Vicksburg National Military Park preserves the site of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Battle of Vicksburg The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Missis ...

, waged from March 29 to July 4, 1863. The park, located in

Vicksburg, Mississippi Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat, and the population at the 2010 census was 23,856. Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vic ...

(flanking the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

), also commemorates the greater

Vicksburg Campaign The Vicksburg campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in the Western Theater of the American Civil War directed against Vicksburg, Mississippi, a fortress city that dominated the last Confederate-controlled section of the Mississippi Riv ...

which led up to the battle. Reconstructed forts and trenches evoke memories of the 47-day siege that ended in the surrender of the city. Victory here and at Port Hudson, farther south in Louisiana, gave the Union control of the Mississippi River.

Battlefield

Park prepares campfire at Vicksburg Military Park (1975)

The park includes 1,325 historic monuments and markers, of historic trenches and earthworks, a tour road, a walking trail, two

antebellum Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to: United States history * Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern United States ** Antebellum Georgia ** Antebellum South Carolina ** Antebellum Virginia * Antebellum ...

homes, 144 emplaced cannons, the restored gunboat USS ''Cairo'' (sunk on December 12, 1862, on the

Yazoo River The Yazoo River is a river in the U.S. states of Louisiana and Mississippi. It is considered by some to mark the southern boundary of what is called the Mississippi Delta, a broad floodplain that was cultivated for cotton plantations before the ...

), and the

Grant's Canal Grant's Canal (also known as Williams's Canal) was an incomplete military effort to construct a canal through De Soto Point in Louisiana, across the Mississippi River from Vicksburg, Mississippi. During the American Civil War, United States Navy ...

site, where the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

attempted to build a canal to let their ships bypass Confederate

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

fire. The ''Cairo'', also known as the "Hardluck Ironclad," was the first U.S. ship in history to be sunk by a torpedo/mine. It was recovered from the Yazoo in 1964. The Illinois State Memorial has 47 steps, one for every day Vicksburg was besieged.

Campaign against Vicksburg

Battle of Chickasaw Bayou The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou, also called the Battle of Walnut Hills, fought December 26–29, 1862, was the opening engagement of the Vicksburg Campaign during the American Civil War. Confederate forces under Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton repulse ...

Battle of Arkansas Post The Battle of Arkansas Post, also known as Battle of Fort Hindman, was fought from January 9 to 11, 1863, near the mouth of the Arkansas River at Arkansas Post, Arkansas, as part of the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. Confederat ...

Battle of Grand Gulf The Battle of Grand Gulf was fought on April 29, 1863, during the American Civil War. As part of Major General Ulysses S. Grant's Vicksburg campaign, seven Union Navy ironclad warships commanded by Admiral David Dixon Porter bombarded Confederat ...

(April 29, 1863) *

Battle of Snyder's Bluff The Battle of Snyder's Bluff or Snyder's Mill was fought from April 29 to May 1, 1863, during the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. Union forces under Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman conducted a feint against Confederate units holdi ...

(April 29 – May 1) *

Battle of Port Gibson The Battle of Port Gibson was fought near Port Gibson, Mississippi, on May 1, 1863, between Union and Confederate forces during the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. The Union Army was led by Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, and was victo ...

(May 1) *

Battle of Raymond The Battle of Raymond was fought on May 12, 1863, near Raymond, Mississippi, during the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. Initial Union (American Civil War), Union attempts to capture the strategically important Mississippi River cit ...

(May 12) * Battle of Jackson (May 14) *

Battle of Champion Hill The Battle of Champion Hill of May 16, 1863, was the pivotal battle in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War (1861–1865). Union Army commander Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and the Army of the Tennessee pursued the retreating Confe ...

(May 16) *

Battle of Big Black River Bridge The Battle of Big Black River Bridge was fought on May 17, 1863, as part of the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. After a Union army commanded by Major General Ulysses S. Grant defeated Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton's Confed ...

(May 17) *

Siege of Vicksburg The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Missis ...

(May 18 – July 4)

Cemetery

The Vicksburg National Cemetery, is within the park. It has 18,244 interments (12,954 unidentified). The time period for Civil War interments was 1866 to 1874. The cemetery is not open to new interments. The cemetery has only one Commonwealth war grave, of an airman of

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

buried during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Grant's Canal

The remnants of

, a detached section of the military park, are located across from Vicksburg near

Delta, Louisiana Delta is a village in Madison Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 239 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Tallulah Micropolitan Statistical Area. As the birthplace of African-American entrepreneur Madam C.J. Walker, the fir ...

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

ordered the project, started on June 27, 1862, as part of his Vicksburg Campaign, with two goals in mind. The first was to alter the course of the Mississippi River in order to bypass the

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

guns at Vicksburg. For various technical reasons the project failed to meet this goal. The river did change course by itself on April 26, 1876. The project met its second goal, keeping troops occupied during the laborious maneuvering required to begin the Battle of Vicksburg.

Administrative history

The

national military park National Military Park, National Battlefield, National Battlefield Park, and National Battlefield Site are four designations for 25 battle sites preserved by the United States federal government because of their national importance. The designat ...

was established on February 21, 1899, to ''commemorate the siege and defense of Vicksburg''. The park and cemetery were transferred from the

War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence * Dep ...

to the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

(NPS) on August 10, 1933. In the late 1950s, a portion of the park was transferred to the city as a local park in exchange for closing local roads running through the remainder of the park. It also allowed for the construction of

Interstate 20 Interstate 20 (I‑20) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I-20 runs beginning at an interchange with Interstate 10, I-10 in Scroggins Draw, Texas, and ending at an interchange with Interstate 95, I-95 in Flo ...

. The monuments in land transferred to the city are still maintained by the NPS. As with all historic areas administered by the NPS, the park was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on October 15, 1966. Over half a million visitors visit the park every year. In 2000 the

Mississippi House of Representatives The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi. According to the state constitution of 1890, it is to comprise no more than 122 members elected fo ...

approved funding a monument to recognize African-American soldiers in the United States civil war.
Clipping
from

Newspapers.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. In November 2018, ...

References

External links

*''The National Parks: Index 2001–2003''. Washington:

U.S. Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...

. * 601-262-2100 ** *Official NPS website
Vicksburg National Military Park
*Main park map link: *Grant's Canal map link: *Vicksburg National Cemetery map link:
Vicksburg National Military Park, National Park Service at Google Cultural Institute
* * * *

Historic American Engineering Record Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

(HAER) documentation, filed under Vicksburg, Warren County, MS: ** ** ** ** {{Authority control Protected areas established in 1899 Battlefields of the Western Theater of the American Civil War Protected areas of Madison Parish, Louisiana National Battlefields and Military Parks of the United States Protected areas on the Mississippi River Mississippi in the American Civil War American Civil War museums in Mississippi Historic American Engineering Record in Mississippi Museums in Warren County, Mississippi National Park Service areas in Mississippi National Park Service areas in Louisiana Protected areas of Warren County, Mississippi American Civil War on the National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in Madison Parish, Louisiana Conflict sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Mississippi National Register of Historic Places in Warren County, Mississippi Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Mississippi Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in the United States 1899 establishments in Mississippi Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Mississippi