Chalmette Battlefield and Cemetery

The Chalmette National Cemetery is in St. Bernard Parish 9 miles east of downtown New Orleans.  Now it’s surrounded by not-so-beautiful industries, like oil refineries and port facilities.  It, however, remains inspirational and worth a visit like other national cemeteries.

Abraham Lincoln signed the legislation creating national cemeteries for Civil War dead in 1862.  Chalmette came about 2 years later to bury Louisiana victims.  A sign at Chalmette says, “Nearly 12,000 Civil War-era troops are buried…about half of them unknown”.  However, an audio tour description that I picked up in a nearby National Park Service Visitor Center says, “Nearly 200 of the fallen are listed as unknown….”  That’s a huge difference!  Perhaps 5,800 of the fallen have, over time, been identified.  Another sign says there are 6,773 unknown.  Signage at the cemetery seemed old.  One stated that this cemetery contains almost 16,000 dead from the War of 1812 to Vietnam.  This was verifiable and I learned that only 4 men from the Battle of New Orleans fought in 1815 to conclude the War of 1812 are buried here, none of them British.  Most of the grave markers provide names and home states, and some even list branch of service and contain personal information.  Katrina destroyed the nearby visitor center that has a separate entrance and, I assume, damaged this cemetery; but it is well-groomed today and none of the markers indicate above-ground burials that are so common in New Orleans and nearby communities.

 

There’s a Civil War cannon atop a memorial at the far end of this cemetery with muzzles pointing upward to indicate that this area is now at peace.  The iron gates at Chalmette National Cemetery’s entrance are elaborately decorated and date from 1873.  Many massive live oaks trees dot the property.  There are few burial plots remaining and they are reserved for veterans’ widows.  As a result, funerals are now rare.

There’s an opening in the wall to allow visitors to enter the field where the Battle of New Orleans was fought.  There was a Freedmen’s Cemetery here at one time for slaves, but all traces of the folks once buried here vanished by the end of the 19th century.  The Visitor Center that was destroyed by the memorable 2005 hurricane has been rebuilt to tell the story of this most unusual battle in what is often called our 2nd war for independence.  The battle was won by the Americans after the treaty ending this war had already been signed.

Hank

New Orleans’ Voodoo Museum

I asked a frequent visitor to New Orleans what her favorite attractions were and she said “the Chalmette Cemetery/Battlefield and the Voodoo Museum”.  I knew about neither and both sounded intriguing.  Ruth & I made it to both.

The Voodoo Museum at 724 Dumanie Street in The French Quarter is increasingly popular.  In it, Ruth and I were elbow to elbow in a small space with many young people.  They all seemed as fascinated as we were.  Behind the entry desk was a fanciful, glamorized portrait of Marie Leveau, New Orleans’ Voodoo Queen.  No one really knows what Marie looked like.  She lived from 1801 until 1881 and specialized in love potions.  A benign humanitarian, Marie was a practicing Catholic who adopted orphans, cured yellow fever victims, etc.  She is appropriately buried in St. Louis Cemetery at #1 Basin Street.

According to this museum, voodoo, a practice which comes from the Fon People of Benin in Africa, is a generally non-harmful practice connected with African religions and is often confused with witchcraft, a European concept.  Voodoo came to New Orleans in 1719 with the arrival of the first slaves, and voodoo dances in Congo Square became regular Sunday events.  Rarely used for evil, voodoo is more likely to enhance love and sex, help someone achieve power and domination over others, or bring good luck.  Zombies, alligators, werewolves, and other mythical creatures enter the mix in voodoo practices.  The painting below shows a Voodoo queen dancing with a snake known as Le Grand Zombi.  One of the most curious objects on display was a wishing stump like the one used by Marie Laveau.  Visitors are encouraged to leave a note and a small token for Marie to elicit her attention and assistance from the great beyond.

This voodoo museum has been around since 1972.  When it first formed, it was mostly hidden from the  general public and tourists.  Now it’s far more mainstream and has lots of stuff to buy.  I watched as almost every visitor got in line to purchase something.   I finally asked the receptionist what was most popular, and she didn’t have to ponder long to answer,  “Voodoo dolls and gris gris bags”.  These bags are like child-sized caskets containing objects intended to solve a romantic or personal problem.  I laughed when I read in a souvenir guide that the spirits one is trying to influence are like politicians because they are “bribable, malleable and otherwise corruptible”.

The rather cramped and dark rooms in this truly unique museum contain a lot of altars.  Almost all of them are strewn with coins and dollar bills.  Several are decorated with bizarre images and Mardi Gras beads.   If you don’t take it too seriously, it’s lots of fun and very French Quarter.

Hank

A Singular Courtroom Experience

In 1844 a murder occurred on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, England.  Charlotte Dymond was a local girl.  While taking a walk with her boyfriend, Matthew Weeks, on Bodmin Moor, she vanished.  When her lifeless body was found with her throat slit, Matthew, a humble farm hand, was charged with murder.  Although his guilt was far from certain, he was hanged in the town that travel writer Kirsty Fergusson called “poor old Bodmin”.   I’ve been rather critical of this town not too far from vast Bodmin Moor myself, but today I’m recommending it for 2 reasons:  Bodmin Moor is fascinating as a tourist attraction and there’s a clever presentation called The Courtroom Experience in Bodmin at its exceptional visitor center.

The Courtroom Experience recreates Matthew’s trial, and visitors like Ruth and myself get to act as jurors.  After some actual testimony is presented along with details of the trial that cast doubt, we were asked to find Matthew guilty or not guilty.   His jury was all male.  After our verdict, we were taken downstairs to see the cramped, depressing holding cell where inmates like Matthew Weeks awaited trial.   More information was presented down there.  This will work as long as visitors to Bodmin aren’t aware of this local crime or its consequences.

Bodmin Moor is an often fog shrouded bleak stretch of granite and marshy flats with a highway, A30, cutting across it diagonally.   Bodmin is one of five towns ringing it.  It’s hard not to think of Sherlock Holmes and/or hounds when you experience it.  Locals will tell you about the beast of Bodmin, another legend without basis in fact like Bigfoot.  Speaking of legends, this moor’s Dozmary Pool is said to be the place where King Arthur’s sword Excalibur rose from the depths.  Kirsty Fergusson says, “Bodmin Moor–on a fine day–is one of the best places in England for walking and exploring.”

The Courtroom Experience is worth doing and gets excellent reviews.  The presentation is competent but no threat to CGI.   The visual effects are sometimes less than impressive while the overall presentation gets high marks for originality.

Hank

PS  Since I didn’t experience Bodmin Moor on a foggy day, I had to download a free pic with no beast from pixabay.com.

 

Harlon Block, American Hero

In 1943 Harlon H. Block  was one of 8 members of his high school class who enlisted in The Marine Corps together.  That’s Harlon on the right in the photo.  He was 18 at the time.

Two years later on February 24 he was one of the 6 men who raised the American flag on Iwo Jima’s Mount Suribachi.  Harlon is the one in front at the bottom of the flagstaff.   Joe Rosenthal took the historic photo that captured the event.  He won a Pulitzer Prize for it.  That photo inspired the sculpture that was placed in Arlington National Cemetery.  This iconic Marine Corps War Memorial was dedicated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1954 on the 179th anniversary of this branch of the service.

Three of the 6 men who raised the flag died on Iwo Jima.  Harlon H. Block was killed in action 6 days after he took part in the event.  He was buried on the island.  After the war his body was returned to Weslaco, Texas, his hometown.  A replica of the Iwo Jima monument rose in Weslaco and was placed on the Parade Ground of the Marine Military Academy in 1982.  Harlon was moved to be near it in 1995.

Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, who also grew to manhood in Texas, wrote the tribute to the fighting men on Iwo Jima that is inscribed on this memorial’s black Brazilian granite base.  “Uncommon Valor was a Common Virtue.”

  Hank

 

 

Rio Grande Valley Towns

Brownsville is the largest city in the Rio Grande Valley.  Its sister city across the river, Matamoros, is 3 times larger.  The 2 communities economies and cultures are seriously intertwined.  I found Brownsville the most fundamentally Mexico-influenced town Ruth & I visited.  Although it has a reputation for having one of the highest poverty rates in the United States, its economy seems to be improving with a bustling port and some new businesses, like the nearby SpaceX South Texas launch site.  Brownsville’s downtown is compact and reminded me of both New Orleans’ French Quarter and Havana.  Our favorite attraction, the Sabal Palm Plantation, is in the U.S. but geographically surrounded by Mexico.

East of Brownsville are 2 other towns whose fates are intertwined, Port Isabel and the resort community at the bottom of South Padre Island.  Connected by the Queen Isabella Causeway, they have a combined population of about 8,000.  Compact and congested Port Isabel experiences a lot of tourists because of its lighthouse and museums, one of which is devoted to shipwrecks.   The resort town across the causeway reminded me of a smaller version of Miami Beach with half a dozen high-rise hotel complexes and lots of restaurants and shops catering to beachgoers.   Our favorite attraction in the area was the SPI Birding & Nature Center, one of 9 such facilities in the Rio Grande Valley but the only one on the Gulf of Mexico.

The first town we spent time in was Harlingen, which was once known as Six Shooter Junction.  It struck me as having a fair number of non-Hispanic residents, including many seasonal ones.  It has many murals downtown including one celebrating the most famous person born in Harlingen, a town that was named after a city in The Netherlands.  Bill Haley, the first rock & roller, smiles down from this mural on a quiet, commercial street.   The ladies at Harlingen’s Chamber of Commerce insisted that their community a close-knit with lots of civic pride.  Harlingen is large enough to have a shopping center, a cinema complex, and a tourist attraction that we both really liked, an Iwo Jima Memorial.  It’s there because of a World War II marine hero who was born in nearby Weslaco.

The 2nd largest town in the Rio Grande Valley is McAllen.  Known as The City of Palms, McCallen looks more prosperous than other area towns because of its air base, railroad, and ranching history.   With contiguous Mission and Pharr, it contains every familiar store franchise in the United States; but Mission seemed more rural, Spanish speaking, and nature-centered (the National Butterfly Center is just outside of it) than McAllen.  Behind a golf course near town center, Quinta Mazatlan was McAllen best attraction.  It’s affiliated with the world birding centers that abound in the Rio Grande Valley and caters to serious birders and nature lovers.  The best restaurant we found in all of these communities was in McAllen.  In a small shopping center, the Santa Fe Steakhouse surprised us with wild salmon on its menu.  It has added “and Cantina” to its name to compete with almost every other restaurant in this part of Texas.  Quinta Mazatlan is a hacienda/estate founded by a fascinating Renaissance Man.

West of Mission there’s far less urban action and lots of scrubland all the way to Rio Grande City.

Hank

PS  Ruth & I saw Prickly Poppies in 3 colors because this part of the United States has relatively mild winters.