Officer’s Quarters c.1900
Completed in 1835, these Officer’s Quarters housed the post Quartermaster, the officer who manages the supply chain to ensure troops have the necessary provisions and equipment.
In the summer of 1845, the Quartermaster on site was Ulysses Grant, future commanding general of the Union Army and President from 1868-1876. Grant was awaiting further orders for the 4th Infantry following the annexation of Texas and the army buildup for the Mexican War. He noted that yellow fever was raging in New Orleans resulting in unusually quiet days broken abruptly one day by the sound of gunfire. He was later informed that “it was nothing; only a couple of gentlemen deciding a difference of opinion with rifles, at twenty paces.” He did not think much of such activity, noting that “the majority of duels fought have been for want of moral courage on the part of those engaged to decline.”
The American Soldier, 1847
In the following years, thousands of the 78,000 troops who eventually served in the Mexican-American War passed through New Orleans, with as many as 1,500 stationed at Jackson Barracks at one time, occupying the garrison buildings and camping on the parade ground and the lands surrounding the installation.
Louisiana Governor Robert Kennon also resided at Residence 3 when he served in the LANG. Kennon’s career included serving as a district attorney and a judge on the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal. He also served in the U.S. Army during World War II and was an Associate Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court. Elected Governor of Louisiana in 1952, his term included several reforms, such as reinstating the state civil service system and implementing voting machines.