Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip

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Lower Seaboard Theater
Fort Sumter - Santa Rosa Island - Fort Pulaski - Forts Jackson and St. Philip – New Orleans – Secessionville – Simmon's Bluff – Tampa – Baton Rouge – 1st Donaldsonville - St. John's Bluff - Georgia Landing - 1st Fort McAllister - Fort Bisland – Irish Bend – Vermillion Bayou - 1st Charleston Harbor – 1st Fort Wagner – Grimball's Landing – 2nd Fort Wagner – 2nd Fort Sumter – 2nd Charleston Harbor - Plains Store – Port Hudson - LaFourche Crossing – 2nd Donaldsonville – Kock's Plantation – Stirling's Plantation - Fort Brooke - Gainesville - Olustee - Natural Bridge

The Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip was a naval battle fought in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, from April 16 to April 28, 1862 during the American Civil War. Flag Officer David G. Farragut successfully sailed up the Mississippi River past the two forts, leading directly to the capture of the largest city in the Confederate States of America, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Contents

[edit] Background

Part of Winfield Scott's "Anaconda Plan" 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 masonry forts, Jackson and St. Philip, above the Head of Passes, approximately seventy miles below New Orleans.

[edit] Opposing forces

Fort Jackson stood on the west bank of the Mississippi and mounted 59 guns, 12 howitzers, and three mortars. St. Philip, on the east bank, about 800 yards to the north, had 44 guns, one howitzer, and seven mortars. Together, the two forts garrisoned about 1,000 men under Brig. Gen. Johnson K. Duncan. In addition to the forts and their armaments, the Confederate commander at New Orleans, Major General Mansfield Lovell, had ordered obstructions placed in the river and there were a number of ships, including two ironclads, to assist in the defense.

Lovell's river barricade was a massive chain strung together with a series of floating barges to the east of Fort Jackson. In February 1862, however, and also in early April, rising water on the river wrecked the obstruction and it was pieced together at the last minute, becoming less effective than originally planned. Lovell had the following naval assets available:

  • The River Defense Fleet, commanded by Captain John A. Stevenson. It consisted of five sidewheeler ramming ships (CSS Warrior, CSS Stonewall Jackson, CSS Resolute, CSS Defiance, and CSS General Lovell) and the sternwheeler CSS General Breckenridge. All six vessels were "cottonclads", meaning that they had a small degree of protection afforded by stacked, compressed bales of cotton on their decks. (The bales of cotton could also be set afire while ramming an enemy vessel, hoping to set it on fire.) There was also the unfinished ironclad ram, CSS Mississippi, which was not yet armed.
  • The Confederate Navy, under Commander John K. Mitchell, had six ships carrying about 30 guns: the ironclad ram CSS Manassas, screw gunboat CSS McRae, center-wheel ironclad ram CSS Louisiana, and the cottonclad sidewheeler gunboats CSS Jackson, CSS General Quitman, and CSS Governor Moore.

Farragut's Union fleet was powerful, although it contained no ironclads, which was a serious concern as it prepared to come up against shell bombardment from the forts. He deployed 24 vessels of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron (so-named to deceive the Confederates as to their intentions), including his flagship USS Hartford and USS Colorado, USS Mississippi, USS Brooklyn, USS Iroquois, USS Oneida, USS Pensacola, USS Richmond, USS Itasca, USS Kennebec, USS Winona, USS Pinola, and USS Varuna. He also had 25 mortar schooners, carrying a total of 523 guns, including 19 13-inch mortars, under Commander David Dixon Porter (Farragut's foster brother), operating from his flagship, USS Harriet Lane. The Army component of the expedition was the 15,000-man Army of the Gulf (also deliberately named to deceive), commanded by Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler.

[edit] Battle

Farragut based his operations from Ship Island, Mississippi, and on April 8, he assembled his fleet near the Head of Passes. Starting at 9 a.m. on April 18 and continuing for seven days, Porter's mortar schooners bombarded the forts, firing about 1,000 shells each 24 hours, some the massive 200-pound shells from the 13-inch mortars. Although Farragut had little confidence in the plan, it was hoped that the mortars would disable enough of the guns in the forts so that portions of the fleet could sail by without too much damage. The bombardment, although spectacular, achieved little and Farragut became impatient.

On April 20, sailors from the gunboats USS Itasca and USS Pinola attacked the river barrier and created a small opening. On April 23, Farragut concluded that the mortar bombardment was not going to work, even if it were backed by an amphibious landing of Butler's troops, and he ordered a late night attempt to run the guns. At 3 a.m. on April 24, his ships were moving. The first division of eight ships, under Captain Theodorus Bailey, slipped past the forts, undetected. By 3:40 a.m., the rising moon provided visibility and the forts opened fire. The center division of three ships, under Farragut, and the third division of six, under Fleet Captain Henry H. Bell, began taking heavy fire. Although many of the ships were struck repeatedly, most survived. Farragut's fleet lost the Varuna, which was rammed by the Stonewall Jackson. Itasca was disabled by a round shot through her boilers, and Kennebec and Winona got entangled in the remains of the floating barrier and had to turn back after being hit numerous times.

Thirteen Federal ships had made the passage, and while beaten up, represented a significant naval threat to New Orleans. Further fighting occurred upstream as Confederate gunboats pursued the Union fleet and the Manassas rammed both the Brooklyn and the Mississippi, but caused little damage before she was sunk.

[edit] Aftermath

Union casualties for the battle were 37 killed and 149 wounded. Despite the heavy bombardments for a week, Confederate casualties in the forts were light. However, thirteen Confederate ships were lost, bringing total Southern casualties to 782. Stephen R. Mallory, Confederate Secretary of the Navy, wrote, "The destruction of the Navy at New Orleans was a sad, sad blow."

Farragut sent his ships north toward New Orleans. With the passage of the forts, nothing could stop the Union forces: the bloodless fall of New Orleans the following day was inevitable and anti-climatic. Cut off and surrounded, the garrisons of Forts Jackson and St. Philip surrendered on April 28.

[edit] References

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