Baton Rouge Arsenal

Baton Rouge Arsenal (1826-1869) - A U.S. Army arsenal established in 1826 as an arms depository and depot in Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. The arsenal and the adjacent Baton Rouge Barracks were surrendered to Louisiana State Militia forces at the beginning of the U.S. Civil War and later in 1861 were transferred to CSA control. Returned to Union control in 1862. Abandoned as an arsenal in 1869.

Baton Rouge Arsenal History

Construction began in 1819 on a powder magazine and ordnance building. The ordnance building was defective and was rebuilt in 1828. The main arsenal building was built in 1829 and destroyed by a storm after the U.S. Civil War.

The arsenal and the adjacent Baton Rouge Barracks were surrendered to Louisiana State Militia forces on 10 Jan 1861 at the beginning of the U.S. Civil War and later in 1861 were transferred to CSA control.

Union forces took back the barracks and arsenal for the duration of the war after the battle of Baton Rouge, 5 Aug 1862. They constructed an earthworks around both the arsenal and the barracks that was named Fort Williams (2) after Union General Thomas Williams who was killed in the battle of Baton Rouge. After the U.S. Civil War the arsenal was used to store surrendered arms and ordnance from dismantled fortifications.

Discontinued as an arsenal in 1869. A public sale was held in 1870 to dispose of the accumulated weapons and other gear. In Jun 1871 ordnance department personnel were withdrawn and the post was used by the Infantry and quartermaster.

**Baton Rouge Arsenal Partial Commanders List** (edit list)
Assumed	Relieved	Rank	Name	Cullum	Notes
1839	1841	2nd Lieutenant	Dearborn, Alexander H.	946
1841	1843	1st Lieutenant	Whitely, Robert H. K.	599
1843	1844	2nd Lieutenant	Dyer, Alexander B.	896
1849	1849	1st Lieutenant	McNutt, John	1019
1851	1853	Captain	Morgan, James M.	795
1853	1855	Major	Todd, John W.	1541
1855-03	1856-06	Captain	Rodman, Thomas J.	1065
1861	1861	Captain	Booth, John C.	1392	Confederate
1861-01-12	1861-07-09	Colonel	Sully, Alfred	1092	Infantryman in command
Dates are formatted in yyyy-mm-dd to sort correctly. The Cullum Number is the graduation order from the United States Military Academy by year and class rank and links to a page for the officer on the website version of the Cullum Register. Listings without a Cullum Number indicate that the person was not a graduate of the United States Military Academy.

Current Status

The 1838 powder magazine remains as a museum in Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana.

USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Database Entry: 552815

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Location: 900 State Capitol Dr, Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana.

Maps & Images

Lat: 30.4576905 Long: -91.1845518

Multi Maps from ACME
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Elevation: 52'

Sources:

Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 328

Links:

North American Forts - Baton Rouge Arsenal
Old Arsenal Museum
Surrender of the Arsenal and Barracks in 1861 (Louisiana History 2.401‑403)

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