[StBernard] Bicentennial of Battle of New Orleans in 2015 kicks off with Chalmette Monument rededication

[Westley Annis]

Bicentennial of Battle of New Orleans in 2015 kicks off with Chalmette
Monument rededication

Print Andrea Shaw, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune By Andrea Shaw, NOLA.com |
The Times-Picayune 
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on September 28, 2013 at 4:16 PM

Setting the stage for the bicentennial commemoration in 2015 of the Battle
of New Orleans, the Chalmette Monument honoring soldiers of the conflict was
rededicated Saturday. The U.S. Daughters of 1812 led the solemn event at
Chalmette Battlefield that not only saluted the bravery of those who fought
but the work of preservationists.

The Chalmette chapter of the Daughters was founded in 1893, troubled by the
condition of the monument. Construction began in 1856, but stopped over a
lack of funding and the impending Civil War. The 142-foot-high obelisk would
not be completed until 1908, at the urging of the Daughters.

The group maintained oversight of the battlefield and monument from 1894
until 1929.

Jeanne LeBlanc Williams, president of the Chalmette chapter of the
Daughters, urged those attending to honor history by sharing it and
protecting its monuments.
 
 "To know that they laid the foundation for our freedoms, didn't they
deserve to be remembered and honored?'' Williams asked.

Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve anthropologist Allison
Pena praised the group, saying they should be celebrated "for their
remarkable foresight and dedication and working earnestly to complete the
Chalmette Monument and to save this historic public land for enduring
generations.''

In noting the significance of the rededication, park superintendent Lance
Hatten said the monument "embodies the force of the will of diverse people
that rallied'' to defend New Orleans and the nation.

"Here Americans of different backgrounds and ancestries, each distinct,
stood together, shoulder to shoulder in arms on this battlefield,'' Hatten
said. "They realized the power of unity so powerful that this monument built
to commemorate victory stands as an ever lasting symbol of their will, their
sacrifice and their commitment to democracy.''

St. Bernard Parish President David Perralta thanked the Daughters and other
supporters for their work in helping to "keep the park alive.'' As a boy, he
said remembered asking if the obelisk was the Washington Monument.

The bicentennial celebration in 2015 could see the addition of a second
monument to the site, one paying tribute to British soldiers who died in
battle.

Saturday's event was marked by patriotic music, a "living'' history program
featuring troops and civilians in period clothes, vintage dancers, a cannon
salute and tours of the park's museum.

Bonnie Slaughter and her daughter, Collette Acosta, 9, of New Orleans
attended the ceremony to honor her great, great, great grandfather Richard
Slaughter, who along with his five brothers, fought in the battle. Military
service was a family hallmark as Richard Slaughter's father, Walter
Slaughter, fought in the American Revolution.

"I'm kind of a history buff and as I've been doing my genealogy, it's been
really exciting to find all of these connections with history on both sides
of the family,'' she said. "You don't expect to find all of this. To go
places and find connections, I had an ancestor who fought at the Battle of
Shiloh, I've gone to that battlefield many times, it's just exciting knowing
that he was right over there.''