The Fall of New Orleans

The Fall of New Orleans

(April 25 – May 1, 1862)

Beneath the Mississippi's steadfast flow,

Where tides of war did surge and grow.

Two forts stood guard, a tale to show,

Jackson and St. Philip, defiant and low.

The South had bolstered its iron hold,

On river's trade, its lifeblood gold.

As Union ships pushed through, so bold,

Toward New Orleans, the prize they'd mold.

Admiral Farragut, brave and wise,

Commanded a fleet with steadfast eyes.

Through cannon's roar and smoke-filled skies,

He vowed the Crescent City his prize.

On the twenty-fifth, stars and stripes unfurled,

Over the Mint, a new order hurled.

Butler's troops marched in, flags uncurled,

The Crescent City's rebellion swirled.

A turning point, this river capture,

The Confederacy's heart in rapture.

With New Orleans lost, a new chapter,

The Union's victory grew much vaster.

Farragut and Butler, names in time,

Their actions here, bold and sublime.

A city fell, yet its fate to climb,

The war's tide turned, a paradigm.

The river's lifeblood is now controlled,

Dividing deep, a story untold.

The Confederacy's stronghold rolled,

Under Union Hope, newly patrolled.

So let us remember that fateful spring,

When New Orleans heard freedom ring.

A battle won, a nation's wing,

The road to peace, a costly thing.