Reference Entry
FARRAGUT RUNS FORTS JACKSON AND ST. PHILIP
In the American Civil War, control of the Mississippi River and its great port cities was central to Union strategy. On the night of April 24th, 1862, Flag Officer David Glasgow Farragut led a Union fleet past the Confederate strongholds of Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip, which guarded the river approach to New Orleans. Under heavy fire, Union ships dodged chains, obstructions, and burning rafts while trading blows with Confederate gunboats.
Dated Historical Context
A RECORDED MOMENT IN HISTORY
Farragut Runs Forts Jackson and St. Philip
In the American Civil War, control of the Mississippi River and its great port cities was central to Union strategy. On the night of April 24th, 1862, Flag Officer David Glasgow Farragut led a Union fleet past the Confederate strongholds of Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip, which guarded the river approach to New Orleans. Under heavy fire, Union ships dodged chains, obstructions, and burning rafts while trading blows with Confederate gunboats. Several vessels were damaged or sunk, but enough made it through to threaten New Orleans from the river. The Confederate defenses, designed to keep enemy fleets out, had been outmaneuvered rather than beaten into rubble. Within days, New Orleans, the largest city in the Confederacy and a vital commercial hub, fell under Union control, helping to secure the lower Mississippi and tighten the noose around the Southern war effort.
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