Eldolph Labodie

Researcher: CJ Koshivas

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          Eldolph Labodie was a Union soldier that fought in some very famous and important battles, those of which were the Battle at Baton Rouge and the Battle of Fort Blakely (Spanish Fort). He belonged to the Vermont 7th Regiment Infantry Company A, his regiment participated in the well-known Anaconda plan. He was a brave soldier that fought in a war to preserve the Union.

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          Under a great president, Abraham Lincoln, and other leaders such as, Ulysses S. Grant and many other generals, union troops were able to succeed at a seemingly impossible task. After the first Bull Run both sides knew that the war was going to take a lot longer than either side had expected. But by sticking to a very complex three part plan known as the Anaconda Plan, union troops were able to come out victorious. An Anaconda is a snake that kills its prey by suffocating the target until it lay lifeless. This was the name of strategic idea because the plan was designed to constrict the confederate armies. There were three parts to this plan, the first part of the plan was to blockade the confederate coastline, so they could not be able to import or export any goods to boost there economy. The second part of the plan was to send troops down the Mississippi River. By doing this they would be splitting the country in half and destroy almost all communication throughout the country making it a lot harder to effectively maneuver troops. The final aspect of the plan was to simply attack the capital of the confederacy, which was held in Richmond, Virginia.

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          Eldolph fought in a few major battles during the war, one of the battles was the battle at Baton Rouge. The battle itself was relatively small but the significance of the battle was tremendous. The union troops had occupied the small town; the rebel troops saw this as key plots of land because from that town they would be able use the Red River. If confederates had access to that river they would be able to attack union parishes and other federal fortifications. So the rebel troops decided to attack the town by forming a semicircle around the town and using the confederate warship the Arkansas to protect the confederate men from gunfire from union vessels. The plan seemed great and the confederates were winning a good portion of the battle until the Arkansas never showed up. Thus the battle resulted in a union victory, and what would have been a changing aspect that would have given the south the advantage remained under union control. This union victory prevented major issues pertaining to the separation of the confederacy.

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          The other battle Eldoph fought in was the battle of Fort Blakely and the Spanish Fort. This was a large battle that took the lives of many soldiers. While still pursuing to split the country into two. They had invaded the Mississippi Valley and were veterans in the area, they moved towards the two forts. The Spanish fort was not much of a strategically challenge they had just stormed the fort and took it over by force. Fort Blakely right beside the Spanish fort was more important because the defenses of the fort were a lot better and posed more of a threat. Some of the defensive aspects of the fort were very dangerous such as Redoubt #4 the strongest portion of the defensive positions of Fort Blakely. This redoubt held four field guns and a mortar. Because the defense was so good the federal troops could not just storm the fort they needed to create trenches, they called parallels because there guns would be parallel with each other, these guns would weaken the defenses and make the fort susceptible to infantry attack. During that one day, 800 union soldiers died and over 3000 confederate troops died.

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          Eldolph Labodie had fought though miserable conditions like terrible heat and pouring rain but he ended up surviving the war and had fought in two major battles. He was able to get to that region when he Sailed from New York to New Orleans, La., October 4, arriving October 13. Where they started there journey in New Orleans till February 19, 1865. Where they would later move on to other places such as Fort Blakely and Fort Spanish. Eldolph had enlisted February 5, 1862, actually entered the army in February 12, 1862, and left the army in August 30, 1864.