Camp Parapet, Civil War fortification in Shrewsbury, Jefferson Parish, United States

Camp Parapet was a fortification near New Orleans that stretched across roughly 2.8 kilometers of ground. The structure was designed for defense and featured gun positions and defensive works along its length.

Confederate forces built a defensive line about 1.75 miles long from the Mississippi River north to Metairie Ridge to shield New Orleans from attack upriver. The Union fleet instead approached from below and took the city, so the works were never used in battle. U.S. forces then garrisoned and expanded them against a counter-attack that never came; in 1863 the 1st Regiment Louisiana Engineers was organized and mustered there.

The site served as a training ground where soldiers from different backgrounds came together to serve the Union cause. This mixed composition marked a shift in how the military operated in the region.

The surviving powder magazine stands off Causeway Boulevard near American Legion Post 267 in Shrewsbury, Jefferson Parish, set in a small park. The historic Shrewsbury (Camp Parapet) Cemetery lies nearby. The site sits just over a mile upriver from New Orleans' city limits, so plan for a short drive out of the city.

A large portion of the fortification work was completed by formerly enslaved people who joined the Union cause and worked under officers like George H. Hanks. This labor was crucial to strengthening the defensive line and made the site a symbol of change during the war.