Mississippi Redoubt

Mississippi Redoubt, on the extreme left of the Confederate line at Port Hudson, commanded the high ground overlooking the Telegraph Road from Port Hudson to Bayou Sara. Under Colonel Winchester B. Shelby, it was manned by the 39th Mississippi Infantry Regiment, a detachment of the 9th Louisiana (Wingfield's) Partisan Rangers, and cannons from Battery B, 1st Mississippi Light Artillery. It was the focal point of only one large assault during the siege. On the morning of May 27, Shelby's forward rifle pits came under attack from the 1st and 3rd Louisiana (U.S.) Native Guards regiments. Though the attack reached only a point 200 yards in front of Shelby's rifle pits, it was significant as the first time in U.S. military history that black soldiers participated in a large-scale attack.

Louisiana · United States