This cemetery sits between St. Patrick No. 1 cemetery and Cypress Grove cemetery and is across the street from St. Patrick No. 2.

This cemetery was purchased by Charity Hospital in 1848 and was originally known as Potter's Field. It has historically been used to bury the unclaimed from throughout the city including the victims of several yellow fever and influenza epidemics. Presently the ashes of those who have donated their remains to the Louisiana State Anatomical Board for medical education are buried here also.

Prior to the construction of the Katrina Memorial mausoleums the cemetery was one of the few graveyards in the region in which all bodies were buried underground. Charity Hospital Cemetery is one of the most historically significant yet least known among New Orleans famous cities of the dead.

The New Orleans Katrina Memorial

On August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina made landfall upon the Louisiana and Mississippi Gulf Coast. Bringing devastation to many communities. In New Orleans, storm surge and the failure of the levee system caused flooding in over 80% of the city. Trapping thousands in the chaotic aftermath. New Orleanians faced desperate circumstances in the homes, hospitals, the Super Dome and the other makeshift shelters. Despite the heroic efforts of the first responders, medical personnel, volunteers and the military over 1100 citizens lost their lives in the disaster.

Most of the deceased were identified as buried by loved ones in private ceremonies throughout the nation. Here lie the remaining. The unclaimed and unidentified victims of the storm from the New Orleans area. Some have been forgotten. Some remain unknown.

This memorial is dedicated to these individuals and to all who suffered or died during the hurricane Katrina. Let the victims here forever remind us of the those harrowing days and the long struggle to rebuild our city. Let their final resting place call us to constant preparedness. Let their should join into an eternal chorus, singing with the full might of the indomitable spirit of New Orleans.

Jeffery Rouse, MD

Chief Deputy Coroner

Orleans Parish

August 29, 2009