Military Pageant (August 1848)

In 1848, an unidentified New Orleans architect was commissioned to design a "triumphal temple" to honor U.S.-Mexico War hero Persifor Frazer Smith (1798-1858). The structure was erected in the Place d'Armes (Lafayette Square) to celebrate Smith's return from Mexico. The 50-ft. wide octagonal platform was festooned with evergreens and the coats of arms of all the U.S. states.(1)

Persifor Smith was a prominent New Orleans lawyer and adjutant general who led the Washington Artillery in the 1840s. Under his command, the Louisiana militia participated in the battles at Contreras and Churubusco. Smith remained in Mexico until the last U.S. company returned in the late summer of 1848.

Despite oppressive  heat and its diminished seasonal population,  the city of New Orleans sought to celebrate his arrival with an elaborate reception. On 7 August 1848, a fleet led by the steamer Conqueror departed from a wharf near the Place d'Armes towards the Barracks [AKA Jackson Barracks]. Spectators gathered along the Mississippi and the Conqueror transported a band that played a new march devoted to Smith.

After observing various congratulatory exercises, the fleet returned to the Place d'Armes wharf. A 50-gun salute marked its arrival. General Smith passed through a double phalanx towards the triumphal platform to receive honors from Mayor Abdiel Daily Crossman. After an address by Randall Hunt, another salute fired from each of the city's squares inaugurated an equestrian-carriage procession that passed the Cathedral to Elysian Fields, and returned along Royal Street to Canal Street to meander towards its final destination, the St. Charles Hotel.

Mayor Crossman presented General Smith with an elaborate sword made by the city's Baldwin & Company. Modeled after antique swords, Smith's was inscribed "Presented to the Hero of Contreras by the People and State of Louisiana." With Hercules fighting Antaeus on its hilt and Louisiana's pelican on its sheath, the short sword is considered the finest of its day.

In addition to the cannons, music, flotilla and procession, a local merchant sought to capitalize on the event by advertising his new  "Smith Hat."



(1) North American and United States Gazette 8 August 1848.

Images above:  Gary Hendershott, dealer. Brigadier General Persifor Smith Presentation Sword. New Orleans: Baldwin & Co., 1848. As viewed 20 August 2015.

J.T. Martin. Smith's March, Composed and Dedicated to Gen. Persifore Smith, the Hero of Contreras. Baltimore: Miller & Beacham, 1848. Louisiana Sheet Music, Tulane University Digital Library from original in the William Ransom Hogan Jazz Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

Soulie and Crassons

In 1922, New Orleans carnival designers Soulie and Crassons built an enormous white knight for the April Knights Templar convention. The team used thirty-five tons of clay in molding the horse and knight figures, which were ultimately assembled on Canal Street near the Maison Blanche building. The horse and rider alone were created in thirty separate papier-mâché pieces weighing more than 1800 pounds. The arch consisted of a wood frame sheathed in tin. Prior to erecting the 55' foot arch spanning the neutral ground, Soulie and Crassons developed a model that was exhibited in a nearby window display.

The firm was the most prestigious Carnival builder during the 1920s and 1930s. Staffed by carpenters, papier-mâché craftsmen and painters, Henry A. Soulie and Harry W. Crassons' business operated out of 2419 Calliope Street.

Image above:  "Erect Huge Mounted Figure of Knight Templar." Popular Mechanics (August 1922): p. 229.

NOLA Arc de Triomphe

A few months ago, we posted images associated with 1852 and 1878 New Orleans civic pageantry.  Today, we came across this 1889 image of the triumphal arch that was erected to celebrate the Fête de la Fédération, Bastille Day.   It was the 100th anniversary of the storming of the French prison, and the city honored the event with elaborate festivities at West End, as well as an enormous arch that spanned Canal Street.

The Daily Picayune reported: "So it came that the two nations celebrated the hundredth anniversary of the greatest events of their history almost at the same time. The thought was emblematized by the central painting on the arch of triumph on Canal Street, two large female figures, representing the respective countries, standing side by side and clasping hands in sight of all the world." (15 July 1889)

Architect J.V. Delpierre designed the arch, which was pictured in The American Architect and Building News in advance of the day's events.

Image above: J.V. Delpierre. "Triumphal Arch erected for the Celebration at New Orleans, La., of the taking of the Bastille." The American Architect and Building News (13 July 1889): p. 18.  The Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.