Sunken Civil War Gunboats Near Covington

Somewhere in the Bogue Falaya River near Covington are the wrecks of three Confederate gunboats. They were the Carondelet, Bienville and the Oregon. The first two boats were built at a  New Orleans shipyard on Bayou St. John, but the Oregon was built in New York a few years earlier. All three were used for a while in the New Orleans area during the early days of the Civil War.

The Bienville and the Carondelet were small paddle-wheelers mounting a few heavy guns that became ready for service in March 1862. The Oregon was a small army gunboat. They all helped evacuate Confederate troops from the New Orleans to Mandeville when Union forces began to overrun New Orleans. They carried some 1500 soldiers out of New Orleans, and after that the boats were taken up the Tchefuncte River and the Bogue Falaya River, all their guns and armor were removed and the ships themselves were scuttled so they wouldn't fall into Yankee hands. 

Here is a map of the river made a few years after the Civil War showing where the boats were laid to rest. Over the years many Civil War historians have visited the sites and rescued whatever items of historical interest they could find. 

Map showing locations of the wreckage of the Carondelet and the Bienville

Click on the maps to make them larger. 

The Bienville was described as a sidewheel steamer, built in March of 1861 and sunk on April 21, 1862. The Carondelet was built in 1862 and scuttled on April 4, 1862. 

A map showing the location of the wreckage of the Oregon, just upstream of where the Abita River branches off from the Bogue Falaya.

The Oregon, also a sidewheel steamer, was built in 1846 at New York City and sunk in 1862.It was described as weighing 532 tons, 216 feet long and 26 feet wide. The information for this posting came from several Civil War websites. 

The above maps were made in 1871 by the U.S. Corps of Engineers.

Links of Interest:

McGlothlin Searched For Artifacts

Tammany's Ties To The World's First Submarine

Life on Turnpike Road - Late 1800's

Miss Frances Williams

 Covington High art teacher Frances Williams was a student favorite. She promoted art throughout the community. The 1965 Covington High yearbook was dedicated to her. 

Click on the images to make them larger. 

Seventh Graders Back in 1941

 Seventh grade students at Covington Elementary School posed for this picture in 1941. Lots of names. Click on the image to make it larger. 

Middle Road School Students

 This picture shows several students from the Middle Road School, which was located between Lee Road and Folsom, back in the mid-1930's. Click on the image to make it larger. 

Covington City Officials - 1910

 A hundred and fifteen years ago, in 1910, this group of men were city officials in Covington. Click on the image to make it larger. 

History Chart

 In May of 2022 the St. Tammany Parish Government released this chart detailing the historical timeline of the parish. It was part of the "New Directions 2040" study document. Click on the image to make it larger. 

Smith Chevrolet

 Here's a photo of the crew at Smith Chevrolet Company in Covington in 1931. Click on the image to make it larger. 

  The Smith Chevrolet Company in Covington was established in 1926, and adopted its new name in 1928. 

Click on the advertisements to make them larger. 

For more information:

Arthur Chevrolet's Gravesite is in Slidell

Lacombe Seniors Choose Mardi Gras Royalty- 1976

 In 1976 the Senior Citizens Club of Lacombe elected their own Mardi Gras royalty. Here's a picture of the group. Click on the image to make it larger. 

American Legion in 1972

 The American Legion Post in Covington has, over the years, distinguished itself as an outstanding organization that contributes much to the community. It was one of the first American Legion Posts established in the United Statess. Here is an article from 1973. Click on the images to make them larger. 

Links of Interest:

American Legion Rededicates Building

Veterans Appreciation Reception - 2023

Roxy Remembered

American Legion Auxiliary

Memorial Day Ceremonies 

Memorial Day Ceremonies in Front of the Old Boston Street Courthouse

Veterans Day 1973 

Veterans Day 2019 

Veterans Day 1983 

Hadden Hall Memories

Banana Split Bonanza

Legion Post Hosts Model Train Club

Snow in Covington 1914

 It snowed in Covington on Mardi Gras Day in 1914, and many of the female residents went wild. 

St. Tammany Farmer February 28, 1914

Click on the above to make it more readable. 

Text from the article above:

ST. TAMMANY SITS WINTER IN THE LAP OF SPRING

THE LADIES GO SNOW-BALLING AND INVADE BANKS, 

BARBER SHOPS, OFFICES.

PROMINENT MEN GET FACES WASHED

Trees Break Under Their Burden of Ice and Snow and Ground Covered Two Inches Deep.

      Covington was deserted Mardi Gras Day. Many went to New Or leans on the Monday morning train and more went Tuesday, while the steamer Josie took a number over, in spite of the cold and threatening weather. It was quite rough on the lake, and it is said that some "cast their bread upon the waters;" that is, if they had eaten bread for breakfast. Many of the stores closed in the afternoon, and the only sign of life was the masked procession enjoyed by a few of the youngsters. who never forget that a good time is coming to them on Mardi Gras.

     "Early to bed" was the slogan most of the older folks, and those who also added ''early to rise" to the motto looked out upon trees bending under an accumulation of sleet and icicles, to be in turn weighed snow snow that fell in large flakes and soon covered houses, trees and streets  with a blanket of downy white two —or three inches thick. 

    The trees bent and creaked under the unaccustomed weight, and some of the shivering boughs broke and crashed to the ground. Chickens stood on one foot and pecked in amazement at the flakes, as if they thought it might be some new kind of chicken feed, evidently without much relish for the innovation. 

     But there were some human beings that had passed the age of chickens that found more delight in utilizing this scarce material. They bundled themselves up and went on the streets looking for victims to appease their appetite for emulating the pastime of the "snow girl" of the North.

      There were in the bunch Mrs. B. B. Warren, Mrs. T. M. Burns, Mrs. Wallace Poole, Mrs. Lionel Adams, Mrs. A. R. Smith, Mrs. A. V. Smith, Miss Gabrielle Boudousquie, Miss Cecile Warren, Misses Anna and Ruth Frederick, and what they didn't do to those who were unfortunate enough to present themselves as subjects for disaster isn't worth recording.

     Judge T. M. Burns, who thought he was playing Foxy Grandpa, slipped into a barber's chair and was just getting ready to be lathered with soap--well, he was lathered with snow, instead. Ask him what a snow man feels like. And not even money could save E. V. Richard from a like experience for they went into the bank after him. He's shivering yet. Don't ask him anything. But you might ask D. J. Sanders whether he put any more coal in the stove after the ladies left. 

      Oh, but there were lot of others who dare not laugh. For instance there were Emile Frederick, A. Frederick, W. A. White, Dr. Grimmer, Dr. Fisher, Whit Riggs, A.C.  McCormack, P. T. Theriot, Oliver Hebert, and even the manager of the Farmer, E. D. Kentzel, who ought to know better came in for his share of the frost of the cake. The editor had just stepped through a snowbank into a hidden lake and was warming his feet and cussing his luck, when the manager came in and told him all about how he had snowed under a band of defenseless women who wanted to wash his face. We listened. and were glad we had stepped into the lake.

End of article