Union naval landing parties retake Chandeleur Island in Louisiana off the mouth of the Mississippi

The Chandeleur Island Lighthouse, rebuilt in 1855, was an important guide to navigation in the Gulf of Mexico at the mouth of the Mississippi River.  Confederate forces took control early in the war but landing parties from the United States warships. Massachusetts, Preble, and Marion retook the islands, installed batteries and relit the lighthouse.  The light was the first the Union recaptured in the Gulf of Mexico.  The islands suffered severely during Hurricane Catrina in 2005 and the modern lighthouse was completely destroyed.  (By John Osborne)