christof139
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quote:
Christof, The CSA garrisons of these forts was nominal. According to the book entitled "The Day the South Lost the War" (can't remember author), the total manpower for the two forts was about 500 men! After the Union fleet bypassed the forts and ascended the Mississippi to N'Alens, the troops abandoned the forts and fled west to Vermillionville because they were too weak to defend against a land attack.
< Message edited by Whit -- 3/23/2007 10:29:56 AM >
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Tactics II
There is another book entitled 'The Night the War was Lost' by Charles L. Dufor, and I have that and many others. A real good one is 'A River Unvexed, a History and Tour Guide of the Campaign for the Mississippi River', by Jim Miles and part of the Civil War campaign Series published by Rutlege Hill Press, Nashville, TN. There are 5 books in this series and 'A River Unvexed' is 596 pages long, a great and detailed book.
Another good book is 'The Civil War in Louisiana' by John D. Winters, not to be confused with 'Louisiana in the Civil War' by another author, which latter is also a good book.
The main parts of the garrisons around the 2 forts below New Orleans were withdrawn prior to the battle so they wouldn't be cut-off if the USA fleet managed to pass the forts, and also since the 2-forts did not need a huge number of troops to man them and an over abundance of troops in the garrisons would more quickly deplete available food supplies.
Fort Jackson had a garrison of over 300 troops and about 95 guns, while Fort St. Phillip was smaller and mounted about 52 guns and had a slightly smaller garrison. Not all of the guns in any of the forts guarding the American coastline were ever provided with a crew for each gun in them, as that is unnecessary as the gun crews would move within the fort to whatever direction the main assault was coming from, and that was SOP, leaving a small number of guards to watch the walls of the fort that weren't being attacked, using economy of force in other words. Additionally, between 250 to 300 of Fort Jackson's garrison mutinied after the USA fleet passed the 2-forts and the mutiny succeeded, thus leaving only the St. Mary's Cannoneers, a Louisiana Arty. Battery to man the fort's guns.
The USA built Fort Jackson was designed for a garrison of about 300-troops, while the older, smaller and paralellogram shaped Spanish or French built Fort St. Philip was designed to hold about 200-troops as a garrison. The additional guns at these 2-forts were mounted in earthworks and water batteries outside the original fort structures.
***In other words, both Forts Jackson and St. Philip and their additional earthworks and water batteries were sufficiently manned by CSA forces and did not possess inadequate numbers of garrison troops and guns.***
Above Forts Jackson and St. Philip there was the CSA Battery at Chalmette on the east bank of the Miss. River mounting about 10-32-pdrs, and Battery or Camp McGhee opposite Chalmette on the west bank of the Miss. River and also mounting about 10-32-pdrs. Both of these batteries also fought. At the village and CSA Camp of Quarantine just north of Fort St. Philip, CSA Col. I. Szymanski surrendered his regiment of over 300-troops to the commander of the USS Cayuga without resistance or attempting to escape.
There were also 4-CSA Navy and 2-State of Louisiana warships mounting about 30-guns, along with the CSA Army's 6-gunboat-rams of the River Defense Force mounting about 12-guns. The 6-CSA Navy and State warships fought, while the 6-CSA Army rams refused to operate under Navy command and were nearly all destroyed while still at anchor. The unfinished ironclad CSS Louisiana was used as a powerful floating battery and did good service in that role, not being surrendered but being cast adrift and set on flame after the USA fleet passed upstream of the forts and the CSS Louisiana's position.
Altogether the CSA had about 189-guns and sufficient gun crews at Forts Jackson and St. Philip and on the 12-naval vessels, and counting the approximate 20-32-pdrs. at Batteries Chalmette and McGhee, this is a total of aprroximately 209-guns to face the 46-ships mounting approximately 348-guns and 21-mortars of the USA fleet under Farragut.
So, the CSA had a good amount of strength, both in batteries and number of troops and guns, as well as a respectable naval force that could have done more damage if used in concert.
More good books are: 1) Ships Versus Shore, Civil War Engagements Along Southern Shores and Rivers, by Dave Page; 2) Combined Operations in the Civil War, by Rowena Reed; 3) Thunder Along the Mississippi, the River Battles That Split the Confederacy, by Jack D. Coombe; 4) Guns on the Western Waters, the Story of River Gunboats in the Civil War, by H.A. Gosnell; 5) Ellet's Brigade, the Strangest Outfit of All, by C.G. Hearn; 6) and many others.
Chris
PS: All CSA and State forces and arms and stores that could be evacuated were ordered to Camp Moore, about 30-miles north of NO, but not all the troops including militia got there, as many deserted and a few were on the west side of the river and couldn't or just didn't cross back over to the east side. Even the powder mill machinery was evacuated to Vicksburg. There were several thousand CSA and State troops in the NO area, thousands all told, as they were also garrisoning Forts Pike and Macomb to the northeast at Lake Pontchartrain, Fort Livingston I believe at Barataria Bay, and a few other post war of 1812 USA built forts and other CSA built posts. Gen. Lovell was the overall CSA commander, and the must have been nigh on 10,000 and more CSA and State troops in the NO area. the NO 'European Brigade' was a LA State Militia unit that kept order in NO after the CSA and other State forces evacuated, and I believe it remained in the City of NO after the USA occupation, although no doubt many of its members served in the CSA forces at a later date.
< Message edited by christof139 -- 3/24/2007 12:29:16 PM >
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'What is more amazing, is that amongst all those approaching enemies there is not one named Gisgo.' Hannibal Barcid (or Barca) to Gisgo, a Greek staff officer, Cannae.
That's the CSS North Carolina BB-55
Boris Badanov, looking for Natasha Goodenov
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LA garrisons - 
just glanced at the states and saw a bunch of very northern Union states and missed La.
I've been reading of some more of the politics withing the CSA command system, and am learning quite well I think. 
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