1884 Waud View of the Capture of New Orleans, 1862, U.S. Civil War

This is a striking bird’s-eye view of New Orleans as it was captured by Union Naval forces in April 1862 during the American Civil War (1861 - 1865). The city’s surrender was a major morale boost to the Union and cut the Mississippi River off from the sea, marking a turning point in the war.

A Closer Look

This view provides a panorama of New Orleans looking towards the northwest, with Jackson Square and the French Quarter to the right, the city’s port and warehouse facilities in the foreground, and Lake Pontchartrain in the background. Although the Union capture of the city was bloodless (discussed below), Confederate troops destroyed and burned anything that might be of use to the enemy before they surrendered, the cause for the dramatic fires along the riverfront.

The Capture of New Orleans

The U.S. Navy’s capture of New Orleans at the end of April 1862 was a critical development in the American Civil War. One of the first Union victories, it not only provided a morale boost but vindicated the ‘Anaconda Plan’ of blockading the Confederacy by sea and cutting it in half along the Mississippi River, a process that was completed with the capture of Vicksburg, Mississippi and Port Hudson, Louisiana the following July.

At New Orleans, the Union forces were led by Flag Officer David Farragut (1801 - 1870), who would eventually be promoted to become the first Admiral in the United States Navy. Farragut’s vital decision was to take advantage of the speed of his steam-powered ships and barrel past Forts Jackson and St. Philip near the mouth of the Mississippi River, which the Confederates mistakenly believed would guarantee the city’s defense. By the time Farragut’s ships reached New Orleans, the seizure of the city, defended by only a few thousand poorly armed militiamen, was a bloodless fait accompli. The capture of the Confederacy’s largest city and the choking off of the Mississippi River were decisive factors in the ultimate Union victory.

Publication History and Census

This view was drawn by William Waud, dated April 25, and was published in Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper on May 25, 1862. It appeared in several publications afterwards, titled as ‘Panoramic View of New Orleans - The Federal Fleet at Anchor in the River, April 25th, 1862,’ including The Soldier in our Civil War, an Illustrated History (1884, published by Frank Leslie). The present example was included in the work The Civil War in the United States; nothing is known about this work, but likely it was published in the late 19th century. We have not found this example in any institutional holdings, and it is very scarce to the market.