Civil War History

On this day in 1862 there was a little trouble in New Orleans.

Admiral Farragut was moving up the river and was about to capture the city. He sent a mesage to the Mayor to remove any Confederate flags and replace them with Union flags. The Mayor declined the request. Then, without orders from Farragut, the captian of the USS Pocahontas sent some marines to remove Confederate flags on the US Mint and replace them with Union flags. He warned that he would fire upon anyone trying to remove them. (Note that this was before the official surrender of the city) As could have been expected, the marines were heckled and one William Bruce Mumford removed the Union flag under cannon fire.

A few days later, Gen Benjamin Butler heard about the incident and had Mumford arrested and tried for treason before a military tribunal. He wasfound guilty and sentenced to hang. Butler issued the following notice:

William B. Mumford, a citizen of New Orleans, having been convicted before a military commission of treason and an overt act thereof, tearing down the United States flag from a public building of the United States, after said flag was placed there by Commander Farragut, of the United States navy: It is ordered that he be executed according to sentence of said military commission on Saturday, June 7, inst., between the hours of 8 a.m. and 12 a.m. under the directions of the provost-marshal of the District of New Orleans, and for so doing this shall be his sufficient warrant.

On June 7, Mumford was taken to the courtyard of the US Mint and hanged.