Chapter Nine- The Inland South

While New Orleans is located in the Coastal South, Northern Louisiana is a part of the Inland South which is comprised of parts of Virginia, West Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, Arkansas, southern Missouri, eastern Oklahoma, and East Texas. New Orleans may be in a different region, but it does share some characteristics with cities in the Inland South.


A Confederate Past - Like other cities located in the Inland South, New Orleans was a part of the Confederacy. The port of New Orleans was of prime importance to the South so it's capture on April 25, 1862 came as a huge blow to the rebel forces.  US Navy and Flag Officer David G. Farragut took the city with his fleet, this in turn allowed him to take control of much of the lower Mississippi and to take Baton Rouge and Natchez. After it's capture New Orleans was under the control of Major General Benjamin Butler, known as the "Beast" in the city. He is perhaps best remembered in New Orleans for issuing his infamous "Woman Order" which stated that any woman showing disrespect to a Union Soldier would be "treated as a woman of the town plying her vocation".



Weather Similarities to Inland South- New Orleans is similar to many parts of the Inland South in that it has a humid subtropical climate. Summers are hot and humid and winters are generally mild.

Average Temperatures and Precipitation
Month Avg High Temp Avg Low Temp Avg Precip January 62° F 43° F 4.7 in. February 65° F 46° F 5.6 in. March 71° F 52° F 5.2 in. April 78° F 59° F 4.7 in. May 85° F 66° F 4.4 in. June 89° F 71° F 5.4 in. July 91° F 73° F 6.4 in. August 90° F 73° F 5.9 in. September 87° F 70° F 5.5 in. October 80° F 59° F 2.8 in. November 71° F 51° F 4.4 in. December 64° F 45° F 5.5 in.

(Source for Confederate information and photo: militaryhistory.about.com)
(Average temperatures taken from http://www.neworleansonline.com/tools/weather2.html)