Port Hudson - Port Hudson, LA - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

Site features a full museum, walking/hiking trails lookout towers and plenty of history. Here is a brief history, taken from the Register application, located here

Along the northern part of the Confederate defense perimeter at Port Hudson is approximately a mile of meandering earthworks constructed on the natural defensive edge of the terrace as it falls sixty-five to eighty feet off into the Sandy Creek and Foster Creek bottoms. The earthworks include a Union fortification, Fort Babcock. The terrain is extremely rugged and is in its natural setting, almost impenetrable in many areas. This accounts for its remarkable state of preservation since the surrender of 9 July 1863. The creeks wander along sandy bottoms through magnolia, oak, and sweetgum forests. The hike up the steep slope to the terrace above is as difficult today as it was when the Union troops were there more than 109 years ago. The defense lines are clearly in evidence and the hiker continuing westward beyond the state owned lands shortly comes upon the hills and ridges overlooking the Mississippi River bottom, some seventy-five feet below, and the Batture area, which once formed the bed of the great river. From these heights one has an excellent view of the terrain across which black soldiers for the first time in American history fought as members of the United States Army in large numbers. The tract is immediately contiguous to land acquired by the state of Louisiana. Casualties among black troops are buried in a common grave lost and forgotten in the thickets of cottonwood and briar patches, flooded each spring by the high waters of the Mississippi. A fresh deposit of silt has hidden from view the footprints and gravesite of these soldiers. Sandy Creek beyond was crossed by two regiments of the Louisiana Native Guards of Free Colored on a pontoon bridge. The high bluff along the entire two miles of the Confederate river batteries brought, their cannons to bear on the battle below. The resulting bombardment and the near impossibility of climbing the steep incline below the cannons, along with the precipitous cliff, doomed the assault. The charge of the black regiment was pictured in Harper's Weekly several months after the battle. The natural wilderness of this and the adjacent state owned area may not remain undisturbed for too much longer. Trespassers with metal detection equipment in search of cannon shells, belt buckles, and other portions of the uniforms from the fallen soldiers, have begun to invade the property with increasing frequency. The site is still very beautiful however, and is one of America's little touched battlefields.

Site opened these times
Hours of Operation: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., daily. Closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Guided tours are offered daily. Entrance Fees: $2 per person; free for seniors (62 and over) and for children age 12 and under. Groups are asked to call in advance.

Street address: Port Hudson and environs along US 61 Port Hudson, LA USA County / Borough / Parish: East Feliciana Year listed: 1974 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event (Military) Periods of significance: 1850-1874 Historic function: Defense, Domestic. Sub - Battle Site, Secondary Structure, Single Dwelling Current function: Defense, Domestic. Sub - Battle Site, Secondary Structure, Single Dwelling Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Privately owned?: Not Listed Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.

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