The New Orleans Action Board is the setting for the “brown water” naval battles, fought for control of the Mississippi River during the American Civil War.

Part One: South from the Crescent City

Though it is not shown on the Action Board, the key to this conflict is New Orleans, Louisiana. Known as the “Crescent City” for the shape of its “Vieux Carre,” New Orleans grew from the French colonial settlement that today still clings to the north bank of the Mississippi River.

By 1861, New Orleans had grown into one of the largest port cities on the North American continent.

In the 1860’s the River’s main channel at New Orleans reached down over 50 feet (9 fathoms), deep enough that overseas shipping and other commercial traffic could sail up from the Gulf of Mexico to dock almost at the local merchants’ front door.

For the Confederacy, possession of New Orleans and its control of the Mississippi River was essential to the South’s survival as a nation.

Anaconda

As part of the Union’s overall strategy to defeat the Confederacy and re-unite the United States, Union General Winfield Scott’s “Anaconda Plan” called for the suffocation of the Confederate economy through Union control of the Mississippi River, and the capture or blockade of principal ports.

Top of that list was New Orleans.

The Forts

Eighty miles downriver from New Orleans, two forts loom up out of the sultry mist: Fort Jackson on the Mississippi’s west shore, and Fort St. Philip on the east.

From its commanding position on a bluff, Fort St. Philip alone had prevented the British Royal Navy’s waterborne attempt to seize New Orleans during the War of 1812.

Remembering the fort’s service to him in defense of New Orleans, US President Andrew Jackson ordered Fort St. Philip renovated and expanded in the 1830’s, adding Fort Jackson across the river during the same period.

“Rocks & Shoals”: Navigating the Mississippi River below New Orleans

Navigating your fishboat on the Mississippi River is very different from any other theater of operations. Though your craft can move either with or against the river’s current, your area of operation is limited to moving forward into the next Action Zone, or turning around and re-entering the Zone you just departed.

In effect, you are fighting in a hallway, against an enemy that knows every inch of it.

Starting out: Beaver Station

Safe under the guns of these two forts near the Mardi Gras river is the landing at Beaver Station, the Action Zone where the wharf and dock facilities for your fishboat on the Lower Mississippi are located. The River’s main channel here reaches down to Below depth. This Action Zone is under friendly (Confederate) observation.

The Salt Works

Just down-river is the wharf that services the Salt Works across the isthmus. The main channel is also at Below depth here, and the occupants of this Action Zone are Southern-friendly.

North East Point and “The Jump”

Opposite a false channel passage to starboard known as The Jump is the Action Zone of North East Point. The Jump was constructed to deal with the increased siltation that plagued the Mississippi’s main channel. While it did resolve the silting to some extent, the break in the right-side channel wall left this area prone to tidal drifting, especially in rough weather. The main channel through The Jump is still deep enough for operations and passage further south.

(Be warned: Reports have confirmed that the Union Navy has established a picket post at The Jump to keep an eye on what traffic remains on this part of the River.)

Alligator Station

Further south is the site of the now-closed City of New Orleans quarantine facility, designed to forestall diseases such as Yellow Fever or bubonic plague from arriving in town along with the overseas cargo and passengers. The River narrows here, though the channel still remains at Below depth. US Naval pickets are active here as well.

It is thought that the reference to alligators in the station name is due to the scaly critters returning to former digs now that the humans are busy elsewhere.    

Head of Passes

At Head of Passes the Mississippi River River fans out into a “birdfoot – shaped” array of river mouths that all empty into the Gulf of Mexico. Each of the three main “passes” or channels has several smaller associated passes. All of it is a constantly-changing land – and seascape of sand banks and bars shoaling up, only to wash away to nothing just as quickly. Adding to this is the River’s usual peppering of snags, wrecked steamboats, rocks, and other debris, every bit of it lurking in the best places to “fish” for the unwary mariner or river boatman. Head of Passes is the current anchorage of the Union Navy’s Gulf Coast Blockade Squadron with its land-side headquarters at Pilottown, just north of where the toes of the birdfoot join together. The tidal action in the Gulf of Mexico is only partially effective in controlling the amount of silt that the Mississippi River brings with it.

Pass a L’Outre (Main Channel)

The deep Pass a L’Outre is currently used as the Main Channel; the original Main Channel is all but un-navigable due to its being silted up. Pass a L’Outre heads due east from Head of Passes and offers relative protection from rough weather. It is the Pass most used by the Yankee Navy’s Gulf Coast Blockade Squadron, and who have also seen fit to close the lighthouse where Pass a L’Outre meets the Gulf of Mexico.

South West Pass  

This entrance to the Mississippi River is the one that suffers the most from the tidal surges, especially so from those associated with hurricanes and tropical storms, so you may find drifting to be a issue here. The Pass is blockaded by the US Navy, though not to the extent found at Head of Passes and Pass a L’Outre. Still, it is recommended that any missions into South West Pass be attempted only if your crew has a Training Level of 2 or higher.

Next time, Part Two of our reconnaissance takes us north along the Mississippi River.

New Orleans has fallen to the hated Yankees.

Rather than scuttling your fishboat and fleeing to Mobile, Alabama like James McClintock, Baxter Watson and Horace Hunley did, you, your fishboat and your machine shop stalwarts have found transport up the Mississippi to the Confederate city of Port Hudson, Louisiana.

Here, you plan your campaign of stealth and terror against Union Admiral David Farragut’s Gulf Blockade Squadron who even now are advancing on the Louisiana state capital of Baton Rouge.

(Note: All graphic images of Infernal Machine game materials used in this series of articles are subjective and may change and appear different in their final form.  All images show sourcing unless otherwise noted.)

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