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BATON ROUGE

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Originally appearing in Volume V03, Page 521 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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BATON See also:ROUGE , the See also:capital of See also:Louisiana, U.S.A., 'and of See also:East Baton Rouge See also:parish, on the E. See also:bank of the See also:Mississippi See also:river, about 70 M. N.W. of New See also:Orleans. Pop. (189o) 10,478; (1900) 11,269, of whom 6J96 were of See also:negro descent; (1910 See also:census) 14,897. It is served by the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley railway and by the Louisiana Railway & See also:Navigation See also:Company; and the See also:Texas & Pacific enters See also:Port See also:Allen, just across the river. The See also:city lies on the river See also:bluff, secure against the highest floods. Old houses in the See also:Spanish See also:style give quaintness to its See also:appearance. The See also:state capitol was built in 188o-1882, replacing another burned in 1862. At Baton Rouge is the State University and Agricultural and See also:Mechanical See also:College (186o), of which the See also:Audubon See also:Sugar School, " for the highest scientific training in the growing of sugar See also:cane and in the technology of sugar manufacture," is an important and 'distinctive feature. The university See also:grew out of the Louisiana State See also:Seminary of Learning and Military See also:Academy, founded in 1855 near See also:Alexandria and opened in 186o under the See also:charge of W. T. See also:Sherman.

In 1869 the institution was removed to Baton Rouge, and in 1877 it was See also:

united with the Agricultural and Mechanical College, established in 1873 and in 1874 opened at New Orleans. The campus of the university is the former See also:barracks of the Baton Rouge See also:garrison, occupied by the college since 1886 and transferred to it by the Federal See also:government in 1902. The enrolment of the university in 19o7-19o8 was 636. Other important institutions at Baton Rouge are a State Agricultural Experiment Station, asylums and See also:schools for the See also:deaf and dumb, for the See also:blind, and for orphans, and the state See also:penitentiary. The surrounding bluff and alluvial See also:country is very See also:rich. Sugar and See also:cotton plantations and sub-tropic See also:fruit orchards occupy the front-lands on the river. The manufactures include See also:lumber and cotton See also:seed products, and sugar. The value of the city's factory products increased from $1:17,368 in 19oo to $1,383,061 in 19o5 or 92.8%. The city is, governed under a See also:charter granted by the legislature in 1898.. This charter is See also:peculiar in that it gives to the city See also:council the See also:power to elect various administrative boards—of See also:police, See also:finance, &c.—from which the legislative council of most cities is separated, Baton Rouge was one of the earliest See also:French settlements, in the state. As a See also:part of See also:West See also:Florida, it passed into the hands of the See also:British in 1763, and in 1779 was captured by Bernardo Galvez, the Spanish See also:governor of Louisiana. The See also:town was incorporated in 1817.

In 1849 it was made the state capital, remaining so until 1862, when See also:

Shreveport became the See also:Con-federate state capital. In 1864 the Unionists made New Orleans the seat of government. The See also:Secession See also:Ordinance of Louisiana was passed on the 26th of See also:January 1861 by a See also:convention that met at Baton Rouge. On the 2nd of May 1862 the city was captured by the forces of the United States under See also:Col. See also:Benjamin H. Grierson (b. 1826), who had led raiders thither from See also:Tennessee; on the 12th of May it was formally occupied by troops from New Orleans, and was successfully defended by Brig.-Gen. See also:Thomas See also:Williams (1815-1862) against an. attack by Confederate forces under See also:General See also:John C. See also:Breckinridge on the 5th of See also:August 1862; Gen. Williams, however, was killed during the attack. Baton Rouge was soon abandoned for a See also:month, was then reoccupied, and was held throughout the See also:rest of the See also:war. It became the state capital again in 1882, in accordance with the state constitution of 1879.

For several years after 184o Zachary See also:

Taylor made his See also:home on a See also:plantation near Baton Rouge.

End of Article: BATON ROUGE

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