Battle of Liberty Place Monument (New Orleans, Louisiana)

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The Battle of Liberty Place was an attempted insurrection by the Crescent City White League against the legal Reconstruction government on September 14, 1874 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Democratic paramilitary White League, made up of Confederate veterans, fought and won against the racially integrated Metropolitan Police and state militia. They held the state house, armory and downtown for three days until federal troops arrived to restore the government. The White League retreated and no men were charged in the action. This was the last major event of violence stemming from the disputed 1872 gubernatorial election, in which both the Democrat John McEnery and Republican William Pitt Kellogg claimed victory.

In 1891, the city government erected the Liberty Monument. In the 20th century, the monument came to be viewed by many residents as a symbol of racism, particularly because of inscriptions added in 1932. After the monument had to be removed because of street work in 1989, many residents opposed its being restored and replaced. It was moved one block over to a less prominent located, where it remains today.