The Battle of Baton Rouge was a ground and naval battle in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

fought in

East Baton Rouge Parish East Baton Rouge Parish (french: Paroisse de Bâton Rouge Est) is the most populous parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2010 U.S. census, its population was 440,171, and 456,781 at the 2020 census. The parish seat is Baton Rouge, ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

, on August 5, 1862. The Union victory halted Confederate attempts to recapture the capital city of Louisiana.

Background

On April 25, 1862, the day before

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

fell to the US Navy fleet under Admiral

David Farragut David Glasgow Farragut (; also spelled Glascoe; July 5, 1801 – August 14, 1870) was a flag officer of the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He was the first rear admiral, vice admiral, and admiral in the United States Navy. F ...

, the Confederate state government decided to abandon

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counti ...

, moving first to

Opelousas :''Opelousas is also a common name of the flathead catfish.'' Opelousas (french: Les Opélousas; Spanish: ''Los Opeluzás'') is a small city and the parish seat of St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. Interstate 49 and U.S. Route 190 were ...

, and then to

Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is ...

. All cotton in the area was set afire to prevent it falling into Union hands. On May 9, Navy Commander

James S. Palmer James Shedden Palmer (October 13, 1810 – December 7, 1867) was an officer in the United States Navy during the Civil War. He was later promoted to rear admiral. Biography Palmer was born at Elizabethtown, New Jersey. He entered the United State ...

of the federal gunboat landed at the town wharf and took possession, without resistance, of the Pentagon Barracks and the arsenal. Two weeks later, a party of guerrillas attacked a rowboat carrying a naval officer. In retaliation, Farragut's flagship, the , bombarded the town, causing civilian casualties and damaging St. Joseph's Church and other buildings. On May 29, US

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Thomas Williams arrived with six regiments of infantry, two artillery batteries, and a troop of cavalry, and began the occupation of Baton Rouge. During the summer,

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

Earl Van Dorn Earl Van Dorn (September 17, 1820May 7, 1863) started his military career as a United States Army officer but joined Confederate forces in 1861 after the Civil War broke out. He was a major general when he was killed in a private conflict. A g ...

, commander of Confederate forces east of the

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, resisted a Union bombardment of Vicksburg. The Confederate ironclad ram ''

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

'' had come down the

Yazoo River The Yazoo River is a river in the U.S. states of Louisiana and Mississippi. It is considered by some to mark the southern boundary of what is called the Mississippi Delta, a broad floodplain that was cultivated for cotton plantations before th ...

, inflicting damage on the unprepared Union fleet as she passed through, and was anchored in Vicksburg. Van Dorn desired to regain Baton Rouge. It was thought that re-taking Baton Rouge would be key to driving the Union out of Louisiana, as they could then launch attacks along the Red River on Union-occupied territory, and threaten Union control of New Orleans. 5,000 men entrained from Vicksburg for Camp Moore, led by Maj. Gen.

John C. Breckinridge John Cabell Breckinridge (January 16, 1821 – May 17, 1875) was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier. He represented Kentucky in both houses of Congress and became the 14th and youngest-ever vice president of the United States. Serving ...

, on July 27. They were joined by a small infantry division led by Brig. Gen. Daniel Ruggles at the camp. Simultaneously, the ''Arkansas'' was sailing down the Mississippi River, en route to engage Union ships near Baton Rouge. The men had a significant amount of matériel, and were well fed. General Williams reportedly had word of the forces' departure from Camp Moore on July 28. On August 4, after information was again received of the imminent arrival of the enemy, Union troops were formed up a mile outside of Baton Rouge. The Union men at Baton Rouge were not experienced, and were in training camp for only two weeks before being sent to Baton Rouge. The troops had few supplies because most were in New Orleans, which was considered more important.

Battle

Breckinridge moved to the Comite River, east of Baton Rouge, by August 4, and then marched the men closer at night. The Confederates lost the element of surprise when they were discovered by Union sentries. Despite this, the attack was launched at daybreak on August 5. The Union troops were in the center of Baton Rouge, while the Confederates were lined up in two divisions, north of the city. The action occurred around Florida Street, and began with the Confederates pushing their opponents all the way across town. Bitter fighting took place, especially around Magnolia Cemetery. The Union commander, Brigadier General Thomas Williams, was killed in action. Colonel Thomas W. Cahill took over. The colonel led a retreat back to prepared defensive lines near the Penitentiary, under the protection of the Union warships. The Confederate troops began coming under fire from the gunboats. The undermanned Confederate ironclad ''

'' arrived not long after to engage the Union ironclad , but her engines failed just four miles above the city. Her commander ordered ''Arkansas'' set afire to prevent her capture. Without any prospect of naval support, Breckenridge was unable to attack the Union positions and withdrew. Union troops evacuated the city a week later, concerned for the safety of New Orleans, but returned that autumn. Confederates occupied Port Hudson, which they held for almost another year. The "Battle of Baton Rouge Commemorative Ceremony" is held every year on the first Saturday in August in and around Magnolia Cemetery, sponsored by the Foundation for Historical Louisiana.

Order of battle

Union Army

2nd Brigade,

Department of the Gulf The Department of the Gulf was a command of the United States Army in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and of the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. History United States Army (Civil War) Creation The department was co ...

:Brig. Gen. Thomas Williams (k) :Col. Thomas W. Cahill ''Infantry Regiments'' * 9th Connecticut Infantry * 21st Indiana Infantry * 14th Maine Infantry * 30th Massachusetts Infantry * 6th Michigan Infantry *

7th Vermont Infantry The 7th Vermont Infantry Regiment was a three years' infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served in the Western Theater, predominantly in Louisiana and Florida, from February 1862 to March 1866. It was the longe ...

* 4th Wisconsin Infantry ''Artillery'' *Indiana Battery *2nd Battery, Massachusetts Light Artillery *4th Battery, Massachusetts Light Artillery *6th Battery, Massachusetts Light Artillery

Union Navy

* USS ''Hartford'' * USS ''Westfield'' * USS ''Jackson'' * USS ''Cayuga'' * USS ''Katahdin'' * USS ''Brooklyn'' * USS ''Clifton'' * USS ''Sciota'' * USS ''Kineo'' * USS ''Essex''

Confederate Army

Breckinridge's Corps: Maj. Gen.

First Division: Brig. Gen. Charles Clark (w&c); Col. Winfield S. Statham 1st Brigade: Brig. Gen. Benjamin H. Helm (w); Col. Robert P. Trabue 31st Mississippi 4th Kentucky: Col. Robert P. Trabue 9th Kentucky 49th Alabama 4th Alabama Battalion 2nd Brigade: Col Winfield S. Statham; Col. Francis M. Walker 15th Mississippi 22nd Mississippi 19th Tennessee: Col. Francis M. Walker 20th Tennessee: Col. Thomas B. Smith 28th Tennessee 45th Tennessee Second Division: Brig. Gen. Daniel Ruggles 1st Brigade: Col. Albert P. Thompson (w); Col.

Joseph H. Lewis Joseph H. Lewis (April 6, 1907 – August 30, 2000) was an American B-movie film director whose stylish flourishes came to be appreciated by auteur theory-espousing film critics in the years following his retirement in 1966. In a 30-year direc ...

35th Alabama 3rd Kentucky 6th Kentucky: Col.

7th Kentucky 2nd Brigade: Col. Henry W. Allen (w); Col. Gustavus A. Breaux 4th Louisiana (Not Engaged) 12th Louisiana: Col. Thomas M. Scott 30th Louisiana: Col. Gustavus A. Breaux 9th Louisiana Battalion Unattached: 9th Louisiana Partisan Rangers Battalion Artillery: Pettus' Mississippi Battery Semmes' Confederate Regular Battery Cobb's Kentucky Battery (Bowen's Brigade) Not Engaged: Brig. Gen. John S. Bowen 1st Missouri 9th Arkansas 10th Arkansas 6th Mississippi 33rd Mississippi Caruthers' Mississippi Sharpshooters

Confederate Navy

CSS ''Arkansas''; Lieut. Charles W. Read

Gallery

File:UnionCampBatonRouge1862crop01.jpg, Union troops of the 2nd Brigade under the command of General Thomas Williams encamped in the city limits. File:UnionCampBatonRouge1862crop02.jpg, Union troops of the 2nd Brigade under the command of General Thomas Williams encamped in the city limits of Baton Rouge. File:UnionCampBanksBatonRouge1862.jpg, Union Camp Banks, temporary home to the 7th Vermont, 21st Indiana and Nims' Battery in Baton Rouge photographed in late July 1862. File:DamageatBatonRouge1862.jpg, These homes near the southeastern flank of the arsenal at Baton Rouge were ordered destroyed by Union Colonel Halbert E. Paine after the surprise attack so that they would not afford shelter to any potential attackers.

References

Notes

;Abbreviations used in these notes: :Official atlas: ''Atlas to accompany the official records of the Union and Confederate armies.'' :ORA (Official records, armies): ''War of the Rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate Armies.'' :ORN (Official records, navies): ''Official records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion.''

Citations

Sources

External links

*
The Battle of Baton Rouge
at Son of the South {{DEFAULTSORT:Baton Rouge, Battle Of 1862 in Louisiana 1862 in the American Civil War August 1862 events Baton Rouge Baton Rouge East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana History of Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge Baton Rouge West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana