Port Hudson...

[5fish]

There a forgotten event of the civil war that has fallen form the pages of history. It was in the summer of 1863 deep in the south where a band of confederates outnumber 4 to 1 held off an overwhelming force for 48 days.

Yes, I am talking about the Siege of Port Hudson the ugly step-sister to Siege of Vicksburg and the red headed step child to Gettysburg battle. If you compare it to its step-sister Vicksburg the siege was longer, just as bloody for the union, and the fall of Port Hudson effectively split the Confederacy not Vicksburg. Also, the fall the Port Hudson effectively ended the Red river as away of transporting military goods form Texas coast eastward.

The siege of Port Hudson is so overshadowed by Vicksburg and Gettysburg that it is forgotten that the first Color Troops were used in combat and the first black American Hero of the civil war came form the siege at Port Hudson.

Why does Vicksburg overshadow Port Hudson?

Is was the fall of Port Husdon that effectively ended the wets to east movement of goods not Vicksburg..

Siege of Port Hudson is an after thought but it had many important first for Black Americans to be proud of. Why let those achievements fad with the sands of time?

Why is the Confederates stand at Port Hudson ignore? They held out for 48 days against a superior force that outnumber then 4 to 1. They were prepared to hold out longer until they learned that Vicksburg fell.

Why do historians pick the fall of Vicksburg as a more important event then the fall of Port Hudson?

 

[5fish]

Here is something I thought would interest everyone copy in..

Port Hudson National Cemetery is located on the site where Union and Confederate forces were engaged in the siege of Port Hudson. Nearly 4,000 Union troops were killed and almost all were buried in the cemetery; only 600 were known. Approximately 500 Confederate soldiers died during the battle and were buried in the trenches where they fell. The present grounds were first used as a cemetery in 1863. In 1866, the federal government appropriated 8.4 acres and declared the site a national cemetery. Casualties of the siege of Port Hudson and soldiers who died in nearby military hospitals were interred here. In 1871, a cemetery inspector reported that the hostile adjacent-land owner would not permit a ditch to be run across his property to drain the cemetery.
The battlefield at Port Hudson is probably the only naturally preserved Civil War battleground extant. The breastworks, gun pits and trenches remain today almost as they were during the battle.
Port Hudson National Cemetery was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1974 as part of the Port Hudson Historic Site.
back to top

I highlighted the part of real interest. The fortification are still there intact is that unlike Vicksburg and Petersburg. I wonder...