Some residents say train is buried in Bayou Des Allemands, others disagree
The search to prove or disprove the rumor that a Civil War train is covered by 100 years of muck in Bayou Des Allemands has spawned a wave of residents who all claim that they know the truth.
Josephine Alexander, 71, of Des Allemands says that this unconfirmed hearsay is no fable.
“I know for a fact that the train is there,” she said. “About 40 years ago, my brother, Raymond Fonseca, hired divers to recover any artifacts from the train that they could find.”
It was Fonseca’s previous discovery of canon balls in the bayou that motivated him to hire the group of underwater specialists.
“Raymond had found several canon balls near the bank of the bayou, which he donated to a museum,” Alexander said. “And although the divers were unable to dig up any other antiquities, they did find a pair of glasses that my brother lost while he was fishing, supposedly hooked to a part of the train, deep in the water.”
Alexander said that the divers told her brother it would be too expensive to pull the train from the water.
Alexander also remembers listening to her elders tell of a time when the train bridge was destroyed in order to keep Union soldiers from passing through Des Allemands.
“My ancestors lived in houseboats on the bayou,” she said. “And from what I remember hearing the bridge was torn down and when the train approached the bayou it went straight down.”
While Alexander’s recollection indicates this rumor is true, Civil War buff Bob Vitter of Boutte says that he believes differently.
“I’ve studied the history of St. Charles Parish and there is no documented account of a train derailing in Bayou Des Allemands during the Civil War,” he said.
However, Vitter points out that several books do indicate that it was possible a Confederate and Union train collided near the area – or that a cow grazing on the train bridge tracks caused an accident.
“I’ve read about several possible train wrecks near the bayou, but none that authenticates an entire train to be buried under the water,” added Vitter. “And I’ve also read about canon balls being dumped in the bayou, but it’s really too dangerous to dive in that part of the water.”
Yet, Vitter says that a few years ago two of his friends did launch their own diving excursion, digging up a few items that could have possibly come from a train, but nothing concrete to prove that this myth is actually a fact.
Do you have information or photos that can help us determine whether or not this rumor is fact or fiction? If so, call Heather R. Breaux at 985-757-2795 or send an email to
heatherb@heraldguide.com.
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