Old River Control Structure be opened in an emergency to relieve water levels and water-pressure stress on various levees and other flood-control structures, including the Old River Control Structure. The floodway can reduce stress by diverting additional water from the Mississippi into the Atchafalaya. The Morganza Floodway was never used before the construction of Old River Control Structure, and as of 2016 has been opened only twice for flood control since completion of the Old River Control Structure. Old River Control Structure The Old River Control Structure is a floodgate system in a branch of the Mississippi River in central Louisiana. It regulates the
Morganza, Louisiana on December 10, 2008: Morganza was the site of a Union Army encampment during the American Civil War. The largest battle in Pointe Coupee Parish was fought at nearby Stirling Plantation, on September 29, 1863. Sixteen Federal troops were killed, 45 were wounded, and 462 were taken prisoner. The Confederate losses included 26 dead, 85 wounded, and 10 missing. Although the Battle of Sterling Plantation was a Confederate victory, the Union troops burned the town of Morganza to the ground on October 1, 1863. Historian John D. Winters in "The Civil War in Louisiana" (1963) documents the arrival in May