Qualla: Chalmette National Cemetery

Chalmette National Cemetery: Introduction

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Public domain. One headstone among thousands at Chalmette National Cemetery belongs to Private Lyons Wakeman of the 153rd New York Infantry. Wakeman served, fought, and died during the Civil War. Only after burial did the truth emerge: Private Wakeman was born Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, a young woman who had disguised herself as a man to enlist. Her stone stands among more than 15,300 others in this cemetery just southeast of New Orleans, each marker carrying its own story from a sweep of American conflict that stretches from the War of 1812 to the Vietnam War.

Image: Public domain

Chalmette National Cemetery: Battlefield Turned Burial Ground

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Infrogmation of New Orleans, CC BY-SA 4.0. The cemetery sits on the Chalmette Battlefield, the very ground where Andrew Jackson's ragtag force of soldiers, pirates, and militia defeated a British invasion force on January 8, 1815, in the Battle of New Orleans. The irony is layered: despite this famous connection to the Wa...

Image: Infrogmation of New Orleans | CC BY-SA 4.0

Chalmette National Cemetery: Flowers That Speak for the Silent

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit NastyCanasta, CC BY-SA 4.0. Victorian-era cemetery designers at Chalmette embraced the language of flowers, a cultural tradition that assigned symbolic meaning to every plant species. Arbor vitae represented immortality. Weeping willows stood for mourning. Cedar signified strength, magnolias dignity, roses ...

Image: NastyCanasta | CC BY-SA 4.0

Chalmette National Cemetery: A Cemetery That Faced the River

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Infrogmation of New Orleans, CC BY-SA 4.0. Until 1910, visitors to Chalmette National Cemetery arrived by boat from the Mississippi River. The original entrance faced the water, reflecting an era when the river was Louisiana's primary highway. Then a railroad and highway arrived at the northern end, and the entrance was r...

Image: Infrogmation of New Orleans | CC BY-SA 4.0

Chalmette National Cemetery: Weathering the Storms

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Infrogmation, CC BY 2.5. South Louisiana's hurricanes have tested Chalmette National Cemetery repeatedly. Hurricane Betsy in 1965 and Hurricane Camille in 1969 damaged the foliage, stripping away trees that had taken decades to grow. Then came 2005. Hurricane Katrina toppled headstones and collapsed much...

Image: Infrogmation | CC BY 2.5

Chalmette National Cemetery: The Erased Neighbors

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit NPS staff, Public domain. Adjacent to the national cemetery lies the site of the Freedmen's Cemetery, a four-acre burial ground established in 1867 for approximately 7,000 African American civilians. When the national cemetery needed space, these remains were reinterred at the neighboring Freedmen's Cemet...

Image: NPS staff | Public domain