Ship Island has played an important role in the history and settlement of the Gulf Coast. The island was named in 1699 by French explorers who were impressed with the protected, deep-water anchorage it offered their ships. The island soon became an important port for French Louisiana. Many colonists took their first steps on American soil at Ship Island and it is considered the ?Plymouth Rock? of the Gulf Coast.
During the war of 1812, 60 British ships, with nearly 10,000 troops, rendezvoused near the island prior to their unsuccessful attempt to capture New Orleans. In 1862 Ship Island served as the base from which Admiral David Farragut?s Union fleet sailed to attack and capture the ports New Orleans and Mobile.
The Island also became a prison for Confederate P.O.W.s, and a base for the 2nd Louisiana Native Guard Volunteers, one of the first