Expanding on the Cabildo

I thoroughly enjoyed visiting the Cabildo building and wanted to write more about the experience I had. I felt that this museum was the most interesting to me due to its contents regarding healthcare and the history of New Orleans.  The paintings hung on the walls were of historic people we have learned about throughout the trip. It was amazing to me to see Marie Laveau in a portrait on the wall and being able to connect it with the cemetery tour we had previously. The description next to the picture states that they are not sure if the image is an accurate picture of Marie, but they are pretty sure it is. The art piece of Micaela Pontalba finally put a face to the name of the woman that built the oldest apartments and was known for living after being shot multiple times. Upstairs of the Cabildo, there was a surgeons chest owned by a surgeon of New Orleans during the American Civil War. This surgeon focused mainly on post mortem dissection and this chest had many instruments to perform this act. It was neat to me to see the chest and think about how different it was for surgeons at that time, and what it was possibly like for nurses. Postmortem dissection is commonly referred to an autopsy today, is usually performed by a coroner. I wish I could have met the surgeon that this chest belonged to, so than I could ask about his experiences with dissection.

(Portrait of Micaela Almonster dr Pontalba at the Cabildo)

(Photo taken at the Cabildo)

(Hannah and I enjoying our time at the museum)