SUNSET
Chretien Point- This elegant antebellum plantation was the site of skirmishes and a battle. As General Banks and his troops pursued Confederate General Richard Taylor's smaller army north toward Alexandria and the Red River in April of 1863, several skirmishes occurred on Chretien land. In November 1863, a major battle was fought on Bayou Bourbeau, approximately a mile from the mansion. The house was spared during the war only because the owner, like General Banks, was a Mason. But the Union troops destroyed all the outbuildings, cotton, forage and cattle. A bullet hole can still be seen in one of the front doors. Chretien Point's "ramp-knee" staircase and a window design were reproduced for Tara in Gone With the Wind. (318/223-7050)

OPELOUSAS
Governor's Mansion- When Baton Rouge was occupied by union forces in 1862, the state capital was briefly moved to the Opelousas home of Homere Mouton, the Lieutenant Governor. The Mouton House became known as the "Governor's Mansion," and holds the name today. Legislative sessions were held at the "Old LaCombe Hotel," today a drug store on Court Street. (Private)

GRAND COTEAU
Academy of the Sacred Heart- In 1863, General Nathaniel Banks was briefly headquartered in Grand Coteau, home of the Academy of the Sacred Heart, an all-girls school. Through luck, General Banks' daughter attended the Manhattanville Convent of the Sacred Heart in New York. When news of his presence in Grand Coteau reached the Mother Superior in New York, she requested that he take care of the nuns in Grand Coteau. He obliged, keeping the school stocked with food and other supplies. And he made any harm done to the nuns a crime punishable by death. In the Academy's museum you can see the original letters setting forth the details of what transpired. (318/662-5275)

NEW IBERIA
Shadows-on-the-Teche- Complete with antebellum furnishings and gardens, this home once served as a headquarters for General Banks during the Civil War. It is the only property in Louisiana owned and operated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. (318/369-64446)

FRANKLIN
Grevemberg House Museum- This 1851 Greek Revival house displays a collection of the St. Mary Parish Museum which includes a Civil War Section. (318/828-2092)