Port Hudson State Historic Site
| Port Hudson State Historic Site | |
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 Map of the United States
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| Location | East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana |
| Nearest city | Jackson, Louisiana |
| Coordinates | 30°40′56″N 91°17′05″W / 30.68222°N 91.28472°WCoordinates: 30°40′56″N 91°17′05″W / 30.68222°N 91.28472°W |
| Governing body |
Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism; Office of State Parks |
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Port Hudson
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| NRHP Reference # | 74002349 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | May 30, 1974 |
| Designated NHL | May 30, 1974 |
Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism; Office of State Parks
The Port Hudson State Historic Site is located on the Mississippi River north of Baton Rouge in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, just outside the limits of Port Hudson and in the vicinity of Jackson. The site preserves a portion of the fortifications and battle area of the longest siege in American history, during the American Civil War from May 23 through July 9, 1863. The state of Louisiana maintains the site, which includes a museum about the siege, artillery displays, redoubts, and interpretive plaques. Living history re-enactments are held each year. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1974, significant as the first place where African-American military units fought for the Union Army under African-American field leadership.
Port Hudson State Historic Site is located north of the community of Port Hudson, on the west side of United States Route 61. The property of the site extends west to Thompson Creek, and is bounded on the north by Sandy Creek and partly on the south by Foster Creek. This area forms a terrace about 65 to 80 feet (20 to 24 m) above the creeks, with twisting and steep terrain that made for a natural defensive position, and is where Union Army forces were dug in. The area immediately to the southwest of Foster Creek has similar terrain, and is where Confederate defensive positions were located. These positions were but a small portion of the total offensive and defensive positions, which entirely ringed the community, and included artillery emplacements overlooking the nearby Mississippi River.
An addition of 256 acres (1.04 km2) to the site was made possible by The Conservation Fund using its Battlefield Revolving Fund established by grants from The Gilder Foundation and contributions from a number of partners.
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