Vicksburg National Military Park preserves the site of the American Civil War Battle of Vicksburg, waged from May 18 to July 4, 1863. The park, in Vicksburg, Mississippi, and Delta, Louisiana, also commemorates the greater Vicksburg Campaign, which preceded 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 gave the United States control of the Mississippi River.
Battlefield
The park includes 1,325 historic monuments and markers, 20 miles (32Â km) of historic trenches and earthworks, a 16-mile (26Â km) tour road, a 12.5-mile (20.1Â km) walking trail, two antebellum homes, 144 emplaced cannons, restored gunboat USS Cairo (sunk on December 12, 1862, on the Yazoo River, recovered successfully in 1964), and the Grant's Canal site, where the Union army attempted to build a canal to let their ships bypass Confederate artillery 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 raised in 1964. The Illinois State Memorial has 47 steps, one for every day Vicksburg was besieged.
Campaign against Vicksburg
- Battle of Chickasaw Bayou
- Battle of Arkansas Post
- Battle of Grand Gulf (April 29, 1863)
- Battle of Snyder's Bluff (April 29 â€" May 1)
- Battle of Port Gibson (May 1)
- Battle of Raymond (May 12)
- Battle of Jackson (May 14)
- Battle of Champion Hill (May 16)
- Battle of Big Black River Bridge (May 17)
- Siege of Vicksburg (May 18 â€" July 4)
Cemetery
The 116.28-acre (0.4706Â km2) Vicksburg National Cemetery, is within the park. It has 18,244 interments (12,954 unidentified); grave space is not available. Date of Civil War interments: 1866-1874.
Grant's Canal
The remnants of Grant's Canal, a detached section of the military park, are located across from Vicksburg near Delta, Louisiana. Union Army Major General Ulysses S. Grant 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 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 was established on February 21, 1899, to commemorate the siege and defense of Vicksburg. The park sprawls over 1,800 acres (7.3Â km2) of land. The park and cemetery were transferred from the War Department to the National Park Service (NPS) on August 10, 1933. Of the park's 1,736.47 acres (not including the cemetery), 1,729.63 acres (6.9996Â km2) are federally owned.
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. 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 on October 15, 1966. Over half a million visitors visit the park every year.
Gallery
References
- The National Parks: Index 2001-2003. Washington: U.S. Department of the Interior.
- Cell Phone Audio Tour of Vicksburg 601-262-2100
- Cell Phone Audio Tour of Vicksburg mp3
External links
- Official NPS website: Vicksburg National Military Park
- Main park map links: 32°20′39″N 90°51′6″W
- Grant's Canal map links: 32°19′14″N 90°56′0″W
- Guide to records (allotment ledger) from the Vicksburg National Military Park
- Guide to records (correspondence files) from Vicksburg National Cemetery
- Guide to records (correspondence of the Park Architect relating to construction) from the Vicksburg National Military Park
- Guide to records (correspondence relating to construction bids and bonds) from the Vicksburg National Military Park
- Guide to records (employee time records) from the Vicksburg National Military Park
- Guide to records (invoices) from the Vicksburg National Cemetery
- Guide to records (land purchases) from the Vicksburg National Cemetery
- Guide to records (ledgers) from the Vicksburg National Military Park
- Guide to records (letters received by the Commission Chairman) from the Vicksburg National Military Park
- Guide to records (letters received by the Park Engineer) from the Vicksburg National Military Park
- Guide to records (letters received by Superintendent) from the Vicksburg National Cemetery
- Guide to records (letters sent by the Commission Chairman) from the Vicksburg National Military Park
- Guide to records (letters sent by the Park Engineer) from the Vicksburg National Military Park
- Guide to records (letters sent by the Superintendent) from the Vicksburg National Cemetery
- Guide to records (list of headstones) from the Vicksburg National Cemetery
- Guide to records (minutes of Commission meeting) from the Vicksburg National Military Park
- Guide to records (paid bills) from the Vicksburg National Military Park
- Guide to records (expenditures) from the Vicksburg National Cemetery
- C-SPAN American History TV Tour of Vicksburg National Military Park
- Building the USS Cairo City Class Ironclads Documentary
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