There was a naval battle that occurred at Port Hudson which resulted in a Union disaster. Most of the casualties occurred on the USS Mississippi which was also lost in the battle.
Next, the Union Army surrounded the 7,000 Confederates with 40,000 men. A full-frontal assault was ordered, but only a small number of Union soldiers made it to the Confederate works and were easily killed, wounded or captured.
A second Union assault also failed and the Union troops began digging trenches and set up a siege of Port Hudson.
Things got worse for the Confederates who began running out of pretty much everything. They faced starvation and would eat mules, horses and even rats.
When word of Vicksburg's surrender reached Port Hudson, at first the Confederates wouldn't believe it. But finally on July 9, 1863, the 7,000 man garrison surrendered. However, they had inflicted more than 5,000 casualties on Union forces while losing just 500 of their own.
Most people think that when Vicksburg surrendered on July 4, 1863, that the Union had control of the Mississippi River, but that actually did not occur until July 9 with the surrender of Port Hudson.
--Old Secesh
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