Battery Bienvenue

Battery Bienvenue (1815-1872) - Battery Bienvenue was a Third System coastal gun battery in Bayou Bienvenue, St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana. Deactivated in 1872.

Third System (1816-1867)

Part of the Harbor Defense of the Mississippi.

This battery was located at a strategic "Y" where Bayou Bienvenue and Bayou Villere join as Bayou Bienvenue winds from Lake Borgne toward New Orleans. This was the route used by the British in the War of 1812 to approach the city.

This battery was first constructed in 1815 and improved over the years. The initial armament was planned for one 24 pounder and two 18 pounder cannons. In 1826 the plan expanded to twenty four 24/32 pounders and two 13 inch mortars with a garrison on one artillery company. Eventually four buildings occupied the parade, a barracks, officer quarters, a guardhouse and a magazine. The battery was about 600 feet wide with the guns pointed right down Bayou Bienvenue. The battery was surrounded by a moat that connected to Bayou Bienvenue.

The Battery was abandoned after the U.S. Civil War in 1872.

Current Status

In ruins and accessible by boat only, beware of snakes. Period guns and mounts are reportedly in place but cannot be distinguished in the satellite photos..

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Location: Bayou Bienvenue, St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana

Maps & Images

Lat: 29.9852018 Long: -89.8808981

Multi Maps from ACME
Maps from Bing
Maps from Google
Elevation: 3'

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 330-331
Weaver, John R. II, A Legacy in Brick and Stone: America Coastal Defense Forts of the Third System, Redoubt Press, McLean, 2001, First Printing, ISBN 1-57510-069-X, page 193-194

Links:

North American Forts - Battery Bienvenue

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