Battle of New Orleans

New Orleans was the largest city in the Confederacy, but it had few troops in and around the city for protection. This was left to two forts--Jackson and St. Philip, located on either side of the Mississippi River below the city. Captain David Farragut assembled a large fleet of ships and mortar rafts and put the forts under intense fire. On April 24th, he decided to run the gauntlet and sailed his fleet past the forts. Once beyond the forts, there was little left to protect New Orleans.

Farragut arrived at New Orleans the next day and demanded its surrender. What troops had been in the city had left, but the city government and citizens tried to hold out. However, on April 29th, Farragut was able to raise the stars and stripes over the customs house and remove the Louisiana flag from city hall. The city was completely secured when General Butler's army arrived on May 1st, and New Orleans was thenceforth under Union control.

"Com. Farragut's Fleet, Passing the Forts on the Mississippi, April 24th. 1862. The U.S. Frigate Mississippi destroying the rebel Ram Manassas." New York: Currier & Ives, 1862. Lithograph. Original hand color. 7 3/4 x 12 1/2. Wide margins. C: 1214.

Probably one of the most dramatic prints showing this important Union victory. The shelling of the two Confederate forts is shown with bright, original color. The many ships of Farragut's fleet are depicted, with the chaos and action of the battle well illustrated. $650

Prints from Samuel M. Schmucker's The History of the Civil War in the United States. Philadelphia: Jones Bros. & Co. and Chicago: Zeigler, McCurdy & Co, 1865, On sheets 6 1/2 x 9 3/4. Very good condition.

"Bombardment of Fort Jackson. At Midnight." Lithograph. 5 1/2 x 8. $125
F.B. Schell. "The Demand for the Surrender of New Orleans." Mezzotint with some line engraving by Samuel Sartain. 4 x 6 1/4. A most unusual view, showing the Confederate sympathizers in New Orleans protesting the capture of the city by Union forces. $75

C. Parsons. "Capture of Forts Jackson and St. Phillip." From The Great Rebellion. Connecticut: Hurlburt, Williams, & Co., 1862. 4 1/4 x 7 3/8. Steel engraving.

A nicely rendered image of the naval battle for the two forts. $75

Alonzo Chappel. "Capture of New Orleans -- Attack on Fort Phillip." From Battles of the United States by Sea and Land. New York: Johnson, Fry & Co., ca. 1865. 5 1/2 x 7 3/8. Steel engraving. Very good condition.

Chappel liked to show close up action from battles, and this is a nice example of his work. Lovell Rousseau was a Kentucky Senator who resigned to take up a position leading Kentucky volunteers for the Union army. He served bravely in a number of battles, including Shiloh, where his troops recaptured an artillery position which had been earlier overrun by the Confederates. $75

C. Parsons. "Capture of New Orleans. The Fleet Passing Forts of the Mississippi." From The Great Civil War. New York: Virtue & Yorston, ca. 1865. 5 x 7 1/2. Steel engraving.

A dramatic print showing Farragut's fleet bombarding Forts St. Philip and Jackson. The various ships involved in the action are clearly shown and identified below the image and the mortar ships are depicted in the distance. $75

Prints from Harper's Weekly

"Flag-Officer Farragut's Gulf Squadron, and Commodore Porter's Mortar Fleet" and "Reconnaissance of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, on the Mississippi, by Gun-Boats From Flag-Officer Farragut's Squadron." From Harper's Weekly. New York, May 10, 1862. 9 x 13 3/4. $35
A. Richardson. "The Approaches to New Orleans by Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Borgne." From Harper's Weekly. New York, May 10, 1862. 9 x 13 3/4. $35
"Commodore Farraguts's Squadron and Captain Porter's Mortar Fleet Entering the Mississippi River." From Harper's Weekly. New York, May 17, 1862. 14 x 20. $125
"The Expedition Against New Orleans" including "Bombardment of the Rebel Forts Jackson and St. Philip, April 24, 1862," "Fire-Raft Sent Down By the Rebels," "The United States Steamer 'Mississippi' Crippling the Ram 'Manassas,' April 24," and "The Third Day's Bombardment of Forts Jackson and St. Philip." From Harper's Weekly. New York, May 24, 1862. 9 x 13 3/4. $30
"The Expedition Against New Orleans" including "Fight Between the 'Varuna' and the 'Governor Moore,'" "The Flag-Ship 'Hartford' Assailed by a Steam Ram and Set on Fire by a Raft in Running the Forts," "The 'Hartford' and 'Brooklyn' Silencing the Chalmette Batteries," "Arrival of the Flag-Ship 'Hartford' Off the City of New Orleans, 1 P.M., April 25," "Fort St. Philip," "Fort Jackson," "Blowing up the Steam Battery 'Louisiana' After the Surrender," and "General Butler's Troops Coming Through the Bayou." From Harper's Weekly. New York, May 24, 1862. 9 x 13 3/4. $25
"The Expedition Against New Orleans" including "Fort John Morgan, Nine Miles Above New Orleans," "Battery Opposite Fort John Morgan," "Interior of Fort St. Philip," "The Southwest-Pass Bar," "Interior of Fort Jackson," and "Destruction of Cotton-Laden Vessels by the Rebels Near New Orleans, on the Approach of the 'Hartford,' on April 25, 1862." From Harper's Weekly. New York, May 24, 1862. 9 x 13 3/4. $25
"The Flag-Ship 'Hartford' Attacked by the Ram 'Manassas' and A Fire-Raft in the Mississippi." From Harper's Weekly. New York, June 14, 1862. 9 1/4 x 11. $45

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