Following the passage of forts Jackson and St Philip near the mouth of the Mississippi River on April 24 1862 the Union occupation of New Orleans was inevitable Union Flag-Officer David G Farragut with his squadron continued up the Mississippi River and demanded the surrender of the City of New Orleans the next day The city surrendered on April 28 On May 1 Maj Gen Benjamin Franklin Butlers army began landing at New Orleans and occupying the city New Orleans considered an international city and the largest city in the Confederacy had fallen