Tag Archives: New Orleans

Baton Rouge Surrenders to Iroquois

Posted on May 8, 2012 by SUMPTER

With Ben Butler in charge at New Orleans the Union fleet moved up the Mississippi. 150 years ago today Baton Rouge, the Louisiana state capital, surrendered to James Shedden Palmer, commanding the USS Iroquois: After the great victory [New Orleans] … Continue reading →

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“Twenty-five thousand 13 inch shells”

Posted on April 24, 2012 by SUMPTER

150 years ago today people in Richmond could have read some “telegraphic news” from the day before. The Union navy is firing thousands of bombs into Forts Jackson and St. Phillip on the Mississippi, but the forts have not been … Continue reading →

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Big Tow Operation

Posted on April 5, 2012 by SUMPTER

150 years ago this fortnight a native son of Seneca Falls, New York wrote some letters home from far, far away at the mouth of the Mississippi River. JOHN was a mate in the Union navy that was preparing for … Continue reading →

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Turning Over in His Grave?

Posted on March 30, 2012 by SUMPTER

Disunion was off the table for the Great Compromiser 150 years ago this week The New-York Times was speculating on Union operations on the lower Mississippi. In a long article that quotes heavily from the Richmond Daily Dispatch the editors … Continue reading →

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A Fire-Eater Sobered

Posted on March 24, 2012 by SUMPTER

The well-known fire-eater William Lowndes Yancey has returned from a year-long diplomatic mission to Europe. He failed to get either England or France to recognize the Confederacy. Yancey stopped at New Orleans on his way to Richmond to take his … Continue reading →

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“Peculators and Speculators”

Posted on November 9, 2011 by SUMPTER

From the Richmond Daily Dispatch November 9, 1861: A Righteous man. The mania for speculating upon the necessities of the poor is prevailing to an alarming extent throughout our Confederacy. All over the country there is a set of peculators … Continue reading →

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Pygmy Squadron Blocking Crescent City

Posted on June 13, 2011 by SUMPTER

Apparently the federal blockade of southern ports is having some effect. From The New-York Times June 13, 1861: Tantalizing. The people of Louisiana are particularly enraged about the blockade. That “LINCOLN, SEWARD & CO.’s pigmy squadron” should flout the Star-spangled … Continue reading →

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Drinking Swamp-Water at the Race Track

Posted on May 31, 2011 by SUMPTER

On May 31, 1861 The New-York Times reported on the observations of RICHARD FAIRCHILD, a British subject who had lived for several years in St. Mary’s Parish, Louisiana. Because he was British Louisiana authorities allowed him to leave the Bayou … Continue reading →

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New Flag Flies

Posted on February 12, 2011 by admin

From The New-York Times February 13, 1861: THE NEW FLAG OF LOUISIANA. NEW-ORLEANS, Tuesday, Feb. 12. The new flag of the sovereign State of Louisiana was unfurled to-day from the top of the City Hall, amidst the firing of cannon, … Continue reading →

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