The Splendid Naval Triumph on the Mississippi, April 24th, 1862: Destruction of the Rebel Gunboats, Rams, and Iron Clad Batteries by the Union Fleet under Flag Officer Farragut

In April 1861, at the start of the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln declared a blockade of Southern ports; gaining control of the Mississippi River and Confederate trade benefiting Southern states were key Union goals. This print records a decisive Northern assault, known as the Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, which took place in April 1862; these two strategically located forts guarded the mouth of the Mississippi. Six days of mortar bombardment, followed by fierce naval combat, forced the damaged Forts Jackson and Saint Philip to surrender. Union Flag Officer David Farragut then advanced his fleet upriver to capture New Orleans, the Confederacy’s largest city and chief port.

Several months later the New York firm of Currier & Ives produced this dramatic lithograph, using multiple stones to print a striking multicolor panorama filled with ships engaged in battle and fiery explosions. The text below identifies the ships and forts and also conveys what witnesses saw: "The sight of this night attack was awfully grand, the river lit up with blazing rafts filled with pine knots and the ships seemed to be fighting literally amidst the flames and smoke."

Nathaniel Currier, who established a successful New York-based lithography firm in 1835, produced thousands of hand-colored prints in various sizes that together create a vivid panorama of mid-to-late nineteenth century American life and its history. In 1857, Currier made accountant James Merritt Ives (his brother Charles's brother-in-law) a business partner; the firm was then renamed Currier & Ives. People eagerly acquired Currier & Ives lithographs, such as those featuring landscapes, rural and city views, hunting and fishing scenes, domestic life and numerous other subjects, as an inexpensive way to decorate their homes or business establishments.