LOUISIANA CELEBRATES SESQUICENTENNIAL EVENT

Mouton House to be scene for Civil War Sesquicentennial event

The Alexandre Mouton House will rally once more to the cause as it kicks off its Sesquicentennial of the War Between the States. The 150th anniversary of the Civil War commemoration

Saturday, May 8


The Sons of Confederate Veterans don their gray ― and blue ― for the occasion. “We’re so pleased to be a host site for the Sesquicentennial,” said museum volunteer Louise Ganucheau. “While there won’t be an actual skirmish, there will be Confederate and Union soldiers, military history and all kinds of swords and memorabilia.”


The public is invited, and admission to the 1122 Lafayette St. festivities on May 8 is free between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. For more information, call 337.234.2208.

Living historians will reconstruct the time period via “stations,” which will include Infantry, Artillery, Civilian Life and Local History. Charles Lauret, Division Commander of the Louisiana Division of SCV, will demonstrate period cannon loading and operation. Lauret has appeared in two movies, “In the Electric Mist” and “Jonah Hex.” He said both sides will be depicted on May 8.

“Not too many people come down from the North to do re-enactment,” he said. The organization does what he calls “galvanizing,” where SCV members don the Union blue. You have to be willing to do that,” he said. “Those of us who re-enact, we do what we have to. Some take it better than others.”

The Sons of Confederate Veterans is an historical, patriotic and nonpolitical organization dedicated to preserving an authentic historical record of 1861-1865. Established in 1896, it offers national membership to male descendants of Confederate soldiers. While many of its members engage in re-enactments, the SCV is not a re-enactment group.

Ties between Mouton House and the Confederacy run surprisingly deep. Jean Mouton, the founder of Lafayette, built the house in 1816. Mouton’s son, Alexandre, lived in the home between 1826 and 1836, and served in the Louisiana House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, and as governor of Louisiana from 1843 to 1846. He was an active supporter of the Confederacy, donating a large portion of his wealth to the cause. His son, Confederate General Alfred Mouton, died at the Battle of Mansfield in 1864, and his daughter married Confederate Major General Franklin Gardner.

“We’re really pleased the Mouton House wants to do it,” said Lauret, who’s hoping to organize a series of annual events through 2015. “We’re really living in historic times, and this is our way of celebrating the Sesquicentennial.”


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