Metairie Cemetery Captures Civil War History

Located just outside of New Orleans stands historic Metairie Cemetery. Its unique, beautiful tombs and monuments forged in granite, marble, brick and earth have earned the cemetery a place in the National Register of Historic Places and Forbes.com as one of the ten best cemeteries in the world. Numerous burial sites, crafted by locally and nationally renowned sculptors, are the resting places of famous people and tell the rich history of New Orleans and beyond.

Visiting Metairie Cemetery is like stepping into a history book, its fascinating stories authored and illustrated by the unique monuments and burial sites. Of particular interest is Metairie Cemetery’s link to the Civil War. Among the many tombs of Confederate veterans, each a chapter in the intriguing and haunting tale of our nation’s Civil War, stand some of Metairie Cemetery’s most popular landmarks.

For example, the cemetery includes a tumulus for each of two military associations — the Army of Tennessee and the Army of Northern Virginia. A tumulus is an ancient form of burial where the decedents are interred in a hillside or an artificial earthen mound.

The Army of Tennessee tumulus, which contains 48 crypts and stands 30 feet high, is adorned with two statues. Atop the tumulus is a statue of General Albert Sidney Johnston on his horse, Fire Eater. At the opening of the tumulus is a statue of a Confederate solider, thought to be the image of Sergeant William Brunet of the Louisiana Guard Battery, giving a roll call of fallen soldiers. General P.G.T. Beauregard is buried here.

The Army of Northern Virginia tumulus, which bears a statue of General Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson on a 38-foot high column, has 57 crypts and was established in 1881. Confederate President Jefferson Davis was temporarily interred here.

Metairie Cemetery also contains a tomb that is the resting place for six Continental Guards.

Continuing along the cemetery’s beautifully foliated landscape, visitors encounter the magnificent Washington Artillery cenotaph, which contains no interments but serves as a memorial monument to honor fallen Confederate soldiers. Established in 1880, the 23-foot high monument has a statue of an artilleryman, sculpted from the likeness of Colonel J. B. Walton, who then commanded the unit.

One of the oldest field artillery units in the United States, the Washington Artillery served in the Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of Tennessee during the Civil War, the Mexican War, the Spanish-American War and World Wars I and II.

Still active today, the Washington Artillery, also known as the 1/141 Field Artillery Battalion, is based in New Orleans and assigned to the 256th Brigade Combat Team (Tiger Brigade) of Lafayette, Louisiana. The Washington Artillery is presently deployed in Baghdad, Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Learn more about Metairie Cemetery

The aforementioned tombs and monuments in Metairie Cemetery are just a few examples of the many historical treasures preserved there.

Metairie Cemetery offers a free, self-guided tour, “Soliders, Statesmen, Patriots and Rebels,” that specifically showcases its Civil War landmarks and tombs of other political, military and historical figures.

Also available is the wonderfully detailed and illustrated book, Metairie Cemetery: An Historical Memoir, by Henri A. Gandolfo. For more information on the tour or to purchase a copy of the Gandolfo book, contact Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home at (504) 486-6331.

To learn more about the Washington Artillery, visit the Louisiana National Guard Web site.

Visit the Lake Lawn Metarie Funeral Home and Cemeteries Web site to learn more.