Confederate Memorial Hall Museum facts for kids
Civil War museum in 2011
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| Established | 1891 |
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| Location | 929 Camp St New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Type | War museum |
The Confederate Memorial Hall Museum in New Orleans is a special place. It holds many old items from the American Civil War. This war was fought in the United States between 1861 and 1865. The museum also has things from the Confederate States of America, which was a group of southern states during the war.
People sometimes call it "Memorial Hall." It has the second-largest collection of Civil War items from the Confederacy anywhere! Only one museum in Richmond, Virginia has more. The museum has also been called Louisiana's Civil War Museum and Louisiana's Oldest Museum.
The building itself was finished in 1888. It was designed by Sully & Toledano. The museum officially opened in 1891.
Contents
What Can You See at the Museum?
The Confederate Memorial Hall has over 5,000 historical items. Many of these are rare things from the Civil War. You can see personal items and uniforms of important Confederate generals. These include Braxton Bragg and P.G.T. Beauregard.
The museum also displays more than 140 flags. These flags belonged to different army groups of the Confederacy. Varina Davis, the wife of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, gave many of her husband's things to the museum. These gifts included his clothes, his Bible, and even his saddle. She also donated a special crown of thorns from Pope Pius IX.
A Look Back: The 1800s
The Confederate Memorial Hall was started in 1891. A kind person from New Orleans named Frank T. Howard helped create it. He wanted a place to keep the historical items of the Louisiana Historical Association.
The museum quickly gathered a huge collection of Civil War items. Most of these were given as gifts by soldiers who had fought in the war.
A very important event happened at the hall on May 29, 1893. The body of Confederate President Jefferson Davis was brought there. Over 60,000 people came to honor him. His body then moved to its final resting place in Hollywood Cemetery (Richmond, Virginia).
Who Owns the Museum Building?
For a long time, there has been a disagreement about who owns the museum building. This disagreement has led to many court cases. Several important Louisiana leaders, like Governors Huey Long and Mike Foster, have been involved.
The problem started with Frank T. Howard's original gift of the building. He said it was "to be set apart forever for the use of" the Louisiana Historical Association. In 1930, the Howard Library next door wanted to use the museum's space. They needed room to store some of their books.
Governor Long helped work out a deal. The museum allowed the library to store some books in its basement.
In the 1940s, the Howard Library moved to Tulane University. Its old building was sold. After a few changes in owners, it was given to the University of New Orleans (UNO) in the early 1990s.
The old Howard Library building and another nearby property became the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. The Confederate Memorial Hall is located right between these two Ogden buildings. This caused a new problem. Visitors to the Ogden Museum had to go outside and walk around Memorial Hall to see all parts of their collection.
A plan was suggested to build a tunnel through the Memorial Hall basement. This tunnel would connect the two Ogden buildings. The Confederate Memorial Hall even helped draft a plan. But UNO decided not to go forward with the idea in 1998.
The Museum Today
In 2000, Tulane University sold its claim to the Memorial Hall building to UNO. Tulane believed it owned the building because it had taken over the Howard Library. In 2001, the UNO foundation said it owned the building. They tried to make the museum leave. This started a series of court battles. The courts decided that UNO owned the property. However, the museum was allowed to stay while the case was reviewed.
As the case continued, Governor Mike Foster stepped in. He helped create a plan for UNO and the museum to agree. In August 2003, both sides agreed to stop their lawsuits.
The agreement said that UNO would give up its claim to the museum's land and building. In return, a connecting tunnel would be built through the basement. This was the same tunnel plan from 1997. This agreement was to be completed within 10 years, or when the tunnel was finished.
In 2011, a Confederate Battle Flag was found. This flag belonged to the 14th Louisiana Infantry Regiment. It had been stolen from the museum in the 1980s by a volunteer. A collector bought the flag in 2004 without knowing it was stolen. The flag was returned to the museum.
Images for kids
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Civil War museum in 2011
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Confederate Memorial Hall (circa 1900).
