Port Hudson Site of Longest Siege
Confederacy Withstood Union's Constant Assault for 48 Days
Recognizing the need to protect the Mississippi River, Confederate forces chose Port Hudson, La., as their southernmost defense of the waterwway. It wasn't enough.
The longest siege in American military history took place at the unassuming town of Port Hudson, La.
During the Civil War, though, Port Hudson was of critical interest to both Union and Confederate forces because of its proximity to the Mississippi River and the need to control that vital waterway.
Located high on bluffs overlooking a severe bend in the river, the Confederacy chose to fortify Port Hudson because of its strategic location and what seemed to be its defendable position.
Following its defeat at the Battle of Baton Rouge on Aug, 5, 1862, Confederate soldiers marched the 20-plus miles north to Port Hudson, where they occupied the area 10 days later.
They fortified the terrain with the construction of a series of batteries along the bluffs and a 4.5-mile line of earthworks.
This proved helpful against the ferocious Union attacks that ensued during the 48-day siege. But in the end, the Union’s superior numbers, and the fall of Vicksburg, Miss., ensured the Confederacy’s crippling loss.
Still in all, the Confederates didn’t go down without a fight, and their tenacity from May 23, 1863 until July 9, 1863, is the stuff of legend. Port Hudson is now an historic site with a national cemetery to commemorate what took place there.
With less than 7,000 men, the Confederates held off the advances of a Union force that numbered more than 30,000 and included two African-American regiments comprised mainly of free blacks from New Orleans and former slaves.
Despite this, and the Union’s constant cannon shot and rifle fire, the South did not relent. Confederate soldiers may have been reduced to eating mules, horses and rats, as was the case in Vicksburg, but that didn’t break their spirit.
The Union, under the command of Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks, embarked upon particularly strong assaults on May 27 and June 14, 1863. This resulted in some of the bloodiest fighting of the war and the loss of several thousand soldiers.
With Port Hudson serving as the Confederacy’s southern defense of the Mississippi River, and Vicksburg as the northern defense, the fighting raged on. Vicksburg finally fell on July 4, 1863, and when news reached those at Port Hudson, the Confederacy realized that victory was now unattainable.
Confederate Maj. Gen. Franklin Gardner negotiated surrender terms, which were officially accepted on July 9, 1863.
The fall of Vicksburg and Port Hudson coincided with the Confederate’s devastating setback at Gettysburg. It marked the beginning of the end for the Confederacy, although it would be nearly two more years before the Union finally brought a full-fledged end to the hostilities.
