New Orleans and The Civil War

When the subject of New Orleans comes up, most people think of Hurricane Katrina or Mardi Gras.  If the American Civil War is discussed, an infinite number of possible topics arrive.  How about the subject of New Orleans during the Civil War?  This subject is not delved in to in high schools across the nation but the accounts of this place and time period are fascinating.  New Orleans has always been quite different from the rest of the country, especially since it was created as a blend of many eclectic cultures.  The city is a culture concoction of French, Native American, Creole, African American, Spanish, Cajun, and many others.  What could the outcome be when a city formed on cultural diversity is suddenly overthrown by a Northern army of invaders intent on changing their city to suit the needs of the Union?

New Orleans was taken over by Major General Benjamin Butler and the Union Army on May 1, 1862.  The city was a major port then because it was built on the Mississippi River access to the Gulf of Mexico.  The Union Army knew that by taking over New Orleans, as well as a few other cities along the river, they could cut off supplies to the Confederate Army and divide them as well. 15,000 troops moved into the city that spring to a formal surrender.  New Orleans gave the Union a key position in the war over their Confederate enemy but also became an area to be carefully considered in to how it was to be run.  England and France had close commercial ties with New Orleans and the Union did not want to destroy that alliance (Capers, 408).  Butler at once set out to show the city who was in charge through actions many disagreed with such as hanging a man for tearing down an American flag from the federal mint.  In another infamous act, Butler ordered that any woman who insulted a Union soldier would be considered a “woman of the town plying her avocation” (Capers, 406).  This, among many other questionable actions may have led to his being replaced in December, 1863 with Major General Nathanial P. Banks (Capers, 406).

During Butler’s reign, however, a hurricane of violence was erupting not just between North and South, but between slaves and free citizens as well.  July of 1862 saw fifteen slaves escape a plantation and enter the city, armed with clubs and cane knives.  Two weeks later brought a small army of approximately forty slaves who fought off city police until federal troops managed to take them down.  The summer saw an overflow of slaves arrested for attacking their owners, bringing a new fear to the citizens of war-weary New Orleans (Messner, 23).  Butler was against slavery but was bound by law to not confiscate slaves from their owners and was thereby only active in taking action upon those slaves who caused violence or broke other laws (Messner, 24).  Many slaves managed to escape their owners without provocation, however, and found solace and security at the Union camps scattered throughout (Messner, 20).