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March 12

 
1863 -- Feux de Joie Aid Confederate Army

Each Christmas Eve on the river banks in lower Louisiana what the French called “Feux de Joie” (“Fires of Joy”) have been lit for hundreds of years. During the Civil War at Port Hudson, located on the Mississippi River north of Baton Rouge, the fires of joy were used for military purposes. At exactly 11:22 p.m. on Saturday March 12, 1863, when Admiral Farragut’s powerful fleet started moving up river, fires on both sides were lit illuminating the ships and literally making them sitting ducks.

Source: Buddy Stall at
http://clarionherald.org/20000302/stall.htm