Combat· War of 1812
Defense of Fort St. Philip
While the main armies faced each other at Chalmette, the British also tried to force the Mississippi itself.
A squadron including bomb vessels came up the river and, beginning on 9 January, subjected Fort St. Philip, about seventy miles below New Orleans, to a sustained bombardment meant to open the water route to the city. The garrison under Major Walter Overton, which included Marines among its defenders, endured the shelling for nine days, sheltering from the mortar fire and keeping their own guns in action whenever the enemy ships came within range. The British could not silence the fort or pass it, and they eventually broke off and withdrew downriver. The successful defense closed the river approach to New Orleans, ensuring that even if the land assault had somehow succeeded, the British could not have brought their fleet up to hold the city.
Podcast episodes on War of 1812
Record no. 244