Morganza Spillway its present course through the major port cities of Baton Rouge and New Orleans to a new course down the Atchafalaya River to the Gulf of Mexico. The Morganza Spillway, operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was opened during the 1973 and 2011 Mississippi River floods. The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 was the most destructive river flood in the history of the United States, in large part due to the Mississippi River swelling to wide in spots. To prevent a repeat of the Great Flood of 1927, and better control river flooding in general, Congress passed the
114th Ohio Infantry River Campaign April 26-May 22. Graham's Plantation May 5. Retreat to Morganza May 13–20. Mansura, or Marksville Prairie, May 16. Expedition to Atchafalaya May 30-June 6. Duty at Morganza until November 21. Moved to mouth of White River, Ark., November 21–26. Return to Morganza December 6. Expedition to Morgan's Ferry, Atchafalaya River, December 13–14. Moved to Kenner, La., January 8, 1865; thence to Barrancas, Fla., January 24. Campaign against Mobile, Ala., and its Defenses, March 20-April 12. March from Pensacola, Fla., to Blakely, Ala., March 20-April 2. Occupation of Canoe Station March 27. Siege of Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely