Battle of Baton Rouge, LA
by Scott Mingus of North Coast Wargamers
scottmingus@yahoo.com

August 5th, 1862

American Civil War Union forces had landed near New Orleans and pushed northward up the Mississippi River. In mid-1862, they captured the Louisiana state capital of Baton Rouge. Stubborn resistance at Vicksburg finally stopped the Yankee inroads and the Union offensive ground to a halt. Returning down river, Admiral Farragut moved most of his naval forces back to the Gulf of Mexico, leaving several small gunboats near Baton Rouge to protect the small land force under General Thomas Williams. Jubilant Rebel leaders determined that this city could be recaptured to restore southern morale and to re-establish control of the critical river port. Major General John Breckinridge was ordered to move south from Vicksburg and take Baton Rouge. In late July, they moved south, with many men sick from the humidity, heat, and illness of fouled water supplies. Concurrently, overall commander Earl Van Dorn had ordered the southern navy to send the ironclad Arkansas to drive off the pesky Federal gunboats. The Arkansas would run aground and would be destroyed by her crew before they could fire a shot however.

Advancing alone, Breckinridge’s forces reached the outskirts of Baton Rouge the evening of August 4th. After a tense night, they formed battle lines and moved forward in a dense river valley fog early the next morning. Tom Williams had formed his Union defensive lines just at the edge of Baton Rouge, splitting his defensive force into two wings. On his right he posted wing under Col. Dudley, with troops of the 30th MA, 6th MI and the 7th VT, supported by cavalry and two batteries. To his left, he posted a brigade under Col. Cahill consisting of the 9th CT, 21sy IN, 14th ME, and 4th WI, again with two batteries in support. Their orders were to hold Baton Rouge as long as possible. Five gunboats from Farragut’s naval force floated just beyond Baton Rouge in the Mississippi and would add long range artillery fire to the defense. The Essex, Cayuga, Kineo, Sumter, and Katahdin had a combined total of 22 guns, a mixture of smoothbores and heavy Parrott Rifles (20# and 50#).

Here, Dudley’s men can be seen lining a fence by a road intersecting the Greenwell Springs Road. In front of the 7th VT is Magnolia Cemetery, one of the few spots on the battlefield still preserved today in the suburban sprawl of Baton Rouge. To the upper left is Cahill’s force fronting the woods. 

Breckinridge’s force consisted of two small divisions. Clark’s Division had two brigades (the Kentucky “Orphan Brigade” under Col. T.H. Hunt and Col. T.B. Smith’s Brigade). The 2nd Division under General Ruggles had two brigades as well, these under Col. Thompson and Col. Allen. In addition, Breckinridge had 260 men of the Louisiana Partisan Rangers at his command and a small detachment of untested infantry and artillery under Shields rounding out his small army. From his left, he aligned the attacking force in this order – Allen, Thompson, Hunt, Smith. Shields and the Partisan Rangers would arrive later and provide limited support to the four attacking infantry brigades. As fog enveloped the battlefield, Breckinridge, a former Vice-President of the United States, ordered the men to advance across the broken terrain towards Williams’ lines. Here, Rebel commanders Scott Mingus Jr., Doug MacKay, and Matt Braisted comply with Breckinridge’s order and begin moving their men into position for the attack as Dudley scrambles to ready his Right Wing for defensive action.

Advancing quickly as the gunboats lobbed shells through the fog into the general vicinity of the Rebel battlelines, Breckinridge’s 4 brigades soon encountered the lead elements of Williams’ lines. As the fog began to lift and targets became visible to musketry, the steady noise of battle began to grow as the lines drew nearer. On the Union left, the Orphans and Smith were making little headway penetrating the Union position, their attack being disjointed and fragmented by the many farm fields, small swampy areas, creeks, and rolling terrain. Cahill’s men fire at long range and begin to stall the Rebel attack.

The situation on the other flank was just as bad for Breckinridge. Fire from the gunboats and from Dudley’s force stalled repeated attacks by Allen and Thompson and little progress was made.

A determined rush by the Orphan Brigade and Smith’s Brigade suddenly disordered Cahill’s Left Wing, and Williams personally rode over to rally the troops. Williams rushed reinforcements (4th WI and 9th CT) into action as the Kentucky Orphans overran a section of artillery, capturing two guns. Frantically waving them on, Tom Williams was struck and killed by a Rebel bullet, and command fell upon Col. Cahill.

As the fog lifted, fire from the gunboats off in the nearby Mississippi became more accurate as did Union artillery and musket fire, and gaps appeared in the Rebel lines. Breckinridge ordered his reserves (Shields Infantry Detachment and the Louisiana Partisan Rangers) forward to restore some momentum to his stalled attacking infantry.

Union Colonel Dudley in response ordered forward part of his wing in a determined counterattack near and in the Magnolia Cemetery. This sudden attack took the last vigor from the Rebel attack, and Breckinridge ordered a withdrawal, having accomplished little and losing nearly 500 men from his attacking force. However, two weeks later, concerned over Breckinridge's attack, Cahill and Dudley's men were withdrawn to New Orleans to rejoin the main Union force.