Port Hudson, Louisiana was strategically important to protect Vicksburg, Mississippi farther up the Mississippi River, from the Union fleet. Admiral Farragut with seven ships decided to run the gauntlet past Port Hudson on the night of March 14, 1863. This view shows the Confederate guns high on the cliffs above the river at Port Hudson, firing on the Union fleet. The side wheeler Mississippi is on fire at the far left of the scene. Four of the other Union ships were damaged.