Magnolia Cemetery - Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Posted by: BruceS
N 30° 27.053 W 091° 10.156
15R E 675780 N 3370171
Historic cemetery in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Waymark Code: WM79A0
Location: Louisiana, United States
Date Posted: 09/22/2009
Views: 5
MAGNOLIA CEMETERY, N. Dufrocq, between Florida and Main Sts., was the scene of the fiercest fighting in the battle of Baton Rouge. The Confederates formed here in the cemetery in battle array and, hidden behind tombs and trees, launched the attack against the Union forces. After the battle, "behind a beautiful tomb, with effigies of infant children kneeling, twelve dead rebels were found in one heap. Everywhere they strewed the earth and made ghostly the quiet graveyard under which they soon lay." The tomb, which still stands in the front part of the cemetery to the left, is topped by portrait statues of the three children of William H. and Mary E. Crenshaw. - Louisiana: A Guide to the State, 1941, Baton Rouge section, pg 266.
From Wikipedia: "Magnolia Cemetery is a 10-acre (40,000 m2) cemetery in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The cemetery is located at 422 North 19th Street and is bordered on the north by Main Street and on the south by Florida Boulevard. The west and east sides are bordered by 19th Street and 22nd Street, respectively. The land for the cemetery was purchased from John Christian Buhler, Jr, in August 1852. The cemetery was the site of intense fighting during the Battle of Baton Rouge on August 5, 186; a commemorative ceremony is held at the cemetery each August. It was turned over to the city of Baton Rouge in 1947 and is now administered by the Recreation and Park Commission for the Parish of East Baton Rouge (BREC)."
The Crenshaw children grave is still present and is on left side of main entry road near the entrance.