The Civil War Battle for New Orleans

Governing access to the mouth of the crucial Mississippi River, New Orleans was one of the most hotly contested battlegrounds of the Civil War. It fell to the Union following attacks by naval and land forces, but some African American freemen allegedly joined Confederate defenders, and in a harsh occupation New Orleans women defied their captors. In a bitter reconstruction, African Americans suffered brutal mob attack. Civil War experts explore this untold story.

John F. Marszalek is executive director and managing editor of the Ulysses S. Grant Association. Craig L. Symonds is Ernest J. King Professor of Maritime History at the U.S. Naval War College. Harold Holzer (moderator) is the author, co-author, or editor of more than 50 books on Lincoln and the Civil War era.