Fort San Gabriel de Manchac, 1770 (CP - 12) N 30°18'59.90" W 91° 8'17.31" 01.25.2015

Located 120 miles upstream from New Orleans, Fort San Gabriel is the furthest westward position listed by Parkerson as a means of defense. It was constructed on the south shore of present day Bayou Manchac (aka the Iberville River) at its confluence with the Mississippi River.  The location was strategic due to the ability to navigate Manchac (Choctaw for "rear entrance") eastward into Lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain and then down towards New Orleans or east out the Rigolets into the Gulf of Mexico.  At the time of the forts construction, England controlled the north bank of Manchac with their own defensive post, Fort Bute; the south shore belonged to colonial "New Spain".

14 Miles below the Spanish Ft. San Gabriel, the French Acadians established their own community of St. Gabriel.

The historic St. Gabriel Catholic Church.

By the time of the fort's construction, the community of St. Gabriel was being settled by Acadian exiles from New England.  Fourteen miles downriver, the community's Catholic church historic marker tells this story as does the cemetery headstones.  While the fort is long gone, the St. Gabriel church still stands and I certainly recommend the visit.

On today's outing, I traveled the length of By Manchac starting from the Bluff Rd.  Just past the Spanish Lake flood gate the bayou is reduced to large ditch.  The closer one gets to its western end, the smaller it becomes.  Choked off with no permanent current, the ancient distributary is littered with deadfalls and new growth occurs in the middle of the way.  It's hard to imagine any type of vessel larger than a canoe navigating these waters.


Just shy of the Mississippi River, the bayou comes to an abrupt end at River Road.  Having been totally obliterated by man, there is nothing to mark the location of either forts, San Gabriel or Bute.

Looking north (from Colonial Spain into Colonial England), on the right is the tree lined By Manchac - to the left is the Mississippi's levee.

Fort Pike, 1819 (CP - 31) N 30° 9'58.43" W 89°44'11.72" 02.04.12

Assets old and new at home on the Rigolets.

Louisiana can produce some miserable weather in the winter; it can also make for some fine days.  This particular weekend was filled with the later.  On a return trip from Biloxi, Kay and I took the scenic ride home via Hwy 90 trying to hug the coast for as long as possible.  Heading into NOLA, as we crossed the Rigolets on Chef Hwy., we were greeted into New Orleans East by the state maintained Fort Pike.  Open for business, Kay and I took a tour, enjoying the stroll in the afternoon sun.

Ft. Pike is a typical example of our nation's "post-war of 1812" defensive build up.  According to Parkerson, it was "...the first great brick forts and fortifications ordered by the US War Department to protect New Orleans..." Construction began in 1819 and was completed in 1826.  While I certainly recommend obtaining a copy of Parkerson's book, a quick history of Ft. Pike can be found here.

A soldiers view:  Embrasures built for musket fire.

Parkerson goes on to describe the site as "The fort, a modified Vauban design, intended to protect the city against either a naval attack or an attack by a landing force."  Marquis du Vauban's constructions originally called for a "pentagonal shape and five bastions... a glassis (an outer defensive slope), an outer parapet (earthen breastwork), and an inner moat..."

Looking west, cannon guard the approach from Lake Pontchartrain.

In between the outer and inner defenses, the hot shot furnace remains lie in the distant background.

Arched casemates support the terreplein's gun mounts.

Historic views:  Brick, mortar and moat in the foreground; modern concrete and steel in the background.