Donaldsonville was a Civil War engagement fought in Louisiana, 1862. It was a Union victory.
A number of incidents of artillery firing on Union steamers passing up and down the Mississippi River at Donaldsonville influenced the U.S. Navy to undertake a retaliatory attack. Rear Adm. David G. Farragut sent the town notice of his intentions and suggested that the citizens send the women and children away. He then anchored in front of the town and fired upon it with guns and mortars. Farragut also sent a detachment ashore that set fire to the hotels, wharf buildings, and the dwelling houses and other buildings of Capt. Phillippe Landry. Landry, thought to be the captain of the partisan unit, purportedly fired on the landing party during the raid. Some citizens protested the raid, but, generally, firing on Union ships ceased thereafter.
On August 9, 1862, Union forces struck Donaldsonville, Louisiana, in Ascension Parish, in an engagement now remembered as the First Battle of Donaldsonville. The action formed part of the broader Operations against Baton Rouge during the American Civil War.
Repeated incidents in which artillery fired on Union steamers moving along the Mississippi River near the town had pushed the U.S. Navy toward a punitive response. Before acting, Rear Adm. David G. Farragut warned the townspeople of his plans, urging that women and children be sent away for safety. His fleet then took up position opposite Donaldsonville and unleashed a barrage of gun and mortar fire. A party of sailors and marines went ashore under his orders and burned several hotels, the wharf buildings, and the home and other structures belonging to Capt. Phillippe Landry, who was believed to command a local partisan unit. Landry himself was said to have opened fire on the landing party during the operation. Although a number of residents objected to the destruction, the attacks on Union vessels largely stopped after this episode.
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