Vers la liberté

At the Siege of Port Hudson, there were four different regiments of US Colored Troops: 1st Louisiana Native Guards (73rd USCT), 3rd Louisiana Native Guards (75th USCT), 4th Louisiana Native Guards (76th USCT), and the 1st Louisiana Engineers (later split into the 95th and 97th USCT). Of these regiments the only one that had any sergeant with the name of either "Peter" or "Gordon" was the 1st Louisiana Engineers. There were three: Peter Jones of company M, who deserted June 19, 1863; William Gordon of company A, who died of scurvy Sept 11, 1864; and Peter Simms of company I, who completed his 3-year enlistment and mustered out of service with the 97th USCT on April 6, 1866 as part of the occupation force in Mobile, Alabama. As a coincidence, there were also three "Will Smiths" in the 97th USCT; one of them enlisted in April of 1863 and would also rise to the rank of sergeant.

The 1st Louisiana Native Guard's May 27, 1863, assault on Port Hudson did not succeed as portrayed in the film. The soldiers did not even make it into the Confederate trenches to engage enemy soldiers in hand-to-hand combat. Instead the regiment retreated after Andre Cailloux's death. Port Hudson did not surrender the morning after the assault as shown in the film. Instead the siege lasted until July 9, 1863.

Featured in Double Toasted: EMANCIPATION MOVIE REVIEW (2022)