Port Hudson.

The siege of Port Hudson, Louisiana, was one of the longest in American history, lasting forty-eight days from May 22 to July 9, 1863. Some 7,500 Confederate defenders held out against nearly 40,000 Union troops under General Nathaniel P. Banks. Perched on bluffs above the Mississippi River, Port Hudson, along with Vicksburg to the north, formed the last Confederate stronghold on the river. Its fall, coming just days after Vicksburg's surrender, gave the Union complete control of the Mississippi, splitting the Confederacy in two. The defense was stubborn, marked by shortages, disease, and relentless bombardment, while the siege also witnessed one of the earliest major actions of African American soldiers in Union ranks, who fought with distinction in the assaults.