Louisiana secession Orleans. Two days before the city surrendered in April 1862, Moore and the legislature abandoned Baton Rouge as the state capital, relocating to Opelousas in May 1, 1862. Governor Moore began to organize military resistance at the state level, ordered the burning of cotton, cessation of trade with the Union forces, and heavily recruited troops for the state militia. However, despite a brief check at Baton Rouge, Union forces continued to advance into Louisiana and up the Mississippi, and the capital was moved again to Shreveport. New Orleans, Louisiana, the largest city in the entire South, was strategically important as
Louisiana State Arboretum Louisiana State Arboretum The Louisiana State Arboretum , is an arboretum located on Louisiana Highway 3042, approximately 13 km (eight miles) north of Ville Platte, Louisiana inside of Chicot State Park, United States, and bordering a branch of Lake Chicot. Established in 1961, it is the oldest state-supported arboretum in the United States. Initial efforts to establish a Louisiana Arboretum in the 1950s were led by Caroline Dormon, A. G. Lawton, and J. D. Lafleur Sr. The majority of these efforts were near Ville Platte and included Magnolia Garden Club, the Rotary Club, and the Chamber of Commerce. In spring