The Siege of Port Hudson took place during the American Civil War from May 1863 to July 1863. It was a significant military engagement where Union forces aimed to capture the strategic Confederate stronghold located on the Mississippi River in Louisiana. The siege was part of the Union's broader strategy to control the river and cut off supplies to the Confederacy. Union troops, led by General Nathaniel P. Banks, faced fierce resistance from Confederate defenders under the command of Franklin Gardner. After a prolonged siege, the Confederates surrendered on July 9, 1863, marking one of the last major strongholds on the Mississippi River to fall to Union forces.