New Orleans, LA

We will get a fairly early start today because I am beyond excited about being in New Orleans. This year is the 150^th anniversary of the Civil War, and the weekend we shall be at New Orleans there will be a huge festival to commemorate the battle of Fort Jackson. There will be a battle reenactment on Saturday at 1:30p.m. and a cannon firing that night at 7:00p.m. 

The union had planned early to divide the South by seizing control of the Mississippi river. The first step in doing so was to enter the mouth of the Mississippi, capture New Orleans and thus shut the port to rebel ships. Starting on April 16, 1862 the Union Admiral David G. Farragut began bombing Fort Jackson and continued to do so for seven days until the Confederates guns were finally silenced.

Photo Credit: History.navy.mil

We will hang out at the festival, eat yummy fair food, and after the fireworks go crash at the Riverside Belle Chasse Bed & Breakfast. By attending this Civil War reenactment I hope to gain a better understanding of what life was like during the Civil War. By doing so I will be able to see how it reflects not only in my life as a southerner, but also the South itself.