- Jan 6, 2006
- 20,846
- 2,532
- 🏆 Honorable Mentions:
- 1
- Detector(s) used
- Garrett AT Pro, Ace 250 & Ace 400
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
A visit to Battery Bienvenue. Took the metal detector, but impossible to even attempt to use it. Took photos then went fishing. Went to another area to fish and was in view of Fort Pike Did find 2 Indian pottery sherds on a shell midden. Had better luck fishing, bringing home some speckled trout, rat reds, sheepshead. Did catch a stingray too.
A little about Battery Bienvenue ruins...
Battery Bienvenue is a ruined coastal gun battery located in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana. It was built as part of the harbor defense of New Orleans, Louisiana and located at a strategic fork where Bayou Bienvenue and Bayou Villere join. The Bayou Bienvenue approach to New Orleans from Lake Borgne was the route used by the British in the War of 1812 to approach the city.
The 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 toward the mouth of Bayou Bienvenue (toward Lake Borgne) and was surrounded by a moat that connected to the bayou. The battery was abandoned after the American Civil War in 1872.
http://www.expeditionnola.com/2012/05/battery-bienvenue.html#!/2012/05/battery-bienvenue.html Many more pic
A little about Fort Pike...
Fort Pike is a decommissioned 19th century fort, named after Brigadier General Zebulon Montgomery Pike, which formerly guarded the Rigolets pass in Louisiana.[SUP][2][/SUP] It was near the community of Petite Coquille, Louisiana, and now within the city limits of New Orleans, and was long a tourist attraction. It was damaged by the Hurricane Katrina storm surge in 2005. The fort was built in 1818 to guard against British reinvasion of the United States. It came under the control of the Louisiana Continental Guard in 1861, just weeks before Louisiana joined the Confederacy. The Union reclaimed the fort in 1862 while resident troops were engaged at the Battle of Vicksburg.[SUP][3][/SUP][SUP][4][/SUP]
The fort was abandoned in 1890, and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. Despite having changed hands multiple times in a history spanning at least two major wars, no cannon was ever fired in battle at Fort Pike.
Fort Pike, along with the slightly smaller Fort Macomb, are the only two forts in the country that still have their citadels intact.
Before Hurricane Katrina, the fort's brick-and-mortar structure was decaying. The storm surge exacerbated the problems, temporarily completely submerging the entire fort, and destroyed adjacent state park buildings. The site officially reopened on May 2, 2008 . However, due to damage caused by Hurricane Gustav in early September 2008, the park was closed indefinitely. As of June 2009 the fort was open and was undergoing extensive repairs and restoration work.
More pics of Fort Pike... http://www.angelfire.com/la3/judyb/FTPIKE.html
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