LNG Plant To Be Built on Battlefield

         

A Southern California energy company has announced plans to build a $2.4 billion Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) facility on the site of the Battle of Calcasieu Pass, where the blood of heroes and patriots hallowed that ground on May 6, 1864.

        Greg Michaels, Chairman and CEO of Southern California Telephone & Energy, announced recently the acquisition of land located on the Calcasieu Ship Channel for the development of  the LNG facility by its subsidiary SCT&E LNG, LLC(www.sctelng.com). The approximate +/-232 acre site is strategically located on Monkey Island in Cameron Parish, Louisiana.

        In the area acquired by the company is the site of the LeBoeuf  family farm house, that was used as a  hospital during the battle. Men killed in the battle, both Union and Confederate, were buried near the house and wooden markers were placed over their graves. The marked graves were seen and well known in the community well into the 20^th Century. At some point, however, the markers were lost, possibly during hurricanes or from natural deterioration and the site currently has no markers or memorialization. The site of the now unmarked cemetery is in the section that was acquired by the California company.

         According to Louisiana State Law, even unmarked and abandoned historic cemeteries are protected from disturbance. The grave site is hallowed ground and the state must protect it.

        The Battle of Calcasieu Pass was fought between two Union blockading gunboats, the U.S.S. Wave and the U.S.S. Granite City, and a small army of Confederates from the Sabine Pass garrison. After a sharp battle of approximately 1 ½  hours, the two gunboats had surrendered and approximately 50 men on both sides were killed or wounded.

       Natural gas will be treated at the Monkey Island site, liquefied, stored, and loaded onto LNG carriers for export to overseas customers in countries that have a free trade agreement (FTA) and/or non-FTA status with the United States. The site will house multiple LNG storage tanks which may be used for LNG bunkering and fueling of transportation ships for distribution of LNG. Now that the land acquisition is complete, SCT&E LNG will submit applications to the Department of Energy (DOE) for permission to export LNG to FTA and non-FTA nations, according to the company.

Pvt. William Kniep, Creuzbaur's Battery
5th Texas Light Artillery, who was among
those who was killed in action during the Battle
of Calcasieu Pass. (Photo Courtesy of the
Kniep family)