in April 1862, and bombarded the forts
with shells. After five days, a pair of union
ships managed to break through the boom.
The ensuing firefight was fierce, but after
the forts had been passed, the way to the
city lay clear, and New Orleans surrendered
to Farragut upon his arrival there (
preserving the architecture of New Orleans from
the destruction that many Southern cities
suffered under Union attack).
Farragut proceeded up the Mississippi
from New Orleans, taking Baton Rouge
and Natchez, but his advance halted at
Vicksburg, and his ships retreated to
New Orleans. Meanwhile, Union General
William Sherman was pressing down
the river from the north, and arrived in
Vicksburg on
Christmas Eve.
Sherman report-
edly told an offi-
cer, “We will lose
5,000 men before
we take Vicksburg,
and we may as well
lose them here as
anywhere else.”
He was right. His
army was repelled
by the Confederate
force, and it would
be another six months before forces under
the command of Ulysses Grant accepted
Vicksburg’s surrender following a devas-
tating 47-day bombardment. The fall of
Vicksburg took place in 1863 on July 4, a
date that the city would refuse to celebrate
for any reason, until 1945. At Vicksburg,
there is a public boat ramp along the
Vicksburg waterfront, at the foot of Clay
Street. The nearest ramps to Forts Jackson
and St. Philip are privately owned, and
located along Highway 11 upriver from
the forts.
(The National Park Service has put
together a list of Civil War sites along the
lower Mississippi River at www.nps.gov/
history/delta/civil_war/ sites.htm)
VICKSBURG, MS
LL Boat US 1-3 Pg Ad 4-14-11_Layout 1 4/15/11 10: 58 AM Page 1
Hampton Roads, Virginia
The Battle of Hampton Roads only
lasted a few hours, but the meeting of the
USS Monitor and CSS Virginia (formerly
the USS Merrimack, a name the Union
continued to use) had a worldwide effect.
On March 8, 1862, the Virginia, captained
by Franklin Buchanan, and several wooden
Confederate ships engaged a Union fleet
near Newport News. Virginia rammed the
USS Cumberland, sinking her, and bombarded the ship Congress, which exploded.
A third Union ship, the Minnesota, ran
aground before the Virginia returned to
Norfolk.
That night, the ironclad USS Monitor
arrived, and when the Virginia emerged to
fight again, the two ships engaged. It was a
ferocious exchange, but neither was able to
pierce the other’s armor. The Monitor
withdrew briefly when her pilot, the only one
with a view to the outside, was blinded by
splinters. The Virginia, thinking her opponent was leaving, also withdrew. Each side
claimed victory, but the real winners were
the ironclad warships themselves. Though
both the Virginia and Monitor sank within
a year of their battle, both sides began
producing the new armored vessels, and
once news of the contest reached across
the Atlantic, Britain and France followed
suit. The Mariners’ Museum in Newport
News displays artifacts from both ships and
a full-scale recreation at the USS Monitor
Center ( www.marinersmuseum.org). Boats
can be launched from Monitor-Merrimac
Overlook Park in Newport News.
Never Jump Off Your Boat Again While Docking
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For more information on these and many
other Civil War sites you can visit by sea
or by land, take a look at the National
Park Service’s Civil War Sesquicentennial
website, www.nps.gov/civilwar150/
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REVOLUTIONIZE
YOUR BOAT DOCKING
FLOODING AFFECTS
RECREATIONAL BOATING
Recent flooding along the Mississippi
River has affected recreational boating in
the area. As this issue went to press at the
end of June, the river near Vicksburg was
closed to recreational traffic, but floodwaters had begun receding. The city has
set up a 24-hour action line, and they recommend calling to check conditions before
visiting. That number is (601) 801-3411.
At the southern end of the river, the
area around Fort Jackson had not been
affected by the floodwaters, according to
Capt. Steve Macmanus of the Louisiana
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
He said they were not anticipating any
closures.
