The Battle of Baton Rouge

Benjamin is very interested in all things about the Civil War.  We've read Michael Shaara's, "The Killer Angels," which is a great book, by the way.  We were going to travel to the Chattanooga area for the 150th anniversary of The Battle of Chickamauga in which 5,000 people were reenacting the battle on Sep 19 -22, but the 10 hour drive with home school, a new baby calf and other duties at home and on the farm discouraged us.

We did, however, find a reenactment near our home that we attended that was a little more convenient to travel to.  There were some other activities involved that I'll tell you about at a later date.  In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a group of reenactors that had just returned from Chickamauga reenacted a skirmish that occurred in the Battle of Baton Rouge on August 5, 1862.

Here is Benjamin holding a rifle and is being recruited to go fight for the Union forces.  Don't do it, Benjamin!

"Join up, man.  Sign your name on the line."

The Union soldiers marched through while the Confederates jeered at them.

I took some pictures of the reenactment that I'll share below and I'm paraphrasing the events in the battle from this informative website: Battle of Baton Rouge  In the Battle, the Confederate forces tried to retake the capital city.  Union warships had steamed up the Mississippi River. Everyone evacuated Baton Rouge and there were not enough Confederate soldiers to defend the city. Taking New Orleans and Baton Rouge enabled the North to advance to Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Confederate General Earl Van Dorn got 5,000 men to go to Louisiana under Major General John Breckenridge's command.  They arrived in the area on the night of August 4th, but were spotted by Union sentries.  Breckenridge moved on the Union soldiers and the battle ensued toward the eastern part of downtown Baton Rouge.  The heaviest fighting occurred from Greenwell Springs road to Magnolia Cemetery.

Confederate horsemen with the Stars & Bars

By the time the Southern troops arrived in Baton Rouge, however, heat and exhaustion had cut almost cut Breckenridge's number in half, but even with reduced number, they pushed the Union soldiers deeper into town.  As they pushed the Union further downtown (and closer to the River), the Union warships sitting on the Mississippi were able to shell the Confederate infantry.  The Union Commander, General Williams, was killed in the Battle.

Union Infantry with cannons in background

Union soldiers firing on the on-coming Confederates. 

Pow!  Pow!

Union soldiers taking cover behind tombstones in 'Magnolia Cemetery.'

Dying in the Cemetery

The cannon thundered as the two forces clashed on that August day of 1862, showing the superiority of the Union's artillery.  Could Baton Rouge be re-taken by the rebels?

Sadly, no.  A plan for the CSS Arkansas to attack the Union warships was doomed when the ironclad's engines failed and eventually was burned in the River.  The Battle was ferociously fought for six hours until General Breckenridge realized that without naval support, retaking Baton Rouge would be too costly.  He ordered his men off the field of battle.

Let's head out fellas and live to fight another day.

Once the battle ended, they began to assess the damage.

• The Union had 84 killed, 266 wounded and 33 captured or missing.
• Confederates had 84 killed, 315 wounded and 57 captured or missing.

An interesting note was that among the Southern dead was Lieutenant Alexander H. Todd, the brother-in-law of President Abraham Lincoln.  

A monument to the Battle and graves of Confederate soldiers can be found at Magnolia Cemetery.  The graves of Union dead are at Baton Rouge National Cemetery.  Both cemeteries are open to the public daily.

The reenactors paid tribute to those Confederate and Union soldiers who lost their lives that day by firing their rifles in the air in a salute.  It was very loud but at the same time was a solemn remembrance of the lives sacrificed on that day in 1862 not far from where we were.  

Respect for the Dead

Benjamin and I enjoyed the day.  We learned a lot talking to the soldiers individually.  They were students of history who shared with us what it was like to be a Confederate soldier during those times.  Times were hard.  That was a tough, tough time in our nation's history.