Port Hudson, Louisiana

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 most famous for an American Civil War battle known as the Siege of Port Hudson.

Geography

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

Landmarks

• A portion of the battlefield site is maintained as a park and museum by the state as the Port Hudson State Historic Site (in adjacent East Feliciana Parish).
• The Confederate Soldiers monument is an 11,000 pound obelisk dedicated to the defender's memory in 1930 by the Louisiana Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. In 2007 the monument was moved to the yard of one of Port Hudson’s few remaining buildings that was there during the siege.^[1][2]
• The Port Hudson National Cemetery was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1974 by the U.S. Department of the Interior.^[3] It is also among 26 featured sites on the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail.^[4]

History

In 1833, one of the first railroads in the United States ran 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. The rails and crossties of this track have long since been removed.^[5] Location of the tracks and the old town can be seen at the bend of the Mississippi River (view 1864 map).^[6]

Old Port Hudson was incorporated as a town in 1838.^[7]

Events

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

References

External links

• Photographs of Louisiana during the Civil War. Compiled by Sgt. Marshall Dunham of the 159th New York Regiment. Select Search items in this Collection and enter Port Hudson in the exact phrase option: photograph collection
• Port Hudson Driving Tour, CivilWarAlbum.com, May 2000.