4th of July Fireworks are underway!

4th of July Fireworks for 2014 are underway!

4th of July fireworks are underway across the South!

Tonight (Saturday, 6/28/2014) is the first big night of the week-long celebration, with shows scheduled for Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. More shows continue tomorrow with the big weekend set to get underway on Wednesday, July 3rd.

As always, you can check out locations, times and dates for the best fireworks in each state in the South by visiting www.exploresouthernhistory.com/fireworks.

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.

Fighting goes on at Port Hudson, Louisiana - July 5, 1863

Confederate Fortifications at Port Hudson

150 years ago today, as Union troops consolidated their hold on the newly captured city of Vicksburg, the fighting and misery continued down the Mississippi River at Port Hudson, Louisiana.

With the fall of Vicksburg on July 4, 1863, Port Hudson became the last remaining Confederate
stronghold on the Mississippi. The siege there is remembered today as the longest in American history.

Inside the fortifications that ringed the little river community, Confederate general Franklin Gardner and his force of fewer than 5,000 men defied a Union army more than three times the size of their own along with the firepower of some of the most powerful warships of the U.S. Navy. It was a battle against overwhelming odds unlike any other ever fought on the North American continent and it went on for 48 days.

Confederate flag that flew over Port Hudson

After the fall of Memphis to the north and New Orleans and then Baton Rouge to the South, the Confederacy was in serious danger of being split in two. The loss of a way to move men and supplies from the states west of the Mississippi River to the armies battling east of the river would be a disaster from which the Southern nation likely would not recover. To attempt to preserve this tenuous lifeline, Confederate engineers fortified the high bluffs of Vicksburg to the north and Port Hudson to the South.

Located on the east side of the river just south of its confluence with the Red River, Port Hudson was an ideal position for defenses that would protect the southern approach to the stretch of the Mississippi that ran from the mouth of the Red up to Vicksburg. This would enable supplies coming by steamboat down the Red to continue to flow up the Mississippi to Vicksburg from which they could be shipped out by rail to all points east.

Port Hudson Peace Monument

The position was occupied by Confederate troops after they failed to retake Baton Rouge in 1862. Located at a sharp bend of the river, its high bluffs offered the ideal position for the emplacement of heavy guns. Work on the batteries continued through the winter of 1862-1863. Major General Franklin Gardner arrived late in December of 1862 to assume command of the position. His selection would prove to be an inspired choice.

Major General Nathaniel Banks, commanding the Union''s Department of the Gulf, was under pressure from Washington, D.C. to push north up the Mississippi, reduce Port Hudson and join forces with Major General Ulysses S. Grant for a final move on Vicksburg. Banks tried to accomplish this by swinging west into the bayous and driving north up the Atchafalaya River to its junction with the Red. He hoped this would enable him to bypass Port Hudson and force its evacuation. When he reached the Red River, however, expected troops and transports were not there. Grant had changed his plans and gone ashore near Port Gibson with his full army.

Gun taken from USS Merrimac and used at Port Hudson

Since he had no way to get his army north to join forces with Grant, Banks decided to move against Port Hudson with his own 17,000 man force. Orders were issued on May 18, 1862, and troops began to march north from Baton Rouge, rapidly covering the dozen or so miles between that city and the Confederate position at Port Hudson. Other parts of Banks' army came down the Red into the Mississippi and were landed at Bayou Sara near St. Francisville just north of Port Hudson.

Fighting broke out on May 21, 1862, as a miniscule force of Confederates opposed the oncoming Federals at the Battle of Plains Store west of Port Hudson. Resisting fiercely, they inflicted worse casualties than they received and then fell back into the trenches at Port Hudson.  By the night of May 22nd, the Confederate position was surrounded by Banks and his converging army.

Confederate earthworks at Port Hudson

General Gardner and his men dug in at a furious rate, extending and strengthening their defenses. They watched as the Union navy formed in the Mississippi and the Union army moved into position around them from all directions. They knew they were outnumbered and outgunned, but they determined to put up the fight of their lives.

The Southern soldiers got their first chance on May 27, 1863, when daylight broke over the woods and fields to the east and Union cannon opened fire on them from all directions. They responded furiously at first with their own cannon, but then slowed their rate of fire to conserve ammunition. They knew a massive infantry attack was coming and they got into position and ready to welcome it.

Union troops were trapped in this ravine during the first assault.

When the huge attack came, it was carried out by more soldiers than there were Confederates in the entire Port Hudson lines. Gardner was ready, however, and his skirmishers alone held back the attacking columns for more than an hour. Fighting from a tangled mess of felled trees and the ravines and ridges outside the main works, the Confederate skirmishers fought fiercely against overwhelming numbers.

When they finally withdrew into the main lines and the Federal troops tried to push forward, they found themselves wading into the fire of dozens of cannon and thousands of rifles. The fighting went on all day and all night. When the Confederates opened fire again the next morning, Banks decided his men had suffered enough and raised a flag of truce. Gardner granted the Union general's request for a ceasefire so his dead and wounded could be removed from the field.

The first attempt to storm Port Hudson left 1,995 Union soldiers dead, wounded or missing. The Confederates lost 235 men. The attack had been a bloody disaster for the Union army. There may have been only 4,000 Confederates at Port Hudson, but they were prepared to fight.

I will post more about the Siege of Port Hudson tomorrow.  You can read more about the battlefield at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/porthudson.

Fireworks across the South Tonight (7/3/2013)

4th of July Fireworks explode over the South
Courtesy Pine Bluff Festival

Fireworks are set to launch at locations all across the South tonight!  Weather conditions could cause issues in some areas, so be sure to check local conditions before heading out!

Here are some highlights of what is happening and where its happening tonight!


Alabama

Major fireworks displays are set for tonight - weather permitting - in Chelsea, Fort Rucker, Jacksonville and Montgomery! A major highlight is the Fort Rucker Freedom Fest. The post plans to go forward with its fireworks, even though many military bases in the South have cancelled their annual shows.

Please click here to see the full list of fireworks in Alabama for July 3rd and 4th with times and locations.


Arkansas

The skies of the Natural State will light up tonight with fireworks in Bella Vista, Calico Rock, De Queen, Hot Springs, Paris and Rogers. The Hot Springs event features a concert by Lee Greenwood of "I'm proud to be an American" fame.

Please click here for the full list of fireworks in Arkansas for July 3rd and 4th.


Florida

Florida's 4th of July fireworks for this year begin with the Old Apalachicola Independence Day in Apalachicola and fireworks in Aventura.  The Apalachicola event - weather permitting - will feature a parade, ice cream social, live music and more.

Please click here for Florida's fireworks for this July 3rd and 4th.


Georgia

Georgia's 4th of July celebrations launch into high gear tonight with events in Atlanta, Cumming, Dawsonville, Forsyth, McCaysville/Copperhill, Kennesaw, Tifton, Villa Rica and Woodbury. The Tifton event includes a variety of activites at the Georgia Museum of Agriculture and Historic Village!

Please click here for a full list of Georgia fireworks for July 3rd and 4th.


Kentucky

Fireworks launch tonight from locations all over Kentucky.  Events are set for Bowling Green, Dawson Springs, Gilbertsville, Louisville, Madisonville, Somerset and Winchester. Among the highlights are the first night of Louisville's two night Waterfront Independence Festival, the Kentucky Lake Big Bang in Gilbertsville and the Thunderfest Independence Day Celebration at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green.

Please click here for a full list of Georgia fireworks for July 3rd and July 4th!


Louisiana

Four major fireworks shows are set for Louisiana tonight. Events are set in Jennings, Metarie, Ponchatoula and Youngsville. Highlights include the Uncle Sam Jam at Lafreniere Park in Metarie and Youngsville's Independence Day Celebration which will include both fireworks and hot air balloon rides!

See the full list of Louisiana fireworks for July 3rd and 4th by clicking here!


Mississippi

Fireworks take place in Pearl, Mississippi, tonight after the 7 p.m. baseball game between the Mississippi Braves and the Mobile Bay Bears.

Click here for the full list of Mississippi fireworks set for July 3rd and July 4th.


North Carolina

The Independence Day celebration gets underway in North Carolina with nearly one dozen events tonight (July 3rd).  Fireworks displays are set for Asheville, Carolina Beach, Charlotte, Cherryville, Harrisburg, Mooresville, Statesville and Wake Forest (the city, not the school).

Click here for 2013's list of North Carolina Fireworks set for July 3rd and 4th.


Oklahoma

Big fireworks events are set for Oklahoma tonight, including Red White & Boom in Oklahoma City.  Events are also set for Claremore, Talihina and Yukon, with more to come tomorrow!

Check out this year's list of Oklahoma Fireworks for July 3rd and 4th.


South Carolina

Fireworks will launch in Cheraw and Columbia tonight, with South Carolina's main list of 4th of July celebrations planned for tomorrow.

Click here for South Carolina's fireworks for July 3rd and July 4th.


Tennessee

There is a long list of fireworks set for Tennessee tonight, with more to follow tomorrow night!  Fireworks will launch tonight in Bartlett, Chattanooga, Clarksville, Collierville, Collegedale, Copperhill/McCaysville, Dandridge, Hendersonville, Millington and Waynesboro.

Please click here to see Tennessee's fireworks list for July 3rd and July 4th.


Texas

The Lone Star State kicks its 4th of July celebration into high gear tonight with music, events, airshows, fireworks and more!  The Atlanta Rhythm Section will perform live in Arlington, followed by fireworks, with events also taking place in Addison, Coppell, Farmers Branch, Fort Worth, Gilmer, Irving, Sachse and Sherman.

Click here to see the full list of Texas fireworks for July 3rd and July 4th.


Virginia

Fireworks start launching in Virginia shortly after dark tonight, with events scheduled for Chesapeake, Doswell, McGaheysville, Richmond, Ridgeway and South Hill.  More will follow tomorrow!

Click here to read the full list of Virginia fireworks for July 3 & 4, 2013!


Don't forget you can check the full list of fireworks from all Southern states online at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/fireworks.

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

4th of July Fireworks continue Tonight!

Fireworks over Arkansas
Courtesy Pine Bluff Festival Association

4th of July Fireworks continue around the South tonight, with a wide range of events scheduled for the next seven days.

My annual list of 4th of July Fireworks in the South is now online at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/fireworks, so check it out for a state by state guide to the best displays!

Here are some highlights for you from this weekend's planned events:

Alabama (June 29 & 30, 2013)

Boaz, Cedar Bluff, Columbiana, Thomasville and Tuscumbia will all host events on Saturday and Wilsonville's annual God & Country Celebration is set for Sunday.

To learn more about these and other 4th of July Fireworks Events in Alabama for 2013, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/alabamafireworks.

Arkansas (June 29 & 30, 2013)

Texarkana's big Sparks in the Park will take place on Saturday night at Bobby Ferguson Park. Gates open at 4 p.m.for food, activities, contests and more. The fireworks will launch at 9:30 p.m.

Springdale will launch its Fireworks at the Cross at the CrossChurch Pinnacle Hills Campus on Sunday night.  Events begin at 5 p.m. with live music, outdoor baptisms and more. The fireworks go up at dark.

To learn more about this year's 4th of July Fireworks in Arkansas, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/arkansasfireworks.

Florida

Florida's events don't get started until July 3rd, but you can check out the schedule of planned fireworks for the Sunshine State at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/floridafireworks.

Georgia  (July 1, 2013)

Georgia's fireworks for this year get underway on Monday, July 1st, as Auburn (GA) hosts its annual fireworks in the downtown area. The skies light up at dark.

To learn more about the full list of this year's 4th of July fireworks in Georgia, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/georgiafireworks.

Kentucky (June 29, 2013)

Kentucky begins to light up its skies on Saturday night with the Briggs & Stratton Fireworks Extravaganza in Murray. Fireworks launch at 9:30 p.m. on the 29th in the area around Kroger, Wal-Mart and Lowes.

The full list of fireworks in Kentucky is available at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/kentuckyfireworks.

Louisiana (June 29, 2013)

Lake Arthur leads the way this year in Louisiana with its Lake Arthur Freedom Fest on Saturday (June 29th). The gates of Lake Arthur Park open at 8 a.m. for a day of fun.  The Blessing of the Fleet is set for 3 p.m., followed by music from Jamie Bergeron & the Kickin' Cajuns, Travis Matte & the Kingpins and the Bon Journeys.  The fireworks launch at 8:30 p.m.  Admission is $5 with kids 5 and under admitted free.

See the full list of this year's Louisiana fireworks at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/louisianafireworks.

Mississippi (June 30, 2013)

Mississippi's 4th of July Fireworks for 2013 get started on Sunday night in Hattiesburg and Brandon (Ross Barnett Reservoir).

Temple Baptist Church in Hattiesburg hosts Celebrate America on Sunday night (June 30th). The event begins with a community-wide picnic and fun at 6:30 p.m., followed by the fireworks at 9:00 p.m.

The Annual Independence Day Celebration at Ross Barnett Reservoir also takes place on Sunday. Events begin at 5 p.m. at Lakeshore Park and Old Trace Park in Brandon.  There will be live music at 6 p.m., a boat parade at 8 p.m. and fireworks at 9 .m.

Check out Mississippis's complete list of 4th of July Fireworks at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/mississippifireworks.

North Carolina 

Events don't get started in North Carolina until July 3rd, but you can check out the full list of events in the Tarheel State here:  www.exploresouthernhistory.com/ncfireworks.

Oklahoma (June 29, 2013)

The skies over Oklahoma City come alive on Saturday night (June 29th) with the annual Stars & Stripes River Festival. Taking place in the Boathouse District, the event features river sports, games, activities and more throughout the day followed by fireworks at dark.

Check out the complete list of Oklahoma's fireworks for this year at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/okfireworks.

South Carolina (June 29, 2013)

The big 4th of July Celebration and Boat Parade takes place at South Carolina's Lake Murray on Saturday (June 29th). A popular event in the Midlands, the boat parade takes place at 12 noon followed by the fireworks at dark.

See South Carolina's complete list of 4th of July Fireworks at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/scfireworks

Tennessee (June 29, 2013)

Tennessee's 4th of July Fireworks will begin with three events on Saturday night (June 29th).

Alcoa hosts its FreedomFest on Saturday with fireworks at dark. Andersonville's Sequoyah Marina on Norris Lake is home to Fire on the Water which features food, fun and fireworks. Byrdstown's Independence Day Celebration takes place in the parking lot across from Town Hall on Saturday night and begins with a benefit for Our Troops at 5 p.m., followed by music and games.  The fireworks begin at 9 p.m.

Check out the full list of 4th of July Fireworks in Tennessee this year at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/tnfireworks.

Texas (June 29 & 30, 2013)

Texas begins its 4th of July Fireworks on Saturday and Sunday nights, June 29th and 30th.

Allen's annual Market Street Allen USA Celebration is set for Saturday at Celebration Park. Former Styx  lead singer Dennis DeYoung is among the performers set to entertain the crowds. Music, fun, activities, food and more begins at 4 p.m., followed by the fireworks at dark.

Parker's Celebrate Freedom event takes place at Southfork Ranch on Saturday. The gates open at 8 a.m. for activities, food, fun and more. Live music begins at 10 a.m. and the fireworks will launch at Dark.

Rockwall's Freedom Fest 2013 will take place on Sunday at The Harbor. Food, fun, entertainment and activities kick off at 4 p.m. and will be followed by the fireworks at dark.

Check out the full list of Texas 4th of July Fireworks for this year at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/texasfireworks.

Virginia 

Things don't get going in Virginia until July 3rd, but you can check out the full list of Virginia 4th of July Fireworks for 2013 at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/virginiafireworks.

Remember, you can access the full list for all states anytime at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/fireworks.

USS Kidd - WWII Destroyer in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

USS Kidd and Mississippi River at Baton Rouge, Louisiana

One of my favorite Southern scenes is the view of the historic World War II warship USS Kidd framed by downtown Baton Rouge from the I-10 bridge over the Mississippi River.

Now a museum and memorial, the destroyer was built and launched in New Jersey in 1943. Named for Rear Admiral Isaac Campbell Kidd, Sr., who was killed when his flagship - the battleship USS Arizona - was destroyed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

USS Kidd

The crew of the ship, however, always enjoyed their association with another "Captain Kidd," the famed pirate or privateer of the late 17th century. A swashbuckling caricature of the pirate graces the funnel of the ship and the USS Kidd was the only U.S. Navy warship ever authorized to fly the infamous "Jolly Roger" pirate flag.

The Kidd spent most of her World War II career in the Pacific. She was one of the destroyers that escorted the battleship USS Alabama to Pearl Harbor and took part in fighting throughout the island hopping campaign waged by the U.S. across the Pacific. At one point she closed to within 11 miles of the Japanese mainland.

Learn more about this historic warship and find out how she came to become part of the Baton Rouge cityscape: http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/usskidd.

The Battle of Baton Rouge - The American Revolution in Louisiana

Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Battlefield at Right)

It is a little known fact that one of the most important battles of the American Revolution took place not in New England or along the East Coast, but far to the west on the banks of the Mississippi River at Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Hoping to gain advantage over Great Britain, the King of Spain declared his support of the fledgling United States on May 8, 1779, and declared war on Spain's long-time rival. Two months later he extended the right to make war to his subjects in North America.

Spain then possessed what later became known as the Louisiana Purchase, which included the parts of present day Louisiana west of the Mississippi River, as well as the city of New Orleans. Spanish territory also extended up the great river to include present-day Arkansas, Missouri and other states.

Revolutionary War Cannon at Baton Rouge

Great Britain, in turn, held the colonies of East Florida and West Florida, which had not joined in the revolution against the King. West Florida then extended from the Apalachicola River on the east all the way to the Mississippi River on the west. The modern cities of Baton Rouge, Mobile and Pensacola were included in this domain and were garrisoned by British troops.

Learning of the King's declaration, the Spanish Governor of Louisiana immediately began to prepare a campaign against the British at Baton Rouge. His name was Bernardo de Galvez and he was one of the most successful year least known generals of the American Revolution.

The British fort stood near the Pentagon Barracks (right)

Moving north from New Orleans with an army of 580 Spanish regulars, 60 local militiamen, 80 free blacks, 10 American volunteers and an irregular force of some 600 Acadians and Indians, Galvez took Fort Bute, an English post at Bayou Manchac, on September 7, 1779.  He then moved on Baton Rouge, where 550 British soldiers manned the new and strong Fort New Richmond.

Nothing remains above ground of the fort today, but it stood adjacent to the spot where the historic Pentagon Barracks were later built overlooking the river. The earthwork fortification was armed with cannon and held 400 British regulars from the 16th and 60th regiments, some militia, a few regular artillerymen and several companies from the 3rd Waldeck Regiment (Germans).

Memorial to the 1779 Battle of Baton Rouge

Galvez laid siege to the fort on September 12, 1779, moving his troops completely around its land sides and preparing siege trenches and hidden batteries. On September 21, 1779, the Patriot army opened its bombardment of Fort New Richmond. The British fired back long enough to defend the honor of their king, but then raised the white flag.

The Battle of Baton Rouge gave the Spanish control of the western end of West Florida and ended forever Great Britain's claim to the Mississippi River. Galvez went on to take Fort Charlotte at Mobile and Fort George at Pensacola in one of the most remarkable campaigns of the American Revolution. The Spanish general with his mixed army eliminated any British claim to the Gulf Coast and opened the door for the eventual United States capture and acquisition of the territory making up the modern states of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.

To learn more about the Battle of Baton Rouge, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/batonrouge1779.

April 26th - Birthday of John James Audubon

Audubon in 1826

Today marks the 226th anniversary of the birth of famed naturalist John James Audubon, whose footprints can still be traced across the American South.
Born in what is now Haiti (then the French colony of Saint-Domingue) on April 26, 1785, he fled with his family to France just three years later when a slave revolt broke out on the Haitian sugar plantations. He was educated in France and remained there until he was 18, when he boarded a ship for America using a false passport to avoid conscription in the Napoleonic army.

He contracted yellow fever as he arrived in New York and was nursed back to health in a boarding house run by Quaker women, who taught him English and assisted in his relocation to a farm near Philadelphia where he developed a passion for American birds and wildlife. His business interests eventually took him west to Missouri and Kentucky, where he continued to expand his studies.

Oakley Plantation in Louisiana

Audubon, of course, went on to travel through much of the South and his ground-breaking bird paintings are among the finest ever done in North America. His travels are the focus of much attention in historical and birding circles and markers and historic sites across the region note his presence.

An excellent place to learn more about Audubon's work is at Audubon State Historic Site in St. Francisville, Louisiana. The park preserves Oakley Plantation, where he completed many of his bird paintings and which he described as "almost supernatural" in its beauty. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/audubon.

Ruins of Elizabeth Female Academy

A little more than an hour north near Natchez, Mississippi, are the ruins of the Elizabeth Female Academy, where Audubon taught drawing in 1822. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/natchezelizabeth.

The Audubon Society, of course, is a great place to learn about the life and contributions of John James Audubon. The Society maintians an online version of his groundbreaking book, Birds of America, at http://web4.audubon.org/bird/BoA/BOA_index.html.






Audubon Pilgrimage - St. Francisville, Louisiana

Rosedown in St. Francisville

The annual Audubon Pilgrimage is underway this weekend in St. Francisville, Louisiana.

A charming community that was once the capital of the short-lived "Republic of West Florida," St. Francisville is located atop a high ridge overlooking the Mississippi River at the intersection of U.S. Highway 61 and Louisiana Highway 10. The town is 30 miles north of Baton Rouge and 60 miles south of Natchez, Mississippi.

St. Francisville is well known because it is surrounded by some of the most beautiful surviving plantation homes in the South. There is Rosedown Plantation, considered one of the country's finest surviving antebellum plantation complexes by the National Park Service; Oakley Plantation, where famed naturalist John James Audubon painted many of his best known bird paintings and The Myrtles, considered by some to be America's most haunted home. Also just south of town is Port Hudson State Historic Site, scene of a bloody Civil War battle and siege.

The annual Audubon Pilgrimage features a full weekend of events, including tours, live music, candlelight graveyard tours, a noted antique show and sale and much more. To learn more about St. Francisville and the Audubon Pilgrimage, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/stfrancisville.

Rosedown Plantation State Historic Site - St. Francisville, Louisiana

Rosedown Plantation State Historic Site

One of the best known and most beautiful of the South's historic antebellum plantation homes, historic Rosedown Plantation in St. Francisville has been a Louisiana landmark since 1834.

Named after a play its builders, Daniel and Martha Barrow Turnbull, saw on their honeymoon, Rosedown is now a state historic site and is open to the public year-round. In addition to preserving one of the finest collections of antebellum plantation structures in the nation, the park also preserves Rosedown's magnificent gardens which also date from the antebellum era.

Construction of the main house at Rosedown began in 1834. Framed by a beautiful avenue of live oaks, the facade of the Federal-Greek Revival style home is one of the most recognized in the South. Other surrounding plantation structures, including a doctor's office, kitchen, etc., were built in similar styles and many survive today.

Gardens at Rosedown Plantation

Rosedown's magnificent gardens date back to at least 1836, when Martha Turnbull made the first entry in her "garden diary" that survives today. Over the decades that followed she created one of the largest private gardens of the 19th century, importing exotic plants from Asia and other overseas destinations. Rosedown, in fact, was the site of one of the first known plantings of camellias in America and blooms from the original stock can still be seen there. The 28-acre gardens are also known for their azaleas and other beautiful flowering plants.

Camellia at Rosedown

The Turnbull family continued to live at Rosedown throughout the Civil War, despite the terrible violence that took place within earshot of the home during the Siege and Battle of Port Hudson. The home was not damaged during the shelling of St. Francisville by Union warships, although the arrival of Federal forces in the area meant freedom for the more than 100 slaves who lived and worked on the farm. After its fall in July of 1863, nearby Port Hudson became a major recruiting and training center for African American soldiers who came from area plantations to join the Union army.

Rosedown survived, however, and today is one of the most beautiful of the numerous historic plantations that line the Mississippi River from Natchez down to St. Francisville. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/rosedown.

Port Hudson State Historic Site - Zachary, Louisiana

Confederate Earthworks at Port Hudson

Although its story is often overshadowed by that of the Battle of Vicksburg, which took place at the same time, the Siege and Battle of Port Hudson was one of the monumental confrontations of the Civil War.

After a failed attempt to retake Baton Rouge in August of 1862, Confederate forces in Louisiana withdrew about 30 miles up the Mississippi River to Port Hudson. A small community located atop high bluffs overlooking a bend of the river, Port Hudson offered the ideal place for a citadel to prevent Union warships from reaching the vital junction of the Mississippi and Red Rivers.

Garrison Flag that flew over Port Hudson

Over the months that followed, the position was heavily fortified and by early 1863 a Confederate force of around 7,500 men held the position and manned the heavy guns that aimed down on the channel of the Mississippi. A flotilla of Union warships commanded by Admiral David G. Farragut tried to blast its way past Port Hudson on March 14, 1863, but only two of the vessels made it. The U.S.S. Mississippi was destroyed and the other ships had to turn back. Port Hudson had proved its worth as a defensive position.

Cannon at Port Hudson, Louisiana

Determined to eliminate the Confederate bastion, Union General Nathaniel P. Banks moved against it with more than 30,000 men in May of 1863. The severely outnumbered Confederates dug in even deeper and devastated the Union army in its two major attempts to storm the works. An attack on June 14, 1863 went so bad for the Federals that they suffered casualties of 1,792 men compared to only 47 of the Confederates, giving Southern General Franklin Gardner one of the most lopsided tactical victories of the Civil War.

Port Hudson held out until after the fall of Vicksburg, Mississippi, in July of 1863. The fall of that city gave Union ships coming down the Mississippi access to the river's confluence with the Red River and there was no longer any reason for the Confederates in Louisiana to continue to hold out. Gardner surrendered on July 9, 1863, having withstood until then the longest total siege of the Civil War.

To learn more about the Siege and Battle of Port Hudson and to see photos of Port Hudson State Historic Site and other points of interest in the area, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/porthudson.

Oakley Plantation (Audubon SHS) - St. Francisville, Louisiana

Oakley Plantation

Built in around 1806, Oakley Plantation at Audubon State Historic Site has been a Louisiana landmark for more than 200 years.

Built with clear West Indian influences, the house dates from the days when the Florida Parishes of Louisiana were still part of Spain. Oakley was still new in 1810 when the territory east of the Mississippi, south of the 31st parallel, north of Lake Pontchartrain and Gulf of Mexico and west of the Perdido River rebelled against the Spanish and declared its independence. The Republic of West Florida, so named because it was part of colonial West Florida and not present-day West Florida, lasted for only three months before it was taken over by the United States.

Footpath at Oakley Plantation

Oakley Plantation's best known interaction with history, however, came in 1821 when famed naturalist John James Audubon was hired by Mr. and Mrs. James Pirrie, the plantation owners, to teach drawing to their daughter Eliza. Although he remained there only a few months, the plantation became a landmark location in the life and career of Audubon because it was here that he began work on 32 of his famed paintings of North American birds. He was so taken with the farm and its surroundings, in fact, that he described its beauty as "almost supernatural."

Oakley Plantation is now preserved at Audubon State Historic Site on the outskirts of St. Francisville, Louisiana. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/audubon.

Grave of the best known Private Soldier of the Confederacy - Milledgeville, Georgia

Private Edwin F. Jemison, 2nd Louisiana Infantry

A stone monument at Memory Hill Cemetery in historic Milledgeville, Georgia, bears a name that touches the heart of many who read about or study the Civil War: Edwin F. Jemison.

Jemison was a 16 year old volunteer in Louisiana when the haunting photograph that many consider the best known image of a private soldier of the Confederacy was taken. He never saw his 18th birthday.

Born into a prominent Georgia family, Edwin F. Jemison (who signed his military papers as E.F. Jemison) was a descendant of early Quakers who had founded the town of Wrightsboro, Georgia, and was the great-grandson of a hero of the American Revolution. His family had moved to Louisiana from Georgia during the 1850s and had acquired large holdings in the Monroe area. When President Abraham Lincoln called for hundreds of thousands of volunteers to put down the rebellion in the South, Jemison was among the Southern men and boys who turned out to defend their homeland.

Grave of Edwin F. Jemison

Edwin F. Jemison was mustered into the 2nd Louisiana Infantry Regiment on May 11, 1861, and served in Companies I, B and C during his 12-months tour of duty. Possibly because of his young age, he was detached early in his service to assist at the headquarters of General John B. Magruder. By the winter of 1861-1862, however, he was in the ranks in Virginia where the 2nd Louisiana had been sent to defend the Confederate capital city of Richmond.

Only 17 years old, he was shot down when his regiment stepped out in one of the human waves sent by General Robert E. Lee against Union artillery positions at the Battle of Malvern Hill on July 1, 1862. His sad eyes, however, stare out through the years to remind us of the cost of war thanks to the 150 year old photograph that has been widely reprinted since the war.

A monument to Jemison was placed in the family plot at Memory Hill Cemetery in Milledgeville soon after the war and visitors today can view his grave and read an interpretive panel that tells his tragic story. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/jemison.

Poverty Point State Historic Site - Epps, Louisiana

Home to the largest known prehistoric earthworks in the Western Hemisphere, the Poverty Point State Historic Site is located on a bluff overlooking Bayou Macon between the towns of Epps and Lake Providence in the northeastern corner of Louisiana.

The site is one of the most remarkable Indian mound groups in the United States. Not only does its primary mound (Mound A) still rise more than 72 feet above the surrounding area, it takes the form of a giant flying bird. Such effigy mounds would become common in the Midwest and were built at other locations in the South over the centuries that followed, but at the time Poverty Point was active, Mound A was the only known such effigy in the country.

The Poverty Point Culture reached its height more than 3,000 years ago, long before any of the other mound-building groups of the Southeast. They were a pre-ceramic culture, meaning that they did not make pottery vessels to use for cooking or storing food. Instead, they were a stone age people who raised the manufacture of stone tools to a new level. Trade networks developed connecting the Poverty Point people to other prehistoric Native Americans across much of the eastern United States. Excavations at the site have revealed  shells from Florida, copper from the Great Lakes region and quartz and other crystals from the Ouachita and Ozark mountains of Arkansas and Missouri.

The site today is extremely interesting. In addition to the towering Mound A, which may have been more than 100 feet high when it was in use, the site includes other mounds, a central plaza site that appears to have been the location of a prehistoric observatory, and unique concentric manmade ridges upon which the people of the town lived.

In addition to walking paths and a nice museum, the site also provides guided tram tours of the extensive mounds. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/poverty1.

Anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans

Today marks the 194th anniversary of one of the greatest military accomplishments in American history.

It was on this day in 1815 that General Andrew Jackson and his hastily assembled army defeated the last British invasion of the United States at the Battle of New Orleans.

Although we barely remember January 8th today, it was once a major American holiday. What Jackson's forces did at New Orleans put the United States on the world stage. From 1815 until the time of the Civil War, January 8th was marked as a day of celebration across the country.

Like so many men of his era, Andrew Jackson has become a controversial figure in this modern time of revisionist history, but what he accomplished on the plains of Chalmette below New Orleans will stand for itself as long as Americans still study their past.

Arriving in New Orleans in the fall of 1814 as the city faced invasion by a powerful force of British regulars fresh from their defeat of Napoleon, Jackson mobilized the city like few American cities have ever been mobilized. When the British landed in the swamps south of the city, Jackson moved against them with an outnumbered army of U.S. regulars, volunteers, militiamen, free African Americans, pirates and Choctaw warriors. With his famous words "By the Eternal!" Jackson launched a daring night attack on the assembling British army during December of 1814 that let them know they were in for a fight.

The Battle of New Orleans actually raged for more than two weeks, but the most dramatic moment came on January 8, 1815, when thousands of red-coated British regulars formed ranks and marched forward across the open ground in a direct assault on Jackson's men, who had built an embankment of mud stretching from the Mississippi River on the west to a large swamp on the east.

When the smoke cleared, the battlefield was littered with the bodies of 2,037 dead, dying, wounded or missing British soldiers. Jackson had lost only 13 men killed and 39 wounded in one of the most overwhelming military victories of all time.

The news of the victory prompted celebrations and thanksgiving as it spread across the United States. The fact that the battle was fought after the signing of the Treaty of Ghent was of no consequence. Neither side knew that the war had ended and Andrew Jackson punctuated the arrival of the peace with a battlefield victory that would ultimately send him to the White House.

The site of the Battle of New Orleans is now preserved at the Chalmette Battlefield unit of the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve. Please click here to visit the official National Park Service website.

(Credit: The photo above is from the National Park Service.)

Hurricane Gustav moving through Louisiana

Hurricane Gustav came ashore in Louisiana this morning. Fortunately it weakened some and was a Category 2 storm at landfall. So far it looks like the levees are holding in New Orleans and damage to the city is minimal.

Damage and flooding is taking place in other areas around southern Louisiana and there was video on television of flooding in Grand Isle.

I've been trying to keep track of the status of historic sites in the region while also praying for the best for the residents of Louisiana. So far, Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans has reported that a fire broke out in an antebellum house in the city but was contained by firefighters. I do not know the extent of the damage.

As I see more on the status of historic sites in the area, I'll keep you informed.