Norm, Does the book include sketches of the floor plan for the Customhouse? I understand the Customhouse was used as a prison during the Civil War, but this might have been subsequent to 1862. Thank you for any information you can provide. Regards, Craig Craig Borne Baltimore, Maryland cjborne@comcast.net -----Original Message----- From: laorlean-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:laorlean-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Norm Hellmers Sent: Sunday, March 16, 2008 12:55 PM To: laorlean@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [LAORLEAN] Books about life in New Orleans Peggy, A book about life in New Orleans that I enjoyed is QUEEN OF THE SOUTH, NEW ORLEANS, 1853-1862, THE JOURNAL OF THOMAS K. WHARTON, published by the Historic New Orleans Collection. You can read about it here: http://www.hnoc.org/publications/books-queen.htm It only covers a short period of time, 1853-1862, but it is a fascinating look at one man's life. It also includes his daily weather reports and has lots of neat illustrations. I especially liked it because one of my g-g-grandfather's was involved in building the Custom House, which is the central focus of the book. It can be purchased through the HNOC or Amazon.com here: http://www.amazon.com/Queen-South-Orleans-1853-1862-Journal/dp/0917860438/re f=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205685549&sr=8-1 It should also be available through Interlibrary Loan if your library doesn't have it. Norm --- peggy <rooneytoon29@earthlink.net> wrote: . . . > I'm always looking for interesting books on NO life, > especially in years past. > > peggy rooney . . . ____________________________________________________________________________ ________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to LAORLEAN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Hi Craig, I don't own this book and I'm sorry but I can't remember if there were any floor plans. Its use as a prison would have been by the Union Army, which began its occupation of New Orleans in April 1862. This website http://w3.gsa.gov/web/p/interaia_save.nsf/cf0d4c7c0de34938852563d3004975f3/3421c032cfc411fd852565d90053a19f?OpenDocument says: "Standing as a major symbol of the Federal Government, the unfinished building played a significant role during the War Between the States. In 1861 the exterior masonry walls were complete up to their full height, while the interior masonry was still incomplete. Although construction was suspended, the building was occupied briefly by Confederate forces and then by the Federal Army after New Orleans was captured in 1862. The notorious Union General Benjamin Butler established his headquarters on the second floor in the offices that face Canal Street. The building was also used to house captured Confederate soldiers, reportedly up to two thousand men at one time." A book that presumably would have more on this is A HISTORY OF THE U. S. CUSTOM HOUSE AT NEW ORLEANS, by Stanley C. Arthur, published in 1940. Reference information on that book is here: http://www.getcited.org/pub/102431618 Norm --- Craig Borne <cjborne@comcast.net> wrote: > Norm, > Does the book include sketches of the floor plan for > the Customhouse? I > understand the Customhouse was used as a prison > during the Civil War, but > this might have been subsequent to 1862. > Thank you for any information you can provide. > Regards, > Craig . . . ____________________________________________________________________________________ Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping