Description
Port Hudson State Historic Site is located north of the community of Port Hudson, on the west side of United States Route 61. The property of the site extends west to Thompson Creek, and is bounded on the north by Sandy Creek and partly on the south by Foster Creek. This area forms a terrace about 65 to 80 feet (20 to 24 m) above the creeks, with twisting and steep terrain that made for a natural defensive position, and is where Union Army forces were dug in. The area immediately to the southwest of Foster Creek has similar terrain, and is where Confederate defensive positions were located. [4] These positions were but a small portion of the total offensive and defensive positions, which entirely ringed the community, and included artillery emplacements overlooking the nearby Mississippi River.
An addition of 256 acres (1.04 km2) to the site was made possible by The Conservation Fund using its Battlefield Revolving Fund established by grants from The Gilder Foundation and contributions from a number of partners, including the American Battlefield Trust. [5]
Port Hudson National Cemetery, where many dead of the siege were buried, is located about 6 miles (9.7 km) to the south, in East Baton Rouge Parish.
The siege of Port Hudson was the final engagement in the Union campaign to recapture the Mississippi River in the American Civil War. While Union General Ulysses Grant was besieging Vicksburg upriver, General Nathaniel Banks was ordered to capture the lower Mississippi Confederate stronghold of Port Hudson, Louisiana, to go to Grant's aid. When his assault failed, Banks settled into a 48-day siege, the longest in US military history up to that point. A second attack also failed, and it was only after the fall of Vicksburg that the Confederate commander, General Franklin Gardner, surrendered the port. The Union gained control of the river and navigation from the Gulf of Mexico through the Deep South and to the river's upper reaches.
Port Hudson is an unincorporated community in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, United States. Located about 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Baton Rouge, it is known primarily as the location of an American Civil War battle, the siege of Port Hudson, in 1863.
The Battle of Plains Store was fought on May 21, 1863, in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, during the campaign to capture Port Hudson in the American Civil War. Union troops advancing from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, clashed with 600 Confederates at a road junction. The initial Confederate force withdrew, but 400 more Confederates arrived from Port Hudson. Some of the Confederate reinforcement overran Union artillery and routed a Union regiment, but were unable to capture the guns. Union reinforcements advanced to the front, attacked part of the Confederate force and drove them from the field. The Confederates withdrew to Port Hudson, which was almost entirely surrounded by Union troops the next day. Port Hudson was under siege until the defenders surrendered on July 9.
The Battle of Port Gibson was fought between a Union Army commanded by Major General Ulysses S. Grant and a reinforced Confederate States Army division led by Major General John S. Bowen. Though the outnumbered Confederate soldiers fought stubbornly, they were steadily pressed back during the day by Major General John A. McClernand's troops. Bowen eventually conceded the field by withdrawing north toward Vicksburg, Mississippi. The battle occurred near Port Gibson, Mississippi, during the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War.
Port Hudson National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in Port Hudson, 20 miles (32 km) north of the city of Baton Rouge in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses 19.9 acres (8.1 ha), and as of the end of 2020, had over 12,000 interments.
The Battle of Baton Rouge was a ground and naval battle in the American Civil War fought in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, on August 5, 1862. The Union victory halted Confederate attempts to recapture the capital city of Louisiana.
André Cailloux was an African American army captain, one of the first black officers of any North American military unit. He was also one of the first black soldiers to die in combat during the American Civil War. He was killed during the unsuccessful first attack on the Confederate fortifications during the Siege of Port Hudson. Accounts of his heroism were widely reported in the press, and became a rallying cry for the recruitment of African Americans into the Union Army.
Franklin Kitchell Gardner was a Confederate major general in the American Civil War, noted for his service at the Siege of Port Hudson on the Mississippi River. Gardner built extensive fortifications at this important garrison, 16,000 strong at its peak. At the mercy of conflicting orders, he found himself besieged and greatly outnumbered. His achievement at holding out for 47 days and inflicting severe losses on the enemy before surrendering has been praised by military historians.
The Pointe Coupee Artillery was a Confederate Louisiana artillery unit in the American Civil War made up primarily of men from the parishes of Pointe Coupee, East Baton Rouge, Livingston and other surrounding parishes as well as a large number of men from New Orleans.
Miles' Legion was a unit of the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. It was commanded by Colonel William R. Miles. The unit was officially named the 32nd Louisiana Infantry Regiment but it was never referred to by that name. The legion fought at the Battle of Plains Store and the Siege of Port Hudson. Captured at Port Hudson, the men were paroled, and the legion was declared exchanged in fall 1863. Many of the exchanged men never returned to duty. Those who did return joined Gober's Mounted Infantry Regiment or the 15th Louisiana Sharpshooter Battalion.
The 50th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was a regiment of infantry that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was one of the 18 Massachusetts regiments formed in response to President Abraham Lincoln's August 1862 call for 300,000 men to serve for nine months. The regiment was recruited in Essex County and rendezvoused for mustering in at Camp Edwin M. Stanton in Boxford, Massachusetts. The 50th Massachusetts was assigned to the Department of the Gulf under Major General Nathaniel P. Banks and shipped for Louisiana. The regiment saw combat during the Siege of Port Hudson.
The 52nd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was a regiment of infantry that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was one of the 18 Massachusetts regiments formed in response to President Abraham Lincoln's August 1862 call for 300,000 men to serve for nine months. The regiment was recruited in Franklin and Hampshire Counties and rendezvoused for mustering in at Camp Miller in Greenfield, Massachusetts. The 52nd Massachusetts was assigned to the Department of the Gulf under Major General Nathaniel P. Banks and shipped for Louisiana. The regiment participated in the Bayou Teche campaign in western Louisiana during April and May 1863 and then saw combat during the Siege of Port Hudson.
The 4th Massachusetts Battery was an artillery battery that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The unit was sometimes known as "Manning's Battery" after its commanding officer, Capt. Charles H. Manning. It was one of the Massachusetts regiments organized in response to President Abraham Lincoln's call on May 2, 1861 for volunteer troops to serve a term of three-years. The core of the unit was a peace-time militia company known as the Salem Light Artillery. The battery trained at Camp Chase in Lowell, Massachusetts. It was assigned to the Department of the Gulf under Major General Benjamin F. Butler and departed Boston by steamship on November 20.
The 6th Massachusetts Battery was an artillery battery that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The unit was one of the Massachusetts regiments organized in response to President Abraham Lincoln's call on May 2, 1861 for volunteer troops to serve a term of three-years. The battery trained at Camp Chase in Lowell, Massachusetts. It was assigned to the Department of the Gulf under Major General Benjamin F. Butler and departed Boston by steamship on February 8, 1862. At that time, the unit comprised 145 men armed with two rifled and four smoothbore six-pounder field guns.
The 12th Louisiana Infantry Regiment was a unit of volunteers recruited in Louisiana that fought in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Formed in August 1861, the regiment served in the Western Theater of the American Civil War and was unique in that there were 12 companies. The regiment garrisoned Island Number Ten before being stationed at Fort Pillow. It fought at Second Corinth in 1862 and Champion Hill and Jackson in 1863. A detachment served during the Siege of Vicksburg and was captured. In 1864, the regiment fought in the Meridian, Atlanta, and Franklin–Nashville campaigns, suffering heavy losses at Peachtree Creek and Franklin. It fought at Bentonville in 1865 before surrendering with General Joseph E. Johnston.
The 4th Louisiana Infantry Regiment was a unit of volunteers recruited in Louisiana that fought in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Formed in May 1861, the regiment served in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. The unit fought at Shiloh and Baton Rouge in 1862 and at Jackson in 1863. A detachment served during the Siege of Port Hudson and was captured. In 1864, the regiment fought in the Atlanta campaign where it lost heavily at Jonesborough. At Nashville in December 1864 most of the men were captured. The survivors were consolidated with several other units and fought at Spanish Fort in April 1865. The remnant surrendered in May 1865.
The 23rd Louisiana Infantry Regiment was a unit of volunteers recruited in Louisiana that fought in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The regiment organized in January 1862 at New Orleans by merging the Orleans Artillery Battalion, a state militia unit, with six independent companies. In March 1862, the unit mustered into Confederate service with 841 men and served during the war in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. The various companies were allocated to defend various forts. One company was assigned to hold Fort Jackson, fought in the Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, and surrendered when the fort fell. After the Capture of New Orleans most of the companies disbanded. However, four companies reorganized at Camp Moore in May 1862 and traveled to Vicksburg, Mississippi where they manned the river batteries. In early 1863, the regiment was renamed the 22nd Louisiana Infantry Regiment. The soldiers went to Fort Pemberton where they helped drive off the Yazoo Pass expedition. The regiment was part of the garrison during the Siege of Vicksburg and was captured and paroled when the city fell in July 1863. The men reported to a parole camp. In January 1864, it and the remnants of six other Louisiana regiments were absorbed into the 22nd Consolidated Louisiana Infantry Regiment. This unit fought at Spanish Fort in March and April 1865 and surrendered at Meridian, Mississippi in May 1865.
The 1st Louisiana Field Battery was an artillery unit recruited from volunteers in Louisiana that fought in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The battery mustered into Confederate service in October 1861. The unit traveled to Fort Jackson in early 1862 and took part in the defense of Forts Jackson and St. Philip. The soldiers became prisoners when the forts surrendered and the battery reformed at Franklin after their prisoner exchange. The battery fought at Fort Bisland and Irish Bend in 1863. Later in the year the battery engaged Union shipping on the rivers in several actions. In 1864 the battery briefly fought at Mansfield before its commander was killed while engaging Union gunboats in late April. The unit also fought at Mansura and Yellow Bayou. The battery was in Texas when the Trans-Mississippi Department surrendered in May 1865.
The 2nd Louisiana Field Battery was an artillery unit recruited from volunteers in Louisiana that fought in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The battery organized on 1 March 1862 at Red River Landing, Louisiana as Company B, of Miles' Legion Artillery. However, the battery usually served independently from Miles' Legion. In 1863, the battery fought at Plains Store and Port Hudson and was captured when the latter place surrendered in July 1863. After a prisoner exchange, the battery reorganized in December 1863. The unit fought at Mansura in May 1864 using two large caliber Parrott rifles captured from Union vessels. In an action at Simmesport in June, one gun was captured and the other gun burst. The last soldiers in the battery received their paroles in early June 1865.
The 18th Independent Battery New York Light Artillery was an artillery battery that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The unit was organized in September 1862 and shipped to New Orleans. The battery fought at Fort Bisland, Vermillion Bayou, Plains Store, and Port Hudson in 1863. The battery served in garrison until 1865 when it fought at Spanish Fort and Fort Blakeley. It was mustered out of federal service in July 1865.
