The Fall of New Orleans' Fort Jackson-- Part 4: 'The Crash of Splinters, the Explosions of Boilers and Magazines'

On April 12, 1862, the Union fleet fired a few test shots on Fort Jackson to calculate the distance.  Soon after that, the siege was on.  Because For St. Phillip was largely out of range of Farragut's fleet, the worst of the fire went to Fort Jackson.

An account that has been attributed to General Butler, but which was actually written by James Parton for his 1864 book "General Butler in New Orleans," described the bombardment thusly:

"The mere noise was an experience unique to the oldest officers -- Twenty mortars, a hundred and forty-two guns in the fleet, a hundred and twenty in the Forts, the crash of splinters,  the explosions of the boilers and magazines, the shouts and cries, the shrieks of scalded and drowning men; add to this, the belching flashes  of guns, burning rafts of burning steamboats, the river full of fire, and you have a picture of the battle that was all confined to Plaquemines Bend."

By April 27, the men of Fort Jackson had had enough and staged a mutiny.  A day later, Duncan surrendered.  That open the door to New Orleans and the fleet to make its way to it.

--Old B-Runner