[2] After the War of 1812, the U.S. Congress realized coastal cities did not have adequate defenses, so they prescribed the Federal Fortifications Act.

The Act, signed by Congress on July 19, 1832, provided over $180,000 (~$6.05 million in 2023) (USD) for the acquisition of lands, the building of barracks to house U.S.

[3] On December 14, 1833, the Federal government purchased a 100 by 300-yard property from Pierre Cotteret[4] to establish a new barracks in New Orleans to support the new Forts Pike, Macomb, Jackson, Livingston, and St.

On May 17, 1848, additional property was purchased from Mrs. Prudence Desilets expanding the Barracks north of Saint Claude Avenue to allow for the new hospital.

[6] The facility was a French-designed, four-building, two-story, open-bay hospital ward, with one surgical operating theater in the center.

Finally, in 1912, the River breached the levee that protected the post, destroying the road, railroad, and a trolly-car tracks.

The executive office building and the front two guard towers were dismantled to make room for a new levee.

Using WPA personnel, Jackson Barracks was extensively renovated, including the construction of a new executive office building named "Fleming Hall."

When the United States entered World War II, the federal government took control of the barracks to use it as a port of embarkation.

Temporary billeting for men preparing to ship overseas in support of the war replaced the polo field.

By the early summer of 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked the U.S. Congress to extend the term of duty for the draftees beyond twelve months.

A plan submitted by Louisiana Adjutant General Raymond Fleming was to organize a conference and study the best way to procure manpower in the event of an emergency and develop a new Selective Service Act.

In 1960, the Louisiana Department of Corrections acquired a portion of Jackson Barracks to build and operate a work release prison.

Officially named, Ansel M. Stroud, Jr. Military History and Weapons Museum[12] it contains artifacts from each of the nine major United States conflicts.

In 1995, there was an extensive renovation of the armories, construction of an Organizational Maintenance Shop, and the now-inactive prison compound transformed into a police training facility.

The rebuilding of the majority of the Barracks was from scratch, except the 1837 Old Powder Magazine and 14 antebellum homes in the Original Garrison that received a $35 million restoration fund from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

[18] Construction included 91 new housing cottages at the north end of the barracks and new armories with state-of-the-art features, including a bomb-proof facade, advanced fire retardant systems, dedicated water and electricity utilities, and stand-alone command and control facilities.