Because the Union fleet succeeded in overcoming the defensive system of the Mouths of Mississippi, defeating the Confederate naval forces and compelling the city to surrender.
The Union was closer to controlling the Mississippi.
After the Union gained New Orleans, they could control the South of the Mississippi River
It helped the Union gain control of the Mississippi River.
On April 29, 1862, David Farragut began the assault that would led to the capture of New Orleans. He was able to get through the forts of Jackson and St. Philip, as well as the Chalmette batteries, in order to take the city and its port. New Orleans surrendered after a massive bombardment by the Union navy.
The Union flag officer during the battle was David Farragut. General Benjamin Butler took control of New Orleans when Union forces landed in the city.
The Union was closer to controlling the Mississippi.
It helped the Union gain control of the Mississippi river.
The capture of New Orleans was a good start. It was actually the capture of Vicksburg that was the key moment - not a city, but a major river-port.
The first real steps to capture the largest city of the Confederacy, New Orleans began long before the battle to capture it actually happened. In November of 1861, Union Commander David Dixon Porter initiated the plan and convinced the Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles to help move the plans forward.
The Union gained control of the Mississippi river in the spring of 1862. The victory at Shiloh gave the North the advantage in the fight for control of the Mississippi River and the river valley.
The Union navy fleet that forced the surrender of New Orleans in 1862 was led by David Farragut and David Dixon Porter. They commanded a fleet of seventeen warships and nineteen mortar boats. They bombarded Rebel forts guarding New Orleans and after the forts fell, the city surrendered.
New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal was created in 1954.