On this day in 1862,

UNION FORCES TAKE NEW ORLEANS

On this day in 1862, Union forces, led by Admiral David Farragut, took the City of New Orleans in a surprise attack from the Gulf of Mexico rather than via the Mississippi River to the north, where most of the Confederate forces were massed.  Farragut secured the Union’s takeover of New Orleans by taking the last two Confederate forts between New Orleans and Vicksburg, 400 miles to the north.  The Union’s control of New Orleans and the Mississippi split the Confederacy into two and severely hampered its ability to supply its troops.

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