Bailey's Dam frees Porter's fleet above the Alexandria falls
May 1864, Alexandria, Louisiana.
- Date
- May 1864
- Where
- Alexandria, Louisiana
- What happened
- Built
- Event
- 101 of 174
Low water trapped Porter's gunboats above the rapids at Alexandria during the retreat from the Red River. Joseph Bailey's timber dam raised the river more than five feet by May 8. After a breach on May 9, Bailey added two wing dams upstream, and from May 13 the rest of the fleet passed safely below the falls.