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.
History
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 $180,000 (~$ in ) (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, 2-story, open-bay hospital ward, and 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.
On July 7, 1866, the barracks was renamed "Jackson Barracks" after the general who won the Battle of New Orleans, "Old Hickory," Andrew Jackson. Three years later, the United States reorganized its "colored troops" into colored regiments. An ACT of Congress signed March 3, 1869, reduced the four colored regiments to two. The 39th and 40th Regiments were consolidated and renumbered as the 25th Infantry Regiment headquartered at Jackson Barracks, under the command of Colonel Joseph A. Mower until May 1870. Known as the Buffalo Soldiers, they served the United States during the Indian wars and Spanish–American War.
Twentieth century
During World War I, the Barracks was used as a mustering station. Following World War I, the property was declared excess by the federal government and given to the state of Louisiana. The Louisiana Adjutant General, Major General Raymond Fleming, made Jackson Barracks the headquarters of the Louisiana National Guard.
General Fleming transformed the post from an infantry post to a cavalry and artillery post where it housed the 108th Cavalry Regiment and the Washington Artillery. Construction of a new horse stable for the many horses posted at the barracks, and a polo field was fabricated to exercise the horses in exhibition games on the weekends. Over the years, the Mississippi River slowly moved closer to the Barracks. Finally, in 1912, the River breached the levee that protected the post, destroying the road, railroad, and a trolly-car tracks. The executive office building and the front two guard towers were dismantled to make room for a new levee. There was not enough remaining space to allow for the construction of a new road or rail system.