The 1788 Great Fire of New Orleans

French Quarter dot com, notes: “ Looking at the vibrant, festive Quarter with millions of visitors annually, it is hard to imagine the devastation of Holy Saturday morning in 1788. Smoking ruins stretched from Chartres to Dauphine Street, and from Conti to St. Philip.” The 1788 great fire of New Orleans deserves to be remembered.

This is original content based on research by The History Guy. Images in the Public Domain are carefully selected and provide illustration. As very few images of the actual event are available in the Public Domain, images of similar objects and events are used for illustration.

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Script by THG

#history #thehistoryguy #NewOrleans

[LotsofWhatever]

I am from New Orleans and graduated from Ursuline Academy and we have a history with that fire. Look up the Shrine of Our Lady of Prompt Succor. The tradition goes that the nuns were asked to pray for intervention to Our Lady and the fire subsided (and didn't burn the convent). The convent is one of the only buildings from French Louisiana that survived the fires and is still standing.

[navret]

Another example of a historical occurrence that I knew nothing about before today. Thank you, THG. 👍

[stuartriefe]

I notice THG often chooses a historical topic that occurred on the date he intends the presentation, in this case March 21st.
It might be fun to visit one of those “This Day in History” type sites and try to guess what that days topic might be. However
THG is so good at digging up really obscure history, there’s a good chance it won’t be found on any “This Day in History” sites!

[constipatedinsincity]

They sure can't blame Mrs O'leary and her cow this time!

[MurryRothbeard]

I am from New Orleans and this video still taught me things about Mirro and others. The name is famous because of the street named after him also never thought of the CBD as a suburb. That’s LOL funny now. Thanks History Guy! I have subscribed for several years.

[BlueBaron]

I just love the use of language in that era when people used the sound and shape of words to great effect. Marvelous story!

[ewmhop]

thank you for this story for i was born in new orleans in 1951 as are my ancestors.their bones rest in our many cemeteries.i thank you again for what you do.this old paw-paw loves these videos.

[TheHylianBatman]

I've thought for a long minute that New Orleans is really just passed over for history, even though it's probably on the same level as Boston and Philadelphia in terms of importance to history.
It's great to know this. New Orleans is and always will be strong.

[nekkidfiddler]

Having visited New Orleans i can say that there generosity is forthright and genuine . and when the band is playin theys dancin.

[robertfromtexas]

As someone who was born outside of New Orleans, I'm ashamed to say I didn't realize why there was so much Spanish architecture in the French Quarter. Most people realize it's there. But don't really think about why.Thank you again history guy, for the lesson..

[BreakItYourself]

from a southeast Louisiana native, thank you!

[morganosborne]

This may be my favorite of the historical stories you have shared with us. Heartening to hear tales of communities standing together in the face of devastation and much more so to learn of leaders who actually stood with the most affected to help make things livable again.

[lowellmccormick]

As a native I highly recommend visiting the The Historic New Orleans Collection (THNOC) at 533 Royal Street in the French Quarter. The building is one of the only ones to survive a later major fire. It is a private collection and it's fabulous. The extensive collection of historical documents at their Williams Research Center is deep and unrivaled in New Orleans history. They also publish great books. For an interesting read on the history of New Orleans thru its street names, check out "Frenchman, Desire, Good Children and Other Streets of New Orleans" by John Chase.

[stevenwalter]

And with this, I have finally caught up and watched every video uploaded by The History Guy! Thank you sir, for sharing all of these fascinating bits of forgotten history!

[jamesslick]

Holy crap! just a few hours after watching this, A tornado hit New Orleans. 😳I hope everyone there is OK.

[stevedietrich]

Competent and efficient government . . . what a concept. We should try that.

[Paladin]

I know from firsthand experience during the Katrina disaster that the leadership of the city in 2005 paled in comparison to that exhibited in 1788. Thanks for reminding us of this nearly forgotten history.

[charlesclager]

Thank you for this well documented story of the New Orleans fire. I worked in "the big easy" off and on for several years. It is a city unlike any other city in the U.S. I loved my time there.

[davidmoore]

Every public official should be required to learn about Gov. Miro!

[chefbillybaroo]

Another story told brilliantly you sure are a excellent storyteller thank you