Camp Moore, north of the Village of Tangipahoa near

Kentwood, Louisiana Kentwood is a rural town in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, United States, near the Mississippi state line. The population was 2,198 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Hammond MSA. Kentwood is best known as the hometown of singer Britney Spe ...

, was a

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

training base and principal base of operations in eastern

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

and southwestern

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

. The base was named for Louisiana Governor Thomas Overton Moore. It operated from May 1861 to 1864 during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. Confederate monuments were erected at the cemetery and on the grounds in the early 20th century. This location was chosen for development of the camp due to its relatively high ground elevation, abundance of fresh drinking water, and nearness to the then

New Orleans, Jackson and Great Northern Railroad The New Orleans, Jackson and Great Northern was a gauge railway originally commissioned by the State of Illinois, with both Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln being among its supporters in the 1851 Illinois Legislature. It connected Canton, ...

line. A small portion of the camp remains, containing the Camp Moore Confederate Cemetery and Museum. The state built the museum at the site in 1965, which displays and interprets area Confederate history. The site was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1979. It is still owned by the state, but is operated under lease by a private non-profit.

Overview

Confederate President

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the only President of the Confederate States of America, president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the Unite ...

authorized establishment o
Camp Moore
It was developed near a railroad line for ready access to transportation for troops, supplies and equipment. The thousands of troops who were organized and trained at Camp Moore included the

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

s that later constituted the

Louisiana Tigers "Louisiana Tigers" was the nickname of several infantry units of the Confederate States Army from Louisiana during the American Civil War. Originally applied to a specific company, the nickname expanded to a battalion, then to a brigade, and ...

from

Calcasieu Parish Calcasieu Parish (; ) is a parish located on the southwestern border of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 216,785. The parish seat and largest city is Lake Charles. Calcasieu Parish is part of the Lake C ...

. As many as 20,000 men from Louisiana were trained at Camp Moore before fighting in battles in

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, and

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

. Troops from

and

were also trained at the base. Many of the Confederate soldiers buried in the cemetery died of various diseases. In the center of the cemetery stands a monument which was dedicated in 1907. The monument measures tall. On top of the monument is a statue of a Confederate private soldier that is tall. The log house was built in 1929, as a chapter house for Chapter No. 562 of the

United Daughters of the Confederacy The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) is an American neo-Confederate hereditary association for female descendants of Confederate Civil War soldiers engaging in the commemoration of these ancestors, the funding of monuments to them, a ...

. Next to the log house stands a monument to area Confederate soldiers, which was dedicated in 1979. Built in 1965 and designated as a State Commemorative Area, the museum contains artifacts from the Civil War and regional history. In 1986, Governor Edwards closed the site, along with other commemorative areas across the State, during a state monetary crunch. The site is still owned by th
Louisiana Office of State Lands
a private, non-profit entity, the Camp Moore Historical Association, was formed to preserve and operate the site. It made a 97-year lease with the State of Louisiana, and reopened the site in June 1993. The Camp Moore Museum, Memorial, and cemetery is located on

US 51 U.S. Route 51 or U.S. Highway 51 (US 51) is a major south–north United States highway that extends from the western suburbs of New Orleans, Louisiana, to within of the Wisconsin–Michigan state line. As most of the United States Numbered Hi ...

approximately south of the Louisiana/

state line. The property comprises approximately . The Museum is open to the public for tours, Wednesday through Saturday 10:00 am to 3:00 pm, and closed on major holidays. An annual Civil War re-enactment is held annually on the weekend before Thanksgiving. This two-day event, held on Saturday and Sunday, features scripted battles, living history displays, and memorial ceremonies.

Gallery

File:The_photographic_history_of_the_Civil_War_-_thousands_of_scenes_photographed_1861-65,_with_text_by_many_special_authorities_(1911)_(14760487744).jpg, Soldiers of 4th Louisiana Company H, Camp Moore 1861. File:TangicampMooreMonumentWM.JPG, Confederate Memorial.

References

External links

*
Listing of visible marked burials

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Camp Moore (Tangipahoa, Louisiana) American Civil War army posts American Civil War museums in Louisiana Cemeteries in Louisiana Confederate States of America cemeteries Louisiana in the American Civil War Museums in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana Military facilities on the National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana Protected areas of Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana Confederate States of America monuments and memorials in Louisiana National Register of Historic Places in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana American Civil War on the National Register of Historic Places 1861 establishments in Louisiana United Daughters of the Confederacy monuments and memorials