Springfield Paranormal Research Group
Fort Jackson is a decomissioned masonry fort located some 40 miles up river from the
mouth of the Mississippi River in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. It was constructed
as a coastal defense of New Orleans between 1822 and 1832.
Fort Jackson is situated approximately 70 miles (100 km) south of New Orleans on
the western bank of the Mississippi. The older Fort St. Philip is located opposite of
Fort Jackson on the eastern bank; this West Bank fort was constructed after the
War of 1812 on the advice of Andrew Jackson, for whom it is named.
The fort was occupied off and on for various military purposes from its completion
until after World War I, when it served as a training station. It is now a registered
national historic landmark and historical museum owned and operated by
Plaquemines Parish.
Fort Jackson was the site of the Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip from April 16
to April 28, 1862, during the American Civil War. The Confederate-controlled fort
was besieged for 12 days by the fleet of U.S. Navy Flag Officer David Farragut. Fort
Jackson fell on April 28 after the Union fleet bombarded it and then sailed past its
guns and to capture New Orleans, leaving the fort isolated.
The fort has been owned by Plaquemines Parish since 1962. In the 1960s, Leander
Perez threatened to turn it into a prison for any hippies and advocates of desegregation
who entered the Parish.
The fort site was later opened as a park.
The fort was badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina storm surge in 2005. Between
Katrina and Hurricane Rita the following month, much of the fort sat under water
for up to 6 weeks. Many of this historic exhibits in the fort were destroyed, and the
fort itself suffered structural damage.
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