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NOLA Six Word Writing Challenge – Exercise your imagination!
A Little History… The Butcher’s Market, 1864
The Butcher’s Market, 1864. Marshall Dunham Collection, courtesy LSU Libraries Special Collections.
View of the Butcher’s Market section of the French Market, 1864. This photo is part of the Marshall Dunham Collection, courtesy LSU Library, Special Collections. This is one of the earliest photographs of the French Market. The photographer stands directly across from Jackson Square, looking downriver. For reference, this is the current location of Oscar Dunn Park.
The Market
The French Market originated with the indigenous tribes of the area. The French and Spanish constructed permanent buildings, and the structures in this photo date from 1813.
Butchers
The front set of buildings were the Halles de Boucheries, the Butchers’ Market. Farmers raised cattle and hogs away from the city, on open land along Bayou St. John, as well as down in St. Bernard Parish. The butchers bought whole sides of beef from the farmers, then cut them to order in stalls here in the market. The Butcher’s market opened before dawn. Shoppers came out early to get the best cuts of the day. By 11am or so, the heat of the day reached the point where the butchers closed their stalls. After buying meat, shoppers continued down the market to the produce vendors, then across the street to the bakers and dry grocery stores.
Construction
The lumber in the foreground is likely for one of the railroad buildings that went up here as the riverfront returned to its pre-war levels. Railroads operated in New Orleans since 1831 (the Pontchartrain Railroad). Tracks did not connect train stations and rail yards between Uptown and the Marigny until after the Civil War. We’re seeing the beginning of that process here.
Coffee
A Twentieth century photo of this building would show us the world-famous Cafe du Monde coffee shop. Coffee stands operated in the market in the 1860s, but they were not classic sit-down cafes. Workers in the market and along the riverfront walked up to windows (“stands”) to buy their coffee. Women pushed carts up and down Decatur Street, also selling coffee.
After the war, the city desired to “gentrify” the area around Jackson Square. They pushed the butcher’s stalls back from St. Ann Street. Cafe du Monde leased the front of the Butcher’s Market. This added to the appeal of living near the square.
Marshall Dunham
This photo is part of the personal collection of Marshall Dunham, a Union soldier from New York. He came down to New Orleans during the war, eventually being promoted to the rank of Sergeant-Major. He then received a commission as a First Lieutenant in the 77th Regiment, USCT. He collected many photos of the city, particularly from the photographer S. T. Blessing.
Next week, Thursday 17-September-2026, Derby and I will present The Forgotten Front – How New Orleans and the Gulf South Shaped the American Revolution. This is part of our Third Thursday Lecture Series at the Jefferson Parish Library, East Bank Regional Branch, 4747 W. Napoleon Avenue, Metairie. We’ll start at 7pm, and it’s free and open to the public.
We have so much fun with our tag-team talks!
Talk at the Deutsches Haus on 20-September!
Vintage Ad of the Week
“Pompano Pontchartrain Amandine” at Brennan’s French Restaurant, 417 Royal Street. Ad in the Times-Picayune, 10-September-1957. Note the branding the restaurant used at the time, “French Restaurant.” Brennan’s is, of course, Still There More!
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Portrait of Bernado de Gálvez, Viceroy of New Spain. This copy is part of the Cabildo’s Galvez exhibit. (author’s photo)
Portrait of the First Count of Gálvez
The equestrian portrait of Bernardo de Gálvez, Viceroy of New Spain, painted by Fray Pablo de Jesús y Jerónimo in 1796 CE. Now housed at the National Museum of History in Mexico City.
Upon entering the Gálvez exhibit at the Cabildo, guests are presented with this portrait of Bernardo de Galvez. While the focus of the exhibit is on Galvez’s time in New Orleans and on campaign against the British. This portrait presents him at the pinnacle of his career, as Viceroy of New Spain.
Spain to Louisiana to Mexico City
Gálvez was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Spanish army when he accompanied O’Reilly on his expedition to Algiers, where he was seriously wounded. He recovered, and was promoted to full Colonel. When it became clear that Spain would formally support the United States of America in their rebellion, Spain ordered Gálvez to New Orleans, to replace Unzaga. (As we’ve mentioned before, this was a logical move, as Unzaga was more of a diplomat and administrator.)
After his successes against the British, the Spanish Crown ennobled him, as Conde de Gálvez. This form of raising someone to the peerage is common in any countries. For example, Arthur Wellesley became Lord (later Duke of) Wellington during the Napoleonic Wars.
So, Galvez also received promotion to Lieutenant-General. King Carlos III appointed him Captain-General of Cuba on 20-May-1783. His father, Matías de Gálvez y Gallardo, was Viceroy of New Spain at the time. Matías died in October of 1784. The king appointed Bernardo to his father’s position. He arrived in Vera Cruz, Mexico, in May of 1785, and formally assumed the position in Mexico City in June of that year.
Of course, we Americans pretty much end Gálvez’s story at the end of the American Revolution. We move on to other things. Even our exhibit at the Cabildo closes before the 250th anniversary of his governorship!
The Battle of New Orleans had an important West Bank component.
New Orleans marks the “Glorious Eighth of January” of 1815 with ceremonies at the Chalmette National Battlefield, but the story of what happened on the West Bank is often ignored.
Some background: In March of this year, I had the privilege of presenting a lecture on the battle to the Friends of the Cabildo Walking Tour Guide training class. Prospective guides take a four-week course that includes an immersion in local history. I re-created that talk as Podcast 62. When I finished, Robi Robichaux, the coordinator of the class, suggested I expand my remarks on the events of the campaign in Algiers. Coincidentally, Don Costello of the Algiers Historical Society emailed me a few days later, asking if I would speak to the group. He had a cancellation, and knew I always have a subject or two in my back pocket to talk about. Little did he know I had one that hit this close to home!
Buy my books! Edward Branley is the author of six books on New Orleans history. They’re available from local booksellers and all the usual online suspects.
Buy me a Coffee on Ko-fi dot com. I just love this concept as a way to say thank you/tip creators you enjoy. Our idea of monetization is buying books and having us come to speak. If you see me at a coffee shop, stop and say hi. Otherwise, I’ll raise coffee cup to you if you treat me.
Become a patron. Yes, we’re on Patreon. A lot of creators use the platform for direct monetization, and that’s great for them. We don’t have “exclusive content” for patrons. Still, if you think our history stuff is worth a dollar a month, go join!
In 1851 the architect J.N.B. DePouilly designed this raised masonry center-hall residence in the Greek Revival style for Angel Xiques. A broad front gallery, a portico, and a curving iron stairway dominate the façade of this building, which is a 1882 façade donation.
Angel Xiques was a Spanish-born merchant, from Cadiz. He was a partner in Laborde and Xiques, importers of Cuban goods, notably tobacco.
The Painting
Cruise painted a number of homes and buildings in the Vieux Carré from 1938 to 1941. While many were associated with Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) projects, his Xiques Mansion appears to be a stand-alone. He continues the pattern of visualizing these homes as they would have appeard in the 1850s. The Xiques Mansion is currently painted all-white, and the exterior ironwork is black. Here, Cruise adds color to both. Notice the walls and (Corinthian) columns are shades of tan/brown, and the ironwork is green. Since green metal implies copper, many homeowners chose green as the color of their ironwork. It was a keep-up-with-the-Joneses sort of thing.
Most depictions of the mansion harken back to the 1870s. Xiques passed in 1859. His family sold the house to Carlos Victor Pie, who later became the Spanish Consul in New Orleans. He designated the mansion as the Consulate office.
The mansion’s colored history truly begins after Pie’s death (by poisoning). While we may return to those stories at another time, Cruise places the house into his vision of antebellum New Orleans. Unlike his HABS paintings, however, there are no people in the scene. The painting also lacks the precision of his survey images. Perhaps that was Cruise’s way of taking a break from the detail work of, say, his LaPrete Mansion or Arsenal paintings. Still, the scene invites the viewer in, imagining a walk up Rue Dauphine a few blocks, possibly turning towards the river at the end of the block onto Rue St. Louis, and from there, to Dinner at Antoine’s.
We lost one of New Orleans’ best this week. Frank Perez passed. From Ambush Magazine:
It is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our friend and Editor in Chief at Ambush Magazine!
Frank Perez was larger than life and his contributions to the LGBT+ Community were immeasurable. Gone too soon and forever in our hearts.
May his memory be a blessing.
Vintage Ad of the Week
“Miss New Orleans Contest – Tonight at Pontchartrain Beach”
Long before the POP (Pay One Price) era, admission to Da Beach was free. Folks would come out, enjoy the evening’s entertainment, and (hopefully) a hot dog and a beverage. Before and after the show, they would ride the Zephyr roller coaster and other rides, buying individual tickets.
Ad in the Times-Picayune, 13-August-1953. Was your maw-maw one of the contestants?
How You Can Help NOLA History Guy
Things you can do RIGHT NOW to help us out!
Buy my books! Edward Branley is the author of six books on New Orleans history. They’re available from local booksellers and all the usual online suspects.
Buy me a Coffee on Ko-fi dot com. I just love this concept as a way to say thank you/tip creators you enjoy. Our idea of monetization is buying books and having us come to speak. If you see me at a coffee shop, stop and say hi. Otherwise, I’ll raise coffee cup to you if you treat me.
Become a patron. Yes, we’re on Patreon. A lot of creators use the platform for direct monetization, and that’s great for them. We don’t have “exclusive content” for patrons. Still, if you think our history stuff is worth a dollar a month, go join!
In six words or less, write a story about this image. (@ladylunanola photo)
Post your story to NOLAHistoryGuy.com on BlueSky, or to New Orleans Uncovered on Facebook. You can also email yours to nolasixwords@nolahistoryguy.com.
Podcast 63 presents the Allard Plantation, now New Orleans City Park.
Julius Robert Hoening’s 1898 painting by titled “Plantation and Oak Tree“ (Allard Plantation).
The Allard Plantation
The land along Bayou St. John, from Lake Pontchartrain to the “Great Portage” attracted members of Bienville’s exploration party from the first trips they made to what would be their Crescent City colony. While most of the French worked to establish the city, a few individuals broke off, heading back up the bayou, living with the indigenous. Small shacks evolve into farms, eventually becoming full plantations by the time of Spanish control.
One of those farms that becomes a plantation was owned by the Allard family. It’s the origin story of our beloved City Park.
This is the podcast version of the lecture I presented on the Battle to the Friends of the Cabildo WTG 2026.
Podcast 62 – Battle of New Orleans (for Walking Tour Guides)
I had the pleasure of presenting to the Friends of the Cabildo’s Walking Tour Guide class of 2026 last month, on the Battle of New Orleans. The talk lasted about 50 minutes, plus questions. As a pod, it’s a bit longer, since we’re not on the tight schedule.
Condensed presentation
The audience for this talk was very specific: streetwalkers! As such, there’s not a lot related to the battle that relates directly to a French Quarter Walking Tour. Still, it’s one of the most significant events in the American period of the history of the city. So, while we didn’t want to go too deep into the military tactics and such, some basics should be in the back of the guide’s head.
The Combat Studies Institute is pleased to publish The Staff Ride Handbook for the Battles of New Orleans, 23 December 1814-8 January 1815, covering the final battles of the War of 1812. Interest in the details of this often-overlooked conflict has increased as a result of recent bicentennial observances, exposing a new generation of students to a unique period in our Army’s history. Most survey course references to the War of 1812 concern the demonstrably different performances of the US Army and US Navy, the latter getting the better coverage. That comparison however, lies at the heart of why this war and this series of battles are crucial to understanding the development of both the Army as an institution and civil-military relations more generally from 1815 to 1941. This handbook will help new and returning students to look at the battles of New Orleans in the proper context, aided by a wealth of new scholarship produced over the last 30 years.
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