Walking the Trail to Fort Desperate at the Port Hudson State Historic Site

Fort Desperate was the name given to the Confederate position sitting at the top of an exposed ridge on the northeastern corner of the Port Hudson defensive line (see Port Hudson Battlefield map). It was so named by the men serving inside it - primarily the officers and men of the Fifteenth Arkansas Infantry Regiment (Johnson's), commanded by Colonel Benjamin W. Johnson. They withstood the ferocious Union attacks of May 27th and June 14th, along with continuing artillery barrages and sniper fire without giving an inch during the entire 48-day siege.