July 27, 1819…
The Bay St. Louis Hurricane of 1819 passed over its namesake city on this date. The hurricane struck in exactly the same area as Hurricane Camille in 1969.
The hurricane pushed a 6 foot storm surge over the Gulf Coast. Nearly every structure along Bay St. Louis was destroyed.
The surge pushed into Mobile Bay, whose funnel shape forced the water to rise into the city at the head of the Bay. A ship was blown up onto Dauphin Street in the Mobile. Alligators were spotted in flooded city streets. Snakes and huge snapping turles were also driven from their swamp habitats in the bayous at the head of Mobile Bay.
The U.S. Sloop of War Firebrand was capsized and driven ashore on Cat Island off the Mississippi Coast.
A total of 175 people died in the storm.
