Today in History: The Fall of New Orleans

On this day (April 29) in 1862, New Orleans was captured by Union forces during the Civil War. New Orleans was the most important port in the south, but the Confederate States individually refused to send adequate troops to defend it, preferring to keep their soldiers closer to home. Even within the city, resources needed for the defense were spent by private individuals creating privateers which would attempt to turn a profit by preying on union shipping. So the Union was able to grab New Orleans and cut off one of the Confederacy’s vital links to the rest of the world.