Five books on the Port Hudson Campaign

1. The Port Hudson Campaign, 1862 - 1863 by Edward Cunningham (1963).

Originally published during the Centennial (and reprinted in paperback since), Cunningham's campaign study is fairly dated and light on details but still useful for those readers looking for a quick introduction to the subject.

2. Port Hudson, Confederate Bastion on the Mississippi by Lawrence Lee Hewitt (1988).

Hewitt's book is another slim volume, but it exhibits some of the campaign literature's best scholarship. The author made the decision to not cover the siege aspect at any length, but what it does examine it does so very well. Hewitt's meticulous account of Confederate defensive preparations remains essential, and his descriptions of the naval campaign and the fortress's successful thwarting of Union attempts to carry the lines by storm are fine. If the author had expanded the volume to include the siege operation, the book would likely be regarded as a classic.

3. The Guns of Port Hudson, Volume One: The River Campaign (February - May 1863)
by David C. Edmonds (1983).

The two books by Edmonds comprise the most detailed Port Hudson campaign history yet available. I would normally list the pair together, but they were published separately and remain polar opposites today in terms of ease of acquisition. Both books are long out-of-print, but, for some reason, copies of Volume 1 have always been relatively plentiful and inexpensive to obtain while Volume 2 appears much less frequently on the secondary market and at a markedly higher three-figure price. Volume 1 effectively recounts the U.S. Navy's dangerous passage through the Port Hudson gauntlet of fire, as well as various inland diversionary operations launched by the army in support.

4. The Guns of Port Hudson, Volume Two: The Investment, Siege and Reduction
by David C. Edmonds (1984).

Substantially thicker than the first book and with superior production values, Volume 2 discusses at great length the Union approach march to Port Hudson, the investment of the fortress, the failed assaults, and the seven-week siege that ultimately proved successful. This book is easily the best single source for the land-based phase of the campaign.

5. Blood on the Bayou: Vicksburg, Port Hudson, and the Trans-Mississippi
by Donald S. Frazier (2015) [review].

Connecting events up and down both sides of the Mississippi, Frazier's book presents a wider perspective on 1863 Mississippi River Valley military operations. Emphasis is placed on failed Trans-Mississippi Confederate attempts to relieve the besieged Port Hudson and Vicksburg garrisons.