PORT HUDSON, Siege of. Port Hudson, a small village of East Baton Rouge Parish, La., on the east bank of the Mississippi, 135 miles above New Orleans, was occupied by the Confederates, under General Breckinridge, after their defeat at Baton Rouge, 5 Aug. 1862. The place was in a sharp bend of .the river, on bold bluffs rising 75 to 90 feet above it, which for three miles along the river were strongly forti fied and armed with heavy guns. In November 1862 General Banks was ordered to relieve Butler, in command at New Orleans, under in structions from Halleck requiring Banks to clear the Mississippi River, also to occupy the Red River country as a protection for Louisi ana and Arkansas and as a basis for future operations against Texas. He was authorized to assume control of any military forces from the upper Mississippi which might come within his command, and to exercise superior authority as far as he might ascend the river. When these instructions were issued General McCler nand had been given authority to organize an expedition on the upper Mississippi to reduce Vicksburg, and the intention was that Banks should ascend the river from New Orleans, join forces with McClernand at Vicksburg, and assume command for operations against that place. When Halleck gave the instructions he did not suppose that there were any barriers on the river that would seriously interfere with Banks' movement to Vicksburg. Banks arrived at New Orleans with about 20,000 men 14 De cember, relieved Butler, and was surprised to learn that the Confederates held Port Hudson, with 21 heavy guns on the bluffs and a garrison reported as numbering from 12,000 to 16,000 men. Nothing was heard from McClernand or Grant. On the 18th General Grover, with a division of 18,000 men and some artillery, was sent to occupy Baton Rouge, 25 miles south of Port Hudson, which was accomplished without opposition and was the first step in the reduc tion of Port Hudson.
After providing for the security of New Orleans, Banks organized his available forces into a corps of four divisions, under command of Generals Augur, Thomas W. Sherman, Emory and Grover. Exaggerated reports of the strength of the Confederates at Port Hud son forbade a direct attack upon it, and Banks endeavored to turn it on the west and reach Vicksburg by means of the Atchafalaya, the mouth of Red River and the various bayous connecting the Atchafalaya with the Missis sippi, but was unsuccessful, and was turning his attention to a movement from Berwick Bay by the Atchafalaya, when news came that two of Colonel Ellet's rams, after running the batteries of Vicksburg, had been captured. Admiral Farragut, who was co-operating with Banks, now proposed to run his fleet past the batteries of Port Hudson, recapture or destroy the rams and thus control the river as far up as Vicks burg, and cut off supplies from the Red River country. Banks promptly assented and moved from Baton Rouge, with 17,000 men, to the rear of Port Hudson, on 14 March 1863, to co operate with the fleet. That night Farragut started to run the batteries with nine vessels, carrying 116 guns. Most of the fleet, under the heavy fire brought to bear upon them, failed to get through, and put back; the Mississippi passed the lower batteries, then ran aground and, being under fire of three heavy batteries, was burned by her commander, the crew taking to boats and going back; the Hartford and Albatross made the passage and communicated with Porter's fleet above Vicksburg. Farragut's loss was 113 killed and wounded; one vessel had been destroyed and four disabled. The
navy now had control of the mouth of Red River, and Banks, reverting to the execution of his turning movement by the Atchafalaya, re crossed the Mississippi, drove back the Con federate forces of Gen. R. Taylor, after two severe engagements at Fort Bisland and Irish Bend, in which he lost 353 men, and occupied Opelousas 20 April, from which place he marched to Alexandria, on Red River, reaching there 7 May, Taylor retiring before him to Shreveport and into Texas. He had captured a large number of prisoners and 22 guns, and Farragut had destroyed three gunboats, includ ing those that had been taken from Ellet. Meanwhile he had received word from Farra gut that Grant, 23 March, had written him that should river transportation be secured he would send 20,000 men through the Tensas, Black and Red Rivers to join in reducing Port Hudson, and at the same time a letter from Grant that he could spare him an army corps to enable him to get up the Mississippi. Upon arriving at Alexandria, Banks received a dispatch from Grant, dated at Milliken's Bend 14 April,pro posing to send an army corps to Bayou Sara by the 25th, and requesting that Banks should, after the reduction of Port Hudson, send all the troops hesould spare to Vicksburg. Banks assented to the proposition, saying that the troops could be shipped from New Orleans, but he was afterward informed by Grant, in a dispatch dated Rocky Springs 10 May, and re ceived on the 12th that he had crossed the Mississippi to Grand Gulf and was then in close pursuit of the enemy and, under the cir cumstances, could not retrace his steps, nor send the promised troops; and as he had heard and believed that Port Hudson was almost entirely evacuated, he requested Banks to join his com mand at Vicksburg. Regarding the proposed co-operation Grant says: °While at Grand Gulf (3 May) I heard from Banks, who was on the Red River, and he said that he could not be at Port Hudson before the 10th of May, and then with only 15,000 men. Up to this time my intention had been to secure Grand Gulf as a base of supplies, dispatch McClernand's corps to Banks and co-operate with him in the reduction of Port Hudson. The news from Banks forced upon me a different plan of campaign from the one intended; to wait for his co-operation would have detained me at least a month. . . . I therefore determined to move independently of Banks?) Halleck was intensely provoked at the action of Grant and Banks, and wrote sharply to both of them. That it was his in tention that their two armies should unite or co-operate under the chief command of Banks, and first take Port Hudson, is evident from his letters. To Grant he wrote 11 May, after he knew that he was operating in rear of Vicks burg, that his forces and those of Banks should be concentrated between Port Hudson and Vicksburg, so as to attack these places sepa rately with the combined armies. Grant says that he received this letter on the Big Black on the 17th, and that in it he was ordered to return to Grand Gulf and to co-operate from there with Banks against Port Hudson, and then to return with the combined forces to besiege Vicksburg?) To Banks, Halleck wrote a few days later: °I assure you that the govern ment is exceedingly disappointed that you and Gen. Grant are not acting in co-operation. I thought to secure that object by authorizing you to assume the entire command as soon as you and Gen. Grant could unite." When these let ters were received both Grant and Banks had fully committed themselves to the independent sieges of Vicksburg and Port Hudson.