Port Hudson, Louisiana

Port Hudson, Louisiana
Settlement
State Louisiana
Parish may 22 1863 East Baton Rouge
Elevation 98 ft (30 m)
Coordinates 30°40′41″N 91°16′8″W / 30.67806°N 91.26889°W / 30.67806; -91.26889Coordinates: 30°40′41″N 91°16′8″W / 30.67806°N 91.26889°W / 30.67806; -91.26889
Timezone CST (UTC-6)
 - summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
Area code 225
Location of Port Hudson in Louisiana
Location of Louisiana in the United States

Port Hudson is a small 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.

Geography

Port Hudson is located at 30.678056 North and 91.268889 West, and is along the east bank of the Mississippi River.

History

Port Hudson & Vicinity, 1864.

In 1833, one of the first railroads in the United States was built from Port Hudson to Clinton. Clinton was the entrepôt for the produce of much of the region, which, sent by rail, was transferred to steamboats at Port Hudson. Old Port Hudson was incorporated as a town in 1838.[1]

During the American Civil War, the area was the scene of bitter fighting as the Confederacy and Union struggled over control of the Mississippi River. Location of the tracks and the old town can be seen at the bend of the Mississippi River (view 1864 map).[2] The rails and crossties of the track were removed before 1920.[3]

What were then called the 1st and 3rd Regiments of the Louisiana Native Guards (later re-formed as regiments of the United States Colored Troops) proved themselves in battle on the Union side; they were the first black troops to have some black officers. A minority of men in the regiments were free men of color, who had been educated before the war; most of the soldiers were African-American slaves who had escaped to Union lines to gain freedom and support the war.[4]

Port Hudson National Cemetery was established in the area, first as a place of burial of Union dead.

Landmarks

Representation in culture

The latter poem was translated into German and published as a broadside, a copy of which has been preserved in the Black Soldiers Collection of the Historic New Orleans Collection at the Williams Research Center in New Orleans.

Events

Civil War reenactment at Port Hudson

A Civil War reenactment is held annually at the Port Hudson State Historic Site.

References

  1. ↑ Maurice Thompson (1888), The Story of Louisiana, p. 316.
  2. ↑ Map of Port Hudson and vicinity; Prepared by order of Major General N. P. Banks under the direction of Major D. C. Houston, Chief Engineer, Department of the Gulf and Captain Peter C. Hains, Corps of Engineers, 1864
  3. ↑ Milledge L. Bonham, Jr. (1917), "Man and Nature at Port Hudson," in The Military Historian and Economist, Volume II, Page 372.
  4. ↑ Terry L. Jones (2012-10-19) "The Free Men of Color Go to War" - NYTimes.com. Opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com, Retrieved on 2012-12-18
  5. ↑ George Morris, "UDC monument no longer hidden", The Advocate, 7 December 2007.
  6. ↑ Confederate Soldiers monument photograph circa 1940s, State Library of Louisiana.
  7. ↑ "Port Hudson". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. June 24, 2008.
  8. ↑ Louisiana African American Heritage Trail (Plantation Country).
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