Louisiana Historical Association
Encyclopedia
The Louisiana Historical Association is an organization of professional historian
s and interested laypersons dedicated to the preservation, publication, and dissemination of the history of the U.S. state
of Louisiana
, with particular emphasis at the inception on territorial, statehood, and the American Civil War
periods. Since its founding on April 11, 1889, the association now reaches into the history of the late 19th and 20th centuries.
LHA publishes the state historical quarterly journal, Louisiana History, with editing and printing handled through the University of Louisiana at Lafayette
. The association also publishes several books related to state history, including The Dictionary of Louisiana Biography; The Ten-Year Supplement to the Dictionary of Louisiana Biography, New Orleans in the Gilded Age, and The Louisiana Purchase and Its Peoples.
, originally envisioned as a depository for Confederate
military documents, publications and American Civil War
relics. The association headquarters at the Howard Memorial Library at Lee Circle was dedicated on January 8, 1891, in honor of General
Andrew Jackson
's defeat of the British
on January 8, 1815, two weeks after the signing of the Treaty of Ghent
, which had ended the War of 1812
, effective Christmas eve
, 1814.
Many prominent Confederates supported the association, including the widows of General Braxton Bragg
and President Jefferson Davis
. Although the association stressed the Civil War period, other phases of Louisiana history were not ignored. An official seal was adopted on which important dates in Louisiana history are displayed. Efforts were also made to gather materials from the colonial and ante-bellum past.
Incorporated under state law, the LHA's stated purpose is defined as the collection of "such books, pamphlets, papers, documents, flags, maps, plans, charts, paintings, engravings, lithographs and other pictorial representations, [and] manuscripts" pertaining to the territorial, state, and Confederate history of Louisiana. The state granted LHA the right to compile and publish or to commission books, charts, and other documents and to apply for copyright
s and patent
s.
LHA originally permitted membership only of "white
persons of good moral character", including Confederate veterans or non-veterans who had lived in the state for at least five years. Quickly the organization outgrew the limited space of Howard Library. Therefore, the architect
s Thomas Sully
and Albert Toledano, who formed a partnership in 1882, were commissioned to design a Romanesque
building to be connected to the library. The new brick one-story building with basement, known as Memorial Hall, was surrounded by a high terrace. Its retaining wall and steps were of Long Meadow brown stone. The interior was finished in polished cypress. Display cases were arranged against the walls in the main hall, which was equipped to serve as both a meeting place and a museum
.
On December 6, 1889, Jefferson Davis died in New Orleans and was entombed there in the Army of Northern Virginia
's tomb in Metairie Cemetery
. In 1893, the second Mrs. Davis decided to have his remains placed permanently in Richmond
, Virginia, where his presidency had been based. His copper casket was removed from its vault in the tomb, placed in a brass-trimmed oak coffin, and transported under military escort to LHA's Memorial Hall, where it lay in state until the next evening. A steady stream of mourners passed by the Davis casket, including Governor Murphy J. Foster, Sr.
Davis' remains were then loaded aboard the Louisville and Nashville Railroad
for the trip to Richmond.
in Baton Rouge
called a meeting of professional historians and other inter-ested persons to organize a new, active, statewide historical society. This meeting was set at the Baptist
-affiliated Louisiana College
in Pineville
in Rapides Parish
. LHA contacted Davis and suggested a reinvigoration of the LHA, rather than the formation of a new association. At the Pineville meeting, thirty-five new members were added, and steps were taken to revise the LHA charter. On June 6, 1958, a general meeting of the LHA convened at Memorial Hall and appropriate amendments to the charter were adopted. By this act the Louisiana Historical Association was reorganized and a new slate of officers were elected. Edwin A. Davis, author of a popular Louisiana state history textbook, became president; Kenneth Trist Urquhart, vice-president, and John C. L. Andreassen, secretary and treasurer.
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
s and interested laypersons dedicated to the preservation, publication, and dissemination of the history of the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, with particular emphasis at the inception on territorial, statehood, and the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
periods. Since its founding on April 11, 1889, the association now reaches into the history of the late 19th and 20th centuries.
LHA publishes the state historical quarterly journal, Louisiana History, with editing and printing handled through the University of Louisiana at Lafayette
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, or UL Lafayette, is a coeducational, public research university located in Lafayette, Louisiana, in the heart of Acadiana...
. The association also publishes several books related to state history, including The Dictionary of Louisiana Biography; The Ten-Year Supplement to the Dictionary of Louisiana Biography, New Orleans in the Gilded Age, and The Louisiana Purchase and Its Peoples.
LHA history
LHA was established in New OrleansNew Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, originally envisioned as a depository for Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
military documents, publications and American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
relics. The association headquarters at the Howard Memorial Library at Lee Circle was dedicated on January 8, 1891, in honor of General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
's defeat of the British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
on January 8, 1815, two weeks after the signing of the Treaty of Ghent
Treaty of Ghent
The Treaty of Ghent , signed on 24 December 1814, in Ghent , was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
, which had ended the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, effective Christmas eve
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
, 1814.
Many prominent Confederates supported the association, including the widows of General Braxton Bragg
Braxton Bragg
Braxton Bragg was a career United States Army officer, and then a general in the Confederate States Army—a principal commander in the Western Theater of the American Civil War and later the military adviser to Confederate President Jefferson Davis.Bragg, a native of North Carolina, was...
and President Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...
. Although the association stressed the Civil War period, other phases of Louisiana history were not ignored. An official seal was adopted on which important dates in Louisiana history are displayed. Efforts were also made to gather materials from the colonial and ante-bellum past.
Incorporated under state law, the LHA's stated purpose is defined as the collection of "such books, pamphlets, papers, documents, flags, maps, plans, charts, paintings, engravings, lithographs and other pictorial representations, [and] manuscripts" pertaining to the territorial, state, and Confederate history of Louisiana. The state granted LHA the right to compile and publish or to commission books, charts, and other documents and to apply for copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
s and patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
s.
LHA originally permitted membership only of "white
Caucasian race
The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...
persons of good moral character", including Confederate veterans or non-veterans who had lived in the state for at least five years. Quickly the organization outgrew the limited space of Howard Library. Therefore, the architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
s Thomas Sully
Thomas Sully (architect)
Thomas Sully was a largely self-trained architect based in New Orleans, Louisiana. He designed many large residences on Upper St. Charles Avenue, such as the Picard House, and public buildings in New Orleans and in other cities as well.Sully was born in Mississippi City, Mississippi, to George...
and Albert Toledano, who formed a partnership in 1882, were commissioned to design a Romanesque
Romanesque Revival architecture
Romanesque Revival is a style of building employed beginning in the mid 19th century inspired by the 11th and 12th century Romanesque architecture...
building to be connected to the library. The new brick one-story building with basement, known as Memorial Hall, was surrounded by a high terrace. Its retaining wall and steps were of Long Meadow brown stone. The interior was finished in polished cypress. Display cases were arranged against the walls in the main hall, which was equipped to serve as both a meeting place and a museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
.
On December 6, 1889, Jefferson Davis died in New Orleans and was entombed there in the Army of Northern Virginia
Army of Northern Virginia
The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...
's tomb in Metairie Cemetery
Metairie Cemetery
Metairie Cemetery is a cemetery in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The name has caused some people to mistakenly presume that the cemetery is located in Metairie, Louisiana, but it is located within the New Orleans city limits, on Metairie Road .-History:This site was previously a horse...
. In 1893, the second Mrs. Davis decided to have his remains placed permanently in Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, Virginia, where his presidency had been based. His copper casket was removed from its vault in the tomb, placed in a brass-trimmed oak coffin, and transported under military escort to LHA's Memorial Hall, where it lay in state until the next evening. A steady stream of mourners passed by the Davis casket, including Governor Murphy J. Foster, Sr.
Murphy J. Foster
Murphy James Foster, Sr. , was a Louisiana politician who served two terms as the 31st Governor of Louisiana from 1892 to 1900.Early and personal life...
Davis' remains were then loaded aboard the Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Louisville and Nashville Railroad
The Louisville and Nashville Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States.Chartered by the state of Kentucky in 1850, the L&N, as it was generally known, grew into one of the great success stories of American business...
for the trip to Richmond.
The 1958 reorganization
In 1958, Edwin A. Davis, head of the history department at Louisiana State UniversityLouisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
in Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
called a meeting of professional historians and other inter-ested persons to organize a new, active, statewide historical society. This meeting was set at the Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
-affiliated Louisiana College
Louisiana College
Louisiana College is a private institution of higher education located in Pineville, Louisiana, affiliated with the Louisiana Baptist Convention, serving a student body of approximately 1,300 students. The college operates on a semester system, with two shorter summer terms...
in Pineville
Pineville, Louisiana
Pineville is a city in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is adjacent to the city of Alexandria, and is part of that city's Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 13,829 at the 2000 census....
in Rapides Parish
Rapides Parish, Louisiana
-Military Installations:*Camp Beauregard *Esler Airfield *England Air Force Base *Camp Claiborne *Camp Livingston -Demographics:...
. LHA contacted Davis and suggested a reinvigoration of the LHA, rather than the formation of a new association. At the Pineville meeting, thirty-five new members were added, and steps were taken to revise the LHA charter. On June 6, 1958, a general meeting of the LHA convened at Memorial Hall and appropriate amendments to the charter were adopted. By this act the Louisiana Historical Association was reorganized and a new slate of officers were elected. Edwin A. Davis, author of a popular Louisiana state history textbook, became president; Kenneth Trist Urquhart, vice-president, and John C. L. Andreassen, secretary and treasurer.
Notable LHA presidents
- Edwin A. Davis (1904–1994) -- 1958 (LSU)
- Kenneth Trist Urquhart—1959 (St. Mary's Dominican College)
- John S. KyserJohn S. KyserJohn Schenebly Kyser was an American historian and geographer who served as the president of Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana, from 1954-1966.-Background:...
(1900–1975) -- 1960 (president of Northwestern State UniversityNorthwestern State UniversityNorthwestern State University, known as NSU, is a four-year public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Polk and Alexandria. It is a part of the University of Louisiana System.NSU was founded in 1884 as...
) - Garnie W. McGintyGarnie W. McGintyGarnie William McGinty was an historian whose career was principally based for thirty-five years at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana.-Biography:...
(1900–1984) -- 1962 (Louisiana Tech UniversityLouisiana Tech UniversityLouisiana Tech University, often referred to as Louisiana Tech, LA Tech, or Tech, is a coeducational public research university located in Ruston, Louisiana. Louisiana Tech is designated as a Tier 1 school in the national universities category by the 2012 U.S. News & World Report college rankings...
) - Walter M. LowreyWalter M. LowreyWalter M. Lowrey was an historian affiliated with Centenary College, a Methodist-institution in Shreveport, Louisiana, who was also a founding member of the Louisiana Historical Association....
(1921–1980) -- 1963 (Centenary CollegeCentenary College of LouisianaCentenary College of Louisiana is a primarily undergraduate, liberal arts and sciences college in Shreveport, Louisiana. The college is one of the founding members of the Associated Colleges of the South, a pedagogical organization consisting of sixteen Southern liberal arts colleges...
) - Joe Gray TaylorJoe Gray TaylorJoe Gray Taylor was a historian of the American South who published fifteen essays and eight books, including Louisiana: a Bicentennial History...
(1920–1987) -- 1967 (McNeese State UniversityMcNeese State UniversityMcNeese State University is a public university located in Lake Charles, Louisiana, in the United States. Founded in 1939 as a junior college, McNeese experienced growth due to economic activity in the region. It adopted its present name in 1970....
) - John D. WintersJohn D. WintersJohn David Winters was a historian at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana, best known for his definitive and award-winning study, The Civil War in Louisiana, still in print, published in 1963 and released in paperback in 1991.-Background:Winters was born to John David Winters, Sr...
(1916–1997) -- 1968 (Louisiana Tech) - Charles P. RolandCharles P. RolandCharles Pierce Roland is an American historian and professor emeritus of the University of Kentucky whose research specialty is in the fields of the American South and the Civil War.-Biographical sketch:...
-- 1969 (Tulane UniversityTulane UniversityTulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
) - Morgan D. PeoplesMorgan D. PeoplesMorgan Dewey Peoples was a historian who coauthored with Michael L. Kurtz the definitive biography of the late Louisiana Governor Earl Kemp Long. Peoples was a member of the Louisiana Tech University at Ruston history department faculty from 1965 until his retirement in 1985...
(1919–1998) -- 1975 (Louisiana Tech) - John L. Loos (1918-2011) -— 1976 (LSU)
- Joy Juanita Jackson (1928–1996) -- 1977 (Southeastern Louisiana UniversitySoutheastern Louisiana UniversitySoutheastern Louisiana University is a state-funded public university in Hammond, Louisiana, United States. It was founded in 1925 by Linus A. Sims, the principal of Hammond High School, as Hammond Junior College, located in a wing of the high school building. Sims succeeded in getting the campus...
, first woman LHA president) - Hubert D. HumphreysHubert D. HumphreysHubert Davis Humphreys was an historian formerly affiliated with Louisiana State University in Shreveport who specialized in archives, oral history, and studies of his native North Louisiana....
(1923–2009) -- 1978 (Louisiana State University in ShreveportLouisiana State University in ShreveportLouisiana State University in Shreveport is a branch of the Louisiana State University System in Shreveport, Louisiana. Opened in 1967, LSUS is the only public four-year university in the Shreveport-Bossier metro area....
) - William Y. ThompsonWilliam Y. ThompsonWilliam Young Thompson is a retired historian who was affiliated for most of his academic career, from 1955 through 1988, with Louisiana Tech University at Ruston in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana...
(born 1922) -- 1980 (Louisiana Tech) - Donald M. Rawson (born 1925) -- 1982 (Northwestern State University)
- Billy H. Gilley (born 1927) -- 1988 (Louisiana Tech)
- Mark T. CarletonMark T. CarletonMark Thomas Carleton , was an historian who specialized in political studies of his native Louisiana. From 1964 until his death at the age of sixty, he was a professor at Louisiana State University in his native Baton Rouge.Carleton received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1957 from Yale University...
(1935–1995) -- 1992 (LSU) - Stephen Webre (born 1946) -- 1997 (Louisiana Tech)
- Philip Charles Cook (born ca. 1934) -- 2006 (Louisiana Tech)