Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip

Overview

The battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip was the decisive battle for possession of New Orleans in the American Civil War. The two Confederate forts on the Mississippi River south of the city were attacked by a Union Navy fleet. As long as the forts could keep the Federal forces from moving on the city, it was safe, but if they fell or were bypassed, there were no fall-back positions to impede the Union advance.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip was the decisive engagement for control of New Orleans during the Civil War. The two Confederate forts guarded the Mississippi River approaches south of the city, and their ability to block Union naval passage was the sole barrier protecting New Orleans. Once Farragut's Union fleet succeeded in bypassing or neutralizing the forts, no secondary defensive positions existed to slow the Union advance. The fall or circumvention of the forts therefore directly opened New Orleans to Union capture, making this engagement the pivotal action that determined the city's fate. Confederate casualties were substantially higher than Union losses, reflecting the difficulty of defending fixed positions against a determined naval assault. The loss of New Orleans, the Confederacy's largest city and a critical port, carried significant strategic consequences for Confederate control of the lower Mississippi.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (4)