Battle of Bisland

The Battle of Bisland It is 1860, and Abraham Lincoln was Just elected, the first Republican to win the White House. The Southern States had threatened secession if the Republicans won, and by the time Lincoln was inaugurated on March 4, 1861, seven states had left the union. A powder keg waiting for something to light its fuse. On April 12, 1861, that fuse was lit as Union ships attempted to resupply Fort Sumter, and South Carolina artillery pounded the redoubt. Others say a battery on Morris Island manned by Citadel Academy cadets fired what is considered to be the first shots of the American Civil War on January 9, 1861, on the U.S. steamer Star of the West trying to reach Fort Sumter. No matter the date, the country was plunged into war , with family and friends caught in the middle. brother against brother, father against son, The media of the day reported the great battle in Gettysburg, Manasses, or as some called it, Bull run, but Louisana was not spared the suffering of that war leaving scars that still have not healed. In 1864 saw, the Union Army deep within the south. New Orleans had fallen, General Mouton and Union General Banks would face off near Calumet, Louisiana. Fort Bisland was besieged on the ground and water by Union troops and gunboats. It was the first step in a string of skirmishes along the Bayou Teche. Often fighting on their homesteads, the confederates gave ground begrudgingly. Both sides paying the price in blood. Threatened with their route of retreat being cut off, the Confederates led by General Taylor, was forced to abandon the post and fall back to Franklin. Burning bridges behind them, they left the fort to the Federal troops. The last redoubt that could impede the Yankees had fallen.