Duckport Canal

The Duckport Canal was an unsuccessful military venture by

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Approximate location of the canal cut

During the opening days of the American Civil War in 1861, the Anaconda Plan to defeat the Confederate States of America was developed by Commanding General of the United States Army Winfield Scott. A key component of the Anaconda Plan was controlling the Mississippi River, which would cut the Confederacy in two as well as provide an outlet for American goods to be exported.^[1] In early 1862, Union forces captured New Orleans,^[2] and Union Navy elements moved upriver to Confederate-held Vicksburg, Mississippi.^[3] Vicksburg was the last Confederate position remaining on the Mississippi River at this time.^[4] Union vessels bombarded the city beginning in late May, but were unable to force it into submission.^[5] A joint army-navy force moved against the city again in June.^[6] Union infantry began construction on what became known as Grant's Canal in hopes of creating a waterway that would bypass Vicksburg, but the project was abandoned in late July.^[7] In August, Confederate troops occupied and fortified a second point on the Mississippi River at Port Hudson, Louisiana, 130 miles (210 km) south of Vicksburg.^[8]

Beginning in late November, Union forces led by

Grant decided on March 27 to inquire about the potential of another canal. The idea was to cut a canal from the Mississippi River near

According to historian Terry Winschel, the cut itself was to be 3 miles (4.8 km) long and then enter Walnut Bayou at Cooper's Plantation.[27] Miller gives the distance of the cut as 2 miles (3.2 km) from the Mississippi to Walnut Bayou.^[22] Engineer David F. Bastian states that the length of the cut was 0.5 miles (0.8 km),^[28] and Winters and Jones give a distance of 300 yards (270 m).^[24][29] A work co-authored by Winschel and historian William L. Shea states that the initial canal was 0.5 miles (0.8 km) long and was then connected via 3 miles (4.8 km) of obscure streams to Walnut Bayou.^[30] Historian Ed Bearss states that the distance between Big Bayou and the Mississippi River was 300 yards (270 m), and that Cornyn, upon his initial inspection, estimated that a total cut of 0.5 miles (0.80 km) would be required to get from the Mississippi River into Willow Bayou, as Big Bayou was badly obstructed.^[31] He also notes that a further 3 miles (4.8 km) would be required to reach Roundaway Bayou.^[32] Winters and Jones state that the canal width vertically tapered from 50 feet (15 m) to 25 feet (7.6 m) at the bottom depth of 15 feet (4.6 m);^[29][24] Bastian, Winschel, and Bearss state that it was 7 feet (2.1 m) deep and 40 feet (12 m) wide.^[27][28][33] The overall distance between the entrance to the canal cut and its ending point was 37 miles (60 km) according to Bastian and Winters^[18][28] and "nearly 50 miles (80 km) long" according to Jones.^[24]

Digging for the canal began on March 31.

The Duckport Canal, as drawn by Theodore R. Davis and published in Harper's Weekly

After the levee was cut, Pride estimated that only four more days of work were needed,^[38] although it was noted that the water in the bayous was rising slower than expected.^[39] When the transport Silver Wave entered the lower end of Bayou Vidal on April 18 to scout the pathway, she was unable to do so due to low water and trees.^[38] Grant inspected the canal that day,^[40] which also saw the level of the Mississippi River begin to fall.^[39] Four days later, a tugboat entered the bayous via the cut at the upper (north) end of the canal.^[41] Tree and stump clearing continued through April 23. The Mississippi River dropped 15 feet (4.6 m) in a matter of days,^[24] and there was soon only 6 inches (15 cm) of water in part of the canal.^[41] The project was abandoned on May 4. The tugboat Victor was the only ship to successfully make it all the way to New Carthage through the canal.^[27] Two of the dredges and 20 other boats became grounded in the mud,^[17] where they were left to rot.^[34]

Aftermath

The Duckport Canal was the last canal attempted by Grant during the Vicksburg campaign.

Sources

• Ballard, Michael B. (2004). Vicksburg: The Campaign that Opened the Mississippi. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press.
  ISBN 978-0-8078-2893-9
  .
• Bastian, David F. (1995). Grant's Canal: The Union Attempt to Bypass Vicksburg. Shippensburg, Pennsylvania: Burd Street Press.
  ISBN 0-942597-93-1
  .
• ISBN 0-89029-313-9
  .
• Bearss, Edwin C. (2007) [2006]. Fields of Honor. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic.
  ISBN 978-1-4262-0093-9
  .
• Brady, Lisa M. (2012). War Upon the Land: Military Strategy and the Transformation of Southern Landscapes During the American Civil War. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press.
  ISBN 978-0-8203-2985-7
  .
• Dougherty, Kevin (2011). The Campaigns for Vicksburg 1862–1863: Leadership Lessons. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Casemate.
  ISBN 978-1-61200-014-5
  .
• ISBN 0-394-74621-X
  .
• Grabau, Warren (2000). Ninety-eight Days: A Geographer's View of the Vicksburg Campaign. Knoxville, Tennessee: University of Tennessee Press.
  ISBN 978-1-57233-068-9
  .
• Jones, Terry L. (1979). "Grant's Canals in Northeast Louisiana".
  Journal of the North Louisiana Historical Association
  . 10 (2): 7–17.
• Kennedy, Frances H., ed. (1998). The Civil War Battlefield Guide (2nd ed.). Boston/New York: Houghton Mifflin.
  ISBN 978-0-395-74012-5
  .
• ISBN 978-1-4516-4139-4
  .
• Shea, William L.; Winschel, Terrence J. (2003). Vicksburg Is the Key: The Struggle for the Mississippi River. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press.
  ISBN 978-0-8032-9344-1
  .
• ISBN 0-8071-1725-0
  .
• ISBN 0-7006-0567-3
  .

32°23′37″N 91°02′51″W / 32.39361°N 91.04750°W / 32.39361; -91.04750