Editing Donaldsonville, Louisiana (section)

===Civil War===
In the summer of 1862, Donaldsonville was bombarded by [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] forces during the [[American Civil War]] as part of the Union's effort to gain control of the Mississippi River. The Union sent gunboats to the town and warned that if shots were fired, the [[Union Navy]] would strike the area for six miles to the south and nine miles to the north and destroy every building on every [[Plantations in the American South|plantation]]. Admiral [[David G. Farragut]] destroyed much of the former capital city and put Ascension Parish under [[martial law]], extending that to other [[Mississippi River|River]] parishes.

[[Historian]] [[John D. Winters]], in his ''The Civil War in Louisiana'' (1963), describes the scene:

<blockquote>The irate naval commander, Admiral Farragut, ordered the bombardment of Donaldsonville as soon as it could be evacuated. All of the citizens of Donaldsonville . . . "left their homes and went to the bayou . . . a detachment of Yankees went to shore with fire torches in hand." The hotels, warehouses, dwellings, and some of the most valuable buildings of the town were destroyed, Plantations . . . were bombarded and set afire. . . . A citizens' committee met and decided to ask [[Governor of Louisiana|Governor]] [[Thomas Overton Moore|Moore]] to keep the [Confederate] Rangers from firing on Federal boats. These attacks did no real good and brought only crude reprisals against the innocent and helped to keep the [[Negro]]es stirred up.<ref>[[John D. Winters]], ''The Civil War in Louisiana'', [[Baton Rouge]]: [[Louisiana State University Press]], 1963, {{ISBN|0-8071-0834-0}}, p. 153</ref></blockquote>

A citizen complained that the Rangers were useless and lawless, unable or unwilling to protect Confederate property. The citizen added that the Confederate people "could not fare worse were we surrounded by a band of [[Abraham Lincoln|Lincoln]]'s mercenary hirelings. Our homes are entered and pillaged of everything that they [Rangers] see fit to appropriate to themselves."<ref>Winters, p. 153</ref>

Union forces established a base at Donaldsonville for their occupation of river parishes. They took over some plantations, running them as U.S. government plantations to supply the forces and produce cotton.<ref name="butler"/>

==== Fort Butler ====
Many escaping slaves entered the Union lines to gain freedom. General [[Benjamin Butler (politician)|Benjamin Butler]] had declared them "[[Contraband (American Civil War)|contrabands]]" of war and would not return them to slaveholders. They stayed and worked with Union forces, helping build the star-shaped [[Fort Butler (Donaldsonville, Louisiana)|Fort Butler]] in the town. A work of earth and wood, it was 381 feet long on the side by the Mississippi River, the other was protected by [[Bayou Lafourche]], and the land sides by a deep moat.<ref name="butler">[http://www.donaldsonvillechief.com/article/20080716/NEWS/307169932 "Fort Butler Memorial"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019094914/http://www.donaldsonvillechief.com/article/20080716/NEWS/307169932 |date=2013-10-19 }}, ''Donaldsonville Chief'', 16 July 2008, accessed 18 October 2013</ref> A stockade surrounded the fort, which contained a high and thick earth parapet. There was further security from a strong log. The fort was built to accommodate 600 men, but in 1863 there were a small garrison of 180 Union men, commanded by Major Joseph Bullen of the 28th Maine; the forces were also made up of the [[1st Louisiana Volunteers]], a few [[Louisiana Native Guard (United States)|Louisiana Native Guard]] convalescents, and some fugitive slaves.<ref name="butler" />

In June 1863, Confederate forces attacked Fort Butler at night. Led by [[Thomas Green (general)|General Tom Green]], more than 1,000 Texas Rangers attacked the fort. Free blacks and fugitive slaves joined in the successful defense of the fort, in one of the first times they fought as soldiers on behalf of the Union. The ''[[New York Tribune]]'' wrote; "When action took place the negroes were stimulated to daring deeds."<ref name="butler"/> Historian Don Frazier, wrote; "Not only did black hands build this citadel of freedom, they defended it to the death."<ref name="butler"/> The Union kept control of the fort and ultimately won the war. It has been listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].