Raymond O. and new member of the 8th, Jere Suter wait eagerly for drill.

Colonel Mike Kloepfer of the First Louisiana Brigade prepares for the spring campaign ... by washing the fall campaign dishes.

The Fort Jackson event held on March 6, 7, 1999 was hosted by the 5th Company Washington Artillery. Members attending from the 8th Louisiana included Lee Bartlett, Jude Brand, Wayne Cosby and Steven Driskell. Our small camp was situated in the Water Batteries along with the 16th Louisiana. The event included 2 good battles with plenty of pyrotechnics to make it interesting, along with a night firing by the artillery. Southern Vintage played the music at the ball inside the Fort.

While sitting in camp late Saturday night, the fog which was beginning to enclose our camp, swiftly vanished with a breeze. This breeze increased so much that some members of the 16th went to the fort for cover. This kept up from midnight till well past noon the next day.

Battle at Fort Jackson and St. Phillip

Following the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, it became evident that all the states of the deep south would secede. On the local scene, before the Secession Convention of Louisiana met, Governor Thomas O. Moore seized all properties belonging to the United States. Major P. H. Theard, on January 8, 1861, seized Forts Jackson and St. Phillip in the name of the State of Louisiana.

Sergeant W. V. Smith, who represented the Union garrison at the Fort, surrendered under protest when he felt it was futile to resist the superior numbers in Major Theard's command.

The Confederate engineers had a difficult task to ready the Forts to defend the lower Mississippi River. Though the original specifications allowed for 93 gun placements, the seized Fort Jackson had much fewer guns available for immediate use.

During the battle with Flag Officer Farragut's Union fleet, there were only 69 guns at Fort Jackson and 45 at Fort St. Phillip. To supplement the batteries, General P. G. T. Beauregard suggested that a floating boom be placed across the river just below the Forts. This would halt the ships' progress under the batteries of the Forts and allow the guns to concentrate their fire.