The Mississippi River
In April 1862, U.S. captain David G. Farragut’s naval fleet battled past fortifications in the Mississippi River approaching New Orleans, prompting the city’s surrender on April 25. With New Orleans under Union control, the Confederacy had lost its largest city, an important port, and the Union gained a bastion on the lower Mississippi, a vital western transportation route. In a letter to the Union quartermaster general Montgomery C. Meigs, Navy lieutenant David D. Porter echoed Winfield Scott’s earlier prediction that New Orleans was the key to the Mississippi River and the survival of the Confederacy.
In April 1862, U.S. captain David G. Farragut’s naval fleet battled past fortifications in the Mississippi River approaching New Orleans, prompting the city’s surrender on April 25. With New Orleans under Union control, the Confederacy had lost its largest city, an important port, and the Union gained a bastion on the lower Mississippi, a vital western transportation route. In a letter to the Union quartermaster general Montgomery C. Meigs, Navy lieutenant David D. Porter echoed Winfield Scott’s earlier prediction that New Orleans was the key to the Mississippi River and the survival of the Confederacy.