The Capture of New Orleans 1862

FIFTEEN: High Noon at City Hall

FIFTEEN High Noon at City Hall Major GeneralLovelL was among the spectators witnessing the early stages of the Union fleet passing the forts. On April 23 he had gone down the river in a small steamboat to induce Commander Mitchell to moveLouisiana below the barrier, and he was still there when USS Cayuga came under the guns of the forts. Lovell stayed only long enough to convince himself that the forts would not stop Farragut s vessels. "I returned at once to the city," he stated, "narrowly escaping capture, and giving orders to General [Martin L.] Smith, in command ofthe interior lines, to ... make allpossible resistance to the enemy's fleet at the earthwork batteries below the town." The guns at Chalmette, however, pointed mostly inland, emplaced there to enfilade an infantry attack. Worse, the high stage of the river made the guns untenable because passing gunboats could fire directly into the rear of the earthworks. Lovell had been confident he could repulse an attack from ground forces, but this -was different. Before the general reached New Orleans, he had already decided that if Farragut got his fleet above the forts the city could not be defended. He woke Mayor John T. Monroe, along with membersof the citycouncil, and told them so. A member of the council suggested that a thousand "desperately bold men"could easily be recruited to board the enemy'svessels and carry them by assault; and Lovell ordered Major Samuel L. James to seize the necessary steamers and attempt it. When James could find no more than a hundred volunteers, Lovell returned to his original plan— evacuation. In the city of New Orleans, Lovell had no heavy guns and no forces trained to contend with Farragut s firepower.Most of the Confederatein- 238 The Capture of New Orleans, 1862 fantry had been sent to the forts, along with all of the best guns. Moreover , much ofthe powder for the guns at Chalmette had been transferred to Louisiana, leaving General Smith with only about twenty rounds per gun. The troops in the city consisted ofabout three thousand militia armed with shotguns, some ninety-day volunteers who were disbanding to go home, and three regiments of new recruits who were still without arms. If the citywere subjected to a siege, the civilian population of 170,000 citizens and slaves would be starved into submissionwithin three weeks, because there would be no way to bring in supplies. Because of high water, the swamps around the city were full, and the only outlet passable by land was •west through Kenner and then north along the Jackson Railroad. Lake Pontchartrain had not yet been occupied, and Lovell ordered all available steamers assembled at Metairie. Once Farragut came in force, Lovell realized that both outlets would be sealed off. He had little time left, and he could not waste it. Over initial objections from civilian officials, Lovell loaded his three thousand troops with their baggage and supplies on the Jackson Railroad and sent them to Camp Moore, seventy-eight milesto the north. He also recalled troops from nearby outposts, ordering them to spike their guns and bring their small arms. As they filed into the city, he marched them to Metairie, where waiting steamers shuttled them across the lake to Madisonville . From there they were to find their way to Camp Moore. Finally, he rounded up all the loose guns, loaded them on freight cars or steamers, and sent them upriver to Vicksburg. Later in the morning Lovell convinced most of the public officials that evacuation would transform New Orleans from a "military position into that of an ungarrisoned city." He believed that Farragut would be unable to occupy the city immediately or demand a surrender until Butler entered the city, thereby giving the Confederate army quartermaster ample time for the "undisturbed removal of the vast amountofpublicproperty ... on hand at the time."' While Lovell had spent part pf the night of the attack at Fort St. Philip, Commander Whittle had spent it asleep in his room at the St. Charles Ho- 'tel. An aide brought a message to his room at 5:40 A.M. advising him that the Union fleet had passed the forts and was now at Quarantine. It was the last message Colonel Ignatius Srymanski ofthe Chalmette Regiment would send. USS Cayuga steamed over to the bank, and Captain Bailey ordered 1. ORN, XVIII, 255-56, Lovell to Cooper, May 22, 1862; ORA, VI, 565-66, Lovell's Testimony. [3...