Union naval units begin a five day bombardment of Fort Jackson on the Mississippi below New Orleans

At nine in the morning, a Union mortar fleet of twenty-one vessels opened fire on Fort Jackson, the main strongpoint on the Mississippi River, along with Fort St. Philip, defending New Orleans to the north from the forces advancing from the Gulf of Mexico.   The forty-year old Fort Jackson, already suffering from flooding from the rising river, had no artillery capable of countering the barrage.  The shelling continued for five days.  The fort's commander counted 2,997 Union shells fired at his positions on that first day alone.  (By John Osborne)