Union Besieges Port Hudson: Black Troops Fight for First Time
Union forces began a forty-eight-day siege of Port Hudson, Louisiana, the last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River, launching the longest true siege in American military history. The campaign included one of the first major combat engagements involving African American troops, the 1st and 3rd Louisiana Native Guards, who fought with distinction under devastating fire. Port Hudson surrendered on July 9, five days after Vicksburg, giving the Union complete control of the Mississippi and splitting the Confederacy in two.
May 22, 1863
163 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on May 22
Alexander watched twenty-five of his Companion Cavalry drown in the Granicus River before the real fighting even started. The Persians held the high bank—textbo…
Lü Bu rode his legendary horse Red Hare straight into the throne room with a spear. His adopted father Dong Zhuo had grown so fat from two years of tyrannical r…
The comet came back exactly when Edmund Halley said it would—seventy-six years after his death. He'd spent decades calculating orbits, staking his reputation on…
Byzantine forces launched a surprise amphibious assault on Damietta, burning the Egyptian port to the ground and seizing vast stockpiles of weaponry intended fo…
Assassins infiltrated Saladin’s camp near Aleppo and attacked him with daggers, only to be thwarted by his chainmail armor. This failed strike forced the sultan…
John handed Philip everything Richard the Lionheart had died trying to keep. Anjou, Maine, parts of Touraine—twenty thousand marks in cash and recognition of Ph…
Talk to History
Have a conversation with historical figures who witnessed this era. Ask questions, explore perspectives, and bring history to life.