Brig. Gen. M. Jeff Thompson was ordered during his command held at Ponchatoula to repair the railroad bridge in Pass Manchac. However, after the Capture of New Orleans, Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Butler found out about the bridge reconstruction and feared a reprisal assault on New Orleans from Confederate forces. He therefore concocted a plan and ordered Maj. George C. Strong to destroy the railroad bridge and to capture Brig. Gen. Thompson in the town of Ponchatoula.