Morganza Spillway of the Morganza Floodway closed. In March 1997, the river water flow at Baton Rouge reached () per second. However, the flow rate never reached the threshold of () per second for opening Morganza, and residents of Sicily Island, Louisiana, became angry that the spillway was not opened to prevent flooding in their homes. In March–April 2008, officials considered but declined to open the spillway gates. While the spillway gates remained closed then, flooding still occurred in part of the Morganza floodway when the Mississippi River crested higher than levees near the spillway. Local residents and National Guard troops attempted
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