The Fall of Port Hudson, Louisiana - July 9, 1863

Peace Monument at Port Hudson, Louisiana

The longest siege of the War Between the States (or Civil War) came to an end 150 years ago today at Port Hudson, Louisiana.

For more than six weeks, Major General Franklin Gardner and a Confederate garrison of fewer than 4,000 men had kept at bay a Union army of more than 30,000 soldiers. In the process, they killed or wounded more of their enemies than were included their own command. Had Vicksburg not fallen five days earlier, they might well have continued to fight even longer.

To learn more about the fighting at Port Hudson, please read these previous articles first:

• Vicksburg and Port Hudson, the "other" battles of July 1863
• Fighting goes on at Port Hudson, Louisiana
• Port Hudson, Louisiana - July 7, 1863

Earthworks defended by Alabama and Arkansas units

On July 7, 1863, however, Union soldiers in the trenches surrounding the Mississippi River bastion north of Baton Rouge began to yell across the lines to their Confederate counterparts that Vicksburg had fallen. The news was passed up to General Gardner who penned a letter that night to the opposing commander, Major General Nathaniel P. Banks, seeking official confirmation.

Banks replied early on the morning of July 8th by declining a truce to discuss the surrender of Port Hudson, but also enclosing a dispatch he had received from General Ulysses S. Grant the previous day notifying him of the surrender of Vicksburg.

Union dead at Port Hudson National Cemetery

Because the primary purpose of the Confederate bastion at Port Hudson was to defend the stretch of of the Mississippi River that began at the nearby mouth of the Red River so that supplies could continue to flow from west of the Mississippi to the railroad at Vicksburg, the strategic value of the position ended when Vicksburg fell. Gardner accordingly wrote back to General Banks:

Having defended this position as long as I deem my duty requires, I am willing to surrender to you, and will appoint a commission of three officers to meet a similar commission appointed by yourself at 9 o'clock this morning, for the purpose of agreeing upon and drawing up the terms of surrender; and for that purpose I ask for a cessation of hostilities. Will you please designate a point outside of my breastworks where the meeting shall be held for this purpose? - Maj. Gen. Franklin Gardner, CSA (July 8, 1863).

Confederate garrison flag that flew over Port Hudson

Banks replied immediately by informing Gardner that he would direct that active hostilities end until further notice. He designated Brig. Gen. Charles P. Stone, Col. Henry W. Birge and Lt. Col. Richard B. Irwin to meet with three officers of Gardner's choice.  

The Confederate commander appointed Col. I.G.W. Steedman, Col. Henry W. Birge and Lt. Col. Marshall J. Smith to represent him in the surrender negotiations. The two groups of officers agreed to relatively simple terms and both commanding generals approved the agreement. The hour set for the official surrender of Port Hudson was 7 a.m. on July 9, 1863, 150 years ago today.

Confederate flag dug up at Port Hudson after the battle.

The surrender took place as expected. The Confederates stacked their weapons and furled their flags, with one exception. A Southern flag would later be dug up at Port Hudson where it had been buried prior to the surrender. It is now on display in the museum at Port Hudson State Historic Site, along with the official garrison flag of the post.

Although the Confederate officers agreed to surrender themselves and their men to become prisoners of war, General Banks ordered that the enlisted men and non-commissioned officers be paroled and released. The officers were sent away to northern prisoner of war camps.

Union losses in the siege of Port Hudson totaled roughly 10,000. These included 5,000 men who were killed and wounded in the disastrous assaults on the Confederate lines, as well as another 5,000 men who died of disease during the siege. Confederate losses were less than 1,000, including around 250 men who died of disease.

To learn more about Port Hudson State Historic Site, which preserves a large area of the battlefield, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/porthudson.

Port Hudson, Louisiana - July 7, 1863

Confederate gun at Port Hudson State Historic Site

150 years ago today, Major General Franklin Gardner (CS) at Port Hudson learned that Vicksburg had fallen three days earlier.

The news came not from the Union commander, Major General Nathaniel P. Banks, but from his soldiers themselves, who called across the lines to let the Confederate defenders of the Louisiana bastion know that they alone remained to defend the Mississippi River for the South. The intelligence was passed up through command to General Gardner, who penned a brief inquiry to General Banks and had it delivered through the lines under a flag of truce:

Museum Display of Heavy Artillery Shells at Port Hudson

GENERAL: Having received information from your troops that Vicksburg has been surrendered, I make this communication to ask you to give me the official assurance whether this is true or not; and, if true, I ask for a cessation of hostilities with a view to consider terms for surrendering this position. - Maj. Gen. Franklin Gardner, CSA (July 7, 1863).

It was a remarkable fact of the 19th century that commanding officers believed they could trust their enemies to be honorable and provide them with accurate information under such situations.

The siege at Port Hudson had continued longer than any other siege of the War Between the States (or Civil War). The first attempt by the Union army to storm the defenses of the Confederate bastion had ended in disaster (please see Fighting goes on at Port Hudson, Louisiana). Not only did it leave nearly 2,000 Union officers and soldiers dead, wounded or missing, the assault gave a significant boost to the morale of the surrounded Confederates. They had plenty of gunpowder and believed they could beat the Union army any time it chose to advance.

Field gun on display at Port Hudson

General Gardner and his men proved this again on June 13-14, 1863, when Banks attempted a three-pronged infantry assault on the fortifications of Port Hudson. The Confederates now had just over 3,500 men capable of fighting, while the Union army numbered more than 30,000.

The attack began at 11:15 in the morning of June 13 when more than 100 Union cannon opened fire on the earthworks and trenches of Port Hudson. After one hour of bombardment that could be heard in Baton Rouge and other towns throughout the region, General Banks demanded that Gardner surrender. The Confederate general replied that duty required him to defend his post and told Banks simply, "I decline to surrender."

Indiana Artillery firing on Port Hudson
Courtesy Library of Congress

The bombardment was resumed and continued through the night and into the pre-dawn hours of July 14, 1863. Then, at 3:30 a.m., the Union infantry began its assault. The attack was confused and poorly organized. Fog and the smoke of the bombardment created even more confusion in the dark. The result was a Confederate victory so lopsided that it was matched by few other engagements of the war. The Union army lost 1,792 men killed, wounded and missing. The Confederates lost only 47.

Even as their food and bullets ran out, the Confederates kept fighting. Reduced to eating rats and their own mules, they made up for their lack of bullets and artillery shells by salvaging the ones fired into the front of their earthworks by the Union army. They carried out quick raids against the Union infantry that was slowly digging its approach trenches toward them. When they learned that the Federals were trying to dig mines under their works to plant gunpowder in order to blow them up, the Confederates dug mines of their own and blew up the Union mines.

Looking out from Confederate lines at Port Hudson
Courtesy Library of Congress

One can not help but wonder what might have happened at Vicksburg had Gardner been in command there.

Gardner and his tiny command, in fact, held out longer than any other force under siege during the war. It was not until he learned that Vicksburg had fallen that he finally accepted the fact that there was no further need for sacrifice on the part of his men. Port Hudson was the southern defense for the stretch of the Mississippi River used to move supplies and men from west of the river to the railroad at Vicksburg. With Vicksburg in Union hands, Port Hudson no longer served a purpose for the Confederacy.

So, late in the day on July 7, 1863 - 150 years ago today, Gardner sent his inquiry through the lines asking for official confirmation from Banks that Vicksburg had surrendered. The Union commander would not reply until early the next morning, and for one more night the fighting continued to rage.

Please click here to learn about the surrender of Port Hudson.

Read more about Port Hudson battlefield at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/porthudson.

Vicksburg and Port Hudson - The "other" battles of July 1863

Confederate Cannon and the Mississippi River at Vicksburg

The nation is remembering the Battle of Gettysburg this week, and appropriately so, but seems a bit sad to me that we seem to have forgotten that another major and bloody battles took place at the same time on the bluffs of Vicksburg, Mississippi, and Port Hudson, Louisiana.

These battles were as significant victories for the North as Gettysburg and even a greater disasters for the South. The fall of the Vicksburg on July 4, 1863 - 150 years ago this week - and Port Hudson on July 9, 1863, cut the Confederacy in two and opened the Mississippi River to the supply and warships of the Union.

Port Hudson Battlefield in Louisiana

The opening of the Mississippi was a vital part of the "Anaconda Plan" conceived by Gen. Winfield T. Scott, the aged hero of the War of 1812 and War with Mexico who commanded the U.S. Army at the beginning of the War Between the States. Combined with the blockade of the Southern coastline, the opening of the Mississippi would strangle the Confederacy by cutting off the movement of supplies, munitions, medicines and other necessities of its armies.

By July of 1863, only two great Confederate bastions remained on the river, Vicksburg in Mississippi and Port Hudson in Louisiana. In both places, Confederate armies dug deep into the earth and clung to earthwork fortifications in desperate fights for survival. They had fought desperately and hurled back attack after attack, covering the ground with the blood and blue uniformed bodies of Union soldiers.

Some of the Thousands who Died

At Port Hudson, just a 30 minute drive north of Baton Rouge today, 10,000 Union soldiers were reported killed, wounded or missing, compared to a Confederate loss of 750 in actual combat.

At Vicksburg, Union commanders estimated that they lost 4,835 men killed, wounded or missing. The Confederates estimated that their actual combat losses were 3,202 men killed and wounded.

So much blood was spilled on the bluffs at Port Hudson and Vicksburg that it is difficult to imagine the true cost in human suffering of the two battles. Combined, the two battles left nearly 19,000 men dead, wounded or missing.

I will tell you more about them over coming days, but it seemed appropriate, as the massive commemoration of Gettysburg begins, that we also remember the men of Vicksburg and Port Hudson.

You can read more about the battlefields by visiting:

• The Siege and Battle of Vicksburg, Mississippi
• The Siege and Battle of Port Hudson, Louisiana

Battle of Vicksburg, Mississippi

For two months in the spring and summer of 1863, one of history's largest and most significant battles took place on the hills and ravines surrounding the charming Mississippi River city of Vicksburg, Mississippi.

The Battle of Vicksburg is commemorated today at Vicksburg National Military Park, where visitors can explore miles of both Union and Confederate trenches, forts, batteries and even a preserved Civil War ironclad.

The park is one of the key features in Vicksburg, a beautiful and historic city overlooking the Mississippi. If you would like to learn more, our new Vicksburg pages are now online at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/vicksburg5. Please stop by for a visit!

Spring Travel Part Five: Vicksburg, Mississippi

This is part five of a special spring series on some of my favorite heritage tourism destinations in the South.

Vicksburg, Mississippi, is perhaps the most impressive Civil War site in America. Home to a beautiful, historic site and Vicksburg National Military Park, the city is an outstanding place to explore the history of the war that divided America and to learn about the experiences of Southern citizens who lived for months in a city under siege.

The National Military Park features miles of fortifications, entrenchments, artillery batteries and zig zag approach trenches, all dating from the 1863 siege that resulted in the fall of the important Confederate post on the Mississippi River The park also features an outstanding museum housing the wreck of the Union ironclad U.S.S. Cairo.

Other points of interest in Vicksburg include historic homes, the beautiful Old Courthouse Museum, a charming downtown district, a welcome center overlooking the Mississippi River, boat tours and more. There are numerous museums and historic sites, as well as plenty of modern accommodations, dining establishments, etc.

To learn more about Vicksburg, Mississippi, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/vicksburg1.html.

Vicksburg, Mississippi - The "Widow Blakely"

This is the "Widow Blakely" at Vicksburg National Military park in Vicksburg, Mississippi. The cannon obtained its unusual name because it was the only Blakely rifle used in the Confederate defense of Vicksburg.

Many visitors to Vicksburg often miss several fascinating sites that are part of the national park because they are located away from the main tour road. The "Widow Blakely," South Fort, Grant's Canal, Louisiana Circle and Battery Benton, however, are easy to reach and definitely worth a visit.

All of these sites (except for Grant's Canal which is across the Mississippi River in Louisiana) are located just up the street from the Welcome Center at Exit 1 off Interstate 20. Battery Benton, in fact, can be reached from stairs leading from the Welcome Center parking lot.

Several of the sites, Battery Benton and Louisiana Circle in particular, provide spectacular views of the Mississippi River.

To see more of Vicksburg, Mississippi, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/vicksburg1.

Vicksburg National Military Park - Vicksburg, Mississippi

Over the next few days we will spend some time exploring Vicksburg, Mississippi, one of the most historic cities in the United States.

Vicksburg, of course, is home to the Vicksburg National Military Park, where Union and Confederate troops fought the Battle of Vicksburg, one of the largest and most significant battles in American history.

The massive Civil War battle was fought over miles of hills and ravines ringing the historic Southern city, as well as on the Mississippi River. Today, much of the battlefield is preserved at the national park, where visitors can explore earthwork forts, artillery batteries, tunnels, monuments and even a salvaged Civil War ironclad.

The photograph here shows the artillery display at the parking lot of the Visitor Center at Vicksburg National Military Park. The display gives visitors a chance to inspect the various types of cannon used during the siege and battle at Vicksburg.

Our look at Vicksburg will continue, but in the meantime you can read and see more by visiting our Vicksburg pages at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/Vicksburg.