How to Use the Images

Table of
Contents

Photo 1: A Confederate cannon
inside the siege works. The muzzle was
broken off by Union artillery fire.

Photo 2: Confederate "rat holes" (dug-out caves) within the defensive lines. There was a Federal artillery position along the tree line in the distance.

Photo 3: A Confederate cannon demolished by Federal artillery fire. The earthworks include a barrel (upper left) with a hole for sharpshooting. This was nicknamed "Fort Desperate."

Photo 4: A gully used by Federal troops as a siege camp. The horizontal line at the base of the standing trees is a series of Confederate earthworks.

Photo 5: A Union artillery battery at Port Hudson. The white material in the foreground is cotton, bales of which were used to protect the cannoneers from Confederate fire.

Photos 1-3 were made immediately after the Confederate surrender, and photos 4 and 5 were made during the siege.

The Civil War was the first major event in American history to be extensively recorded by photographers. The technology of the day allowed them to produce numerous copies of photographs; soldiers could then buy prints and send them to their loved ones. While newspapers then did not have the technology to publish photos, they often featured artists' drawings made from photographs. Together photos and sketches gave civilians at home an opportunity to see firsthand the destruction and devastation that war caused. This greatly affected public opinion on the war and the way it was being fought.

Questions for Photos 1-5

1. What methods did the Confederates use to defend their position?

2. What methods did the Union use to protect themselves and to make the Confederates submit?

3. Which reading does Photo 4 recall? Why?

4. Which photograph best helps you understand the atmosphere of a siege? Why?

* The photos on the screen have a resolution of 72 dots per inch (dpi), and therefore will print poorly. You can obtain a high quality version of Photo 1, Photo 2, Photo 3, Photo 4, & Photo 5, but be aware that each file will take as much as 60 seconds to load with a 28.8K modem.