Steve Mayeux sat on a cannon late in Fort DeRussy yesterday as the sun was setting. The award winning author began to speak reverently about what happened at the exact time 150 years ago. "It was near sunset, and the Yankees realized there was not much daylight left, so 150 years ago right now, they put on their bayonets and charged the walls of the fort, taking it over."
Mayeux then toasted with a cannon crew of reenactors to the memories of the men at the fort that day. Mayeux had brought a special drink for the toast, a bottle of of T. H. Handly, named after one of the Confederate soldiers who was at the fort that day. After the way, Handly returned to his New Orleans bar where he earned a reputation for the Sazarak drink. Once a year, a limited brew named for him is issued, and Mayeux brought out the $90 bottle for everyone to have a sip. It was a special day for Mayeux who has spent over twenty five years researching the fort and its history.
Marksville Judge Angelo Piazza brought our his authentic cannon and fired a few rounds at the fort. The sound of the cannon could be heard for miles around, just a sample of the sounds which had come out of the fort 150 years ago the same day.
In 1864, the 350 Confederate men at the fort were overwhelmed by the 10,000 Union soldiers who had marched in from the Simmesport. This time, there only about 25 in attendance, members of the Friends of Fort DeRussy who decided to gather for the impromptu ceremony Friday afternoon. Before the first firing of the cannon, Ross Piazza offered a prayer for the men of the fort who had suffered, injured or died on March 14, 1864.
