Fort Jackson
Fort St. Philip
Civil War Louisiana

American Civil War
April 16-28, 1862

Early Union plans had called for the division of the Confederacy by seizing control of the Mississippi River. One of the first steps in such operations was to enter the mouth of the Mississippi River, ascend to New Orleans and capture the city, closing off the entrance to Rebel ships.

In mid-January 1862, Flag-Officer David G. Farragut undertook this enterprise with his West Gulf Blockading Squadron. The way was soon open except for the two forts, Jackson and St. Philip, above the Head of the Passes, approximately seventy miles below New Orleans.

In addition to the forts and their armament, the Confederates had placed obstructions in the river and there were a number of ships, including two ironclads, to assist in the defense.

Farragut based his operations from Ship Island, Mississippi, and on April 8, he assembled 24 of his vessels and Comdr. David D. Porter's 19 mortar schooners near the Head of the Passes.

Starting on the 16th and continuing for seven days, the mortar schooners bombarded Fort Jackson but failed to silence its guns. Some of Farragut's gunboats opened a way through the obstruction on the night of the 22nd.

Early on the morning of the 24th, Farragut sent his ships north to pass the forts and head for New Orleans. Although the Rebels attempted to stop the Union ships in various ways, most of the force successfully passed the forts and continued on to New Orleans where Farragut accepted the city's surrender.

With the passage of the forts, nothing could stop the Union forces: the fall of New Orleans was inevitable and anti-climatic. Cut off and surrounded, the garrisons of the two forts surrendered on the 28th.

Result(s): Union victory

Location: Plaquemines Parish

Campaign: Expedition to and Capture of New Orleans (1862) next battle in campaign Campaigns

Date(s): April 16-28, 1862

Principal Commanders: Flag-Officer David G. Farragut [US]; Brigadier General Johnson K. Duncan and Cdr. John K. Mitchell [CS]

Forces Engaged: West Gulf Blockading Squadron [US]; Garrisons of Forts Jackson and St. Philip and the crews of various ships [CS]

Estimated Casualties: 1,011 total (US 229; CS 782)


Passage of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, April 24, 1862. Order of Attack
Chart showing the positions of U.S. Navy ships during the action (with individual ships identified, with their commanders), and of Confederate defenses ashore and afloat.

"Reconnoissance of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, on the Mississippi, by Gun-boats from Flag-officer Farragut's Squadron"
Line engraving published in "Harper's Weekly", 1862, depicting the attack on the obstructions below the forts, 20 April 1862.
U.S. Navy gunboats shown in right center are Itasca and Pinola . Further to the right are Kennebec and Winona . Fort Jackson is shown at far right, with Confederate gunboats beyond.

More on the Naval Battle at Fort Jackson


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Louisiana Civil War Reading Titles

Twenty-Seventh Louisiana Volunteer Infantry
The Twenty-seventh Louisiana Volunteer Infantry was the first infantry regiment assigned to the defense of Vicksburg, Mississippi. The author, inspired by his great-grandfather, Burlin Moore Scriber, who served as a corporal in the Louisiana Infantry's Company B, celebrates the undaunting courage of this regiment during the forty-seven-day siege by Union soldiers before the surrender of Vicksburg.
This valuable historical and genealogical resource includes details about the Louisiana Secession Convention in 1861, the creation of Camp Moore, and the battles of Champion Hill, Grand Gulf, and Black River Bridge. A wealth of archival information and photographs, "The Twenty-seventh Louisiana Volunteer Infantry" also includes a register of soldiers, including rank, promotions, service records, captures and paroles, medical history, and personal information.
The Defense of Vicksburg:
A Louisiana Chronicle: Texas A & M University Military History Series
Dark and Bloody Ground:
The Battle of Mansfield and the Forgotten Civil War in Louisiana
This book chronicles not only the remarkable military victory at Mansfield but the subsequent engagements that forced Union forces into an ignominious withdrawal.
A Maryland Bride in the Deep South: The Civil War Diary of Priscilla Bond
In this diary of a Confederate soldier's young wife in Louisiana during the Civil War, Bond writes of courtship, religious faith, and her battle with tuberculosis. Harrison includes Bond's diaries from 1858 to 1865 in full, illustrating Bond's maturation from a 19-year-old leaving her family for the first time to an adult facing the desperate reality of war. In her 60 pages of introductory material, Harrison attempts to justify the inclusion of every "Oh! How my poor heart ached" by folding it into cultural theory and history, with section titles like "Love, Friendship, and Power: The War's Impact on Relationships" and "Functions of Literacy and the Diary." Bond's writing speaks for itself at times, like when she writes of autumn, "On everything seems to be written 'passing away.' It reminds us of our own bodys,"

Web AmericanCivilWar.com
Volcano-Pictures.INFO

This DuPont Columbia Award-winning series explains the role Louisiana had in the expansion of the United States.

Civil War History Documentary DVD Movie Titles

American Civil War visitors top DVD picks

Civil War Combat:
America's Bloodiest Battles
With beautifully shot footage of reenactors, Civil War Combat illustrates aspects of four particular Civil War battles that are rightfully considered legendary. Filmed on location, the reenactors depict the violent mayhem of the hornet's nest at Shiloh, the valiant charge on the sunken road at Antietam, the carnage in the wheat field at Gettysburg, and the brutal fighting at Cold Harbor. Produced by the History Channel, the episodes all benefit from insightful appearances by historians as well as rangers from the National Park Service.

The Civil War -
A Film by Ken Burns
The most successful public television miniseries in American history, the 11-hour Civil War didn't just captivate a nation, reteaching to us our history in narrative terms; it actually also invented a new film language taken from its creator. The Civil War evokes atmosphere and resurrects an event that many knew only from stale history books


Civil War Journal -
The Conflict Begins
The battles have been documented, the generals lionized. We have seen the turning points and the sacrifices. Now let Civil War Journal take you deeper, into the personal stories. Join host Danny Glover as he takes you through diaries, photographs, and factual re-enactments. Finally, a Civil War program that makes you feel the private and intimate side of the great conflict.


Civil War Minutes
Volumn 1
In Civil War Minutes - Union Volume 1, you will learn about the lives of soldiers through their handwritten letters to home. Also find out what life was like from the perspective of the average foot soldier through never-before-seen photographs, artifacts and rare paintings and engravings. Find out what is the General Beauregard Pipe; what is the Report of Samuel Weaver and how it was related to Gettysburg; what is a musket and much more!


Sources:
U.S. National Park Service
U.S. Library of Congress.