark and historical museum owned and operated by Plaquemines Parish.

Fort Jackson was the site of the Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip from April 16 to April 28, 1862, during the American Civil War. The Confederate-controlled fort was besieged for 12 days by the fleet of U.S. Navy Flag Officer David Farragut. Fort Jackson fell on April 28 after the Union fleet bombarded it and then sailed past its guns. A mutiny against the officers and conditions then occurred and the fort fell to the Union. Union forces then went on to capture New Orleans.[5]

Following the engagement, Fort Jackson was used as a Union prison. It was here that the French champagne magnate Charles Heidsieck was held for seven months on charges of spying.

Modern times

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On November 9, 1927, the state of Louisiana sold Fort Jackson as a surplus government property to Mr. and Mrs. H. J. Harvey, who later donated the property to the parish in 1960 in the hopes that the fort, and the 82 acres of land that it sits on, would be restored.[6] The fort was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960,[7] and was also listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1967.[8] Plaquemines Parish Commission Council began renovations on the fort in 1961, with the National Park Service stating that "The fort area had become a jungle with mud-filled tunnels infested with snakes and flooded with water".[9] In the 1960s, Leander Perez threatened to turn Fort St. Philip, on the opposite side of the river, into a prison for advocates of desegregation ("outside agitators") who entered the parish.[10]

The fort site was later opened as a park[11] with only the outside grounds open for visitors. The interior of the fort is open to the public on occasion. The Fort Jackson Museum is open to the public, but it is not at the fort site. Rather, it is located approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) southwest from Fort Jackson in Plaquemines Parish's District 9 office at 38039 Hwy 23, Buras, LA 70041.[12]

Storm damage

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Due to the location of Fort Jackson, it is vulnerable to the strong winds, pelting rain, and decimating storm surges from storms ranging from 'rough weather' to 'deadly hurricanes'. The fort was inundated with 20 feet of water from both Hurricane Betsy, a category 4 storm, in September 1965, and Hurricane Camille, a category 5 storm, in August 1969.[13]

The fort was badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina's storm surge in 2005. Between Katrina and Hurricane Rita the following month, much of the fort sat under water for up to six weeks. Many of the historic exhibits in the fort were destroyed, and the fort itself suffered structural damage.[14]

Other uses

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Since 1970, The grounds of Fort Jackson have been the site of both the Plaquemines Parish Fair and Orange Festival.[15]

The fort was used to treat oily birds in the early weeks of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The treatment facility was moved on July 4, 2010, to Hammond, Louisiana, in order to make it less vulnerable to hurricanes.[16]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. ^ StoppingPoints.com. "Text of Fort Jackson historical marker".
  3. ^ "Google Maps".
  4. ^ ORN I, v. 18, p.373.
  5. ^ North & South, Volume 11, Number 2, Page 18, accessed April 16, 2010, "Mutiny at Fort Jackson" Archived July 14, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Ison, Sarah; Tanner, Michael. "Fort Jackson". theclio.com. The Clio. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  7. ^ Heintzelman, Patricia (May 21, 1975). National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Fort Jackson. National Park Service. and Accompanying photos, aerial and exterior and interior, from 1935, 1959, and 1974. (852 KB)
  8. ^ "National Register of Historic Places". Louisiana Division of Historic Preservation. Louisiana Office Of Cultural Development; Division Of Historic Preservation. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  9. ^ Heintzelman, Patricia (May 21, 1975). National Registry of Historical Places - Nomination Form. National Park Service. pp. 6–8.
  10. ^ "Leander Perez".
  11. ^ "Fort Jackson's Palmetto Falls now open to the general public - every day". www.wistv.com. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  12. ^ Phone interview with Dodie Hess, District 9 Administrative Assistant on Monday May 03, 2021
  13. ^ McNamara, Dave (2 July 2019). "Heart of Louisiana: Fort Jackson". Fox News 8. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  14. ^ Tomaszewski, Dan J.; Lovelace, John K. (2007). "Effects of Hurricane Katrina's Storm Surge on the Quality of Shallow Aquifers near the Northern Shoreline of Lake Pontchartrain, Southeastern Louisiana". Science and the storms—the USGS response to the hurricanes of 2005 (PDF). U.S. Geological Survey. pp. 213–220. ISBN 978-1411320048.
  15. ^ "Plaquemines Parish - About The Area". Plaquemines Parish, LA. Plaquemines Parish Government. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  16. ^ "Fort Jackson Bird Rehabilitation Center to be Relocated to More Secure, Fit-for-purpose Building in Hammond, LA". Deepwater Horizon Response. July 4, 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-07-05.
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