新澳门开奖结果

Image by from

10 Best Facts about the Vicksburg National Military Park

Vicksburg National Military Park commemorates one of the most decisive Civil War battles; the campaign, siege and defence of Vicksburg.

The site of one of the Civil War鈥檚 bloodiest battles, the Vicksburg National Military Park was established in 1899.

The Vicksburg campaign was waged from March 29 to July 4, 1863. It included battles in west-central Mississippi at Port Gibson, Raymond, Jackson, Champion Hill, Big Black River and 47 days of Union siege operations against Confederate forces defending the city of Vicksburg.

The park is filled with hundreds of monuments and markers, historic homes, forts, and approaches and is of course, the site of the Vicksburg National Cemetery.

Visitors to Vicksburg National Military Park can learn about the critical Union campaign to capture the city, as well as Reconstruction efforts after the war.

 Located high on the bluffs, Vicksburg was a fortress guarding the Mississippi River. It was known as “The Gibraltar of the Confederacy, here are 10 fascinating facts about the Vicksburg National Military Park.

1. Vicksburg  National Military Park Commemorates African-American Troops

Image by Bubba73 from

Some of the earliest instances of African-Americans serving in the Civil War were during the campaign, siege, and defence of Vicksburg.

The African-American Monument is located on the south side of Grant Avenue between milepost 4.3 and 4.4.

Erected by the State of Mississippi at a cost of $300,000, including $25,000 contributed by the City of Vicksburg, the sculpture is the work of Dr. Kim Sessums, from Brookhaven, Mississippi.

The monument consists of three bronze figures on a base of black African granite 鈥� two black Union soldiers and a common field hand.

The field hand looks behind at a past of slavery, while the first soldier gazes toward a future of freedom secured by force of arms on the field of battle.

2.  Vicksburg National Military Park is one of the Most Monumented Battlefields in the World

Image by Bubba73 from Wikimedia

Vicksburg National Military Park is one of the more densely monumented battlefields in the world and contains an extensive collection of historic structures.

Including 661 monuments, 594 cast iron tablets and position markers, 70 bronze castings, 18,000 headstones (national cemetery), 141 cannon and carriages, 15 bridges, 6 buildings, and a city class, ironclad river gunboat, the USS Cairo.

The monumentation features stone and bronze works created by some of the most renowned American sculptors.

Preserving the park’s historic structures mandates a comprehensive and well-defined program of routine and cyclic maintenance.

The park staff must also provide adequate protection from natural processes such as erosion and acid rain, as well as various human impacts including vandalism, looting (relic hunting)  and regular visitor use.

3. The American Battlefield Trust  is engaged in Preserving Battlefield Lands around Vicksburg

In 1899, Confederate veteran Stephen Dill Lee supervised the establishment of the 1,800 acres Vicksburg National Military Park, which was then transferred to the National Park Service in 1933. 

The park was the site of the raising of the ironclad USS Cairo in the 1960s, one of the landmark achievements of American Civil War preservation. 

Despite its significance, the other battlefields of the Vicksburg campaign were largely unpreserved until recent years. 

The American Battlefield Trust has saved hundreds of acres on the battlefields of Raymond, Champion Hill, Big Black River Bridge, and Port Gibson.

4. The Capture of Vicksburg was a Major Turning Point of the Civil War

Image by Bill Goladay from

Vicksburg鈥檚 strategic location on the Mississippi River made it a critical win for both the Union and the Confederacy.

The Confederate surrender there ensured Union control of the Mississippi River and divided the South in two.

After a 47-day siege, Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton鈥檚 Confederate troops surrendered to Gen.  Ulysses S. Grant.

Together with the Union victory at Gettysburg just a day before, Vicksburg marked a turning point in the fortunes of the Union army.

With no length of the Mississippi River now safe from Union power, the Confederacy was unable to send supplies or communications across its breadth. 

To Confederate President Jefferson Davis, Vicksburg was the “nailhead that holds the South’s two halves together.” 

President Abraham Lincoln remarked, 鈥淰icksburg is the key! The war can never be brought to a close until that key is in our pocket.鈥�

The Vicksburg Campaign began in 1862 and ended with the Confederate surrender on July 4, 1863. 

5. At Vicksburg, Union Troops Launched the largest Amphibious operation before World War II

image by Michael Barera from

In the largest amphibious operation ever conducted by an American force prior to World War II, Grant and Porter transferred 24,000 men and 60 guns from the west bank to the east.

They landed unopposed at Bruinsburg, Mississippi, and began marching toward Port Gibson and Grand Gulf, towns north along the river.

Four divisions clashed with a Confederate brigade along  Bayou Pierre near Port Gibson on May 1, costing each side between 700 and 900 men, but the two river towns were captured without further significant fighting.

The rest of Grant鈥檚 army, under Sherman, then crossed the river at Grand Gulf, bringing his force to over 45,000, which he turned inland toward the Mississippi state capital, Jackson

6. Battle of  Vicksburg Numbers

Photo by on

At the start of the Battle of Vicksburg, the United States had around 77,000 troops and the Confederate States had around 33,000 troops.

The Battle of Vicksburg resulted in a total of 8,037 casualties.

The United States had 4,835 casualties, 766 killed, 3,793 wounded and 276 captured or missing.

7.  The Decisive Battle for Vicksburg was Fought at Champion Hill

Photo by on

Grant ordered three corps west towards Vicksburg on three parallel axes.

Pemberton’s (confederate troops) defense lines lay directly across the path of the Federal juggernaut. At 7:30 am on May 16th, the head of Grant’s southernmost column ran into Pemberton’s right flank.

At the same time, his two Union columns were raiding the Confederate left flank near Champion Hill.

The two sides vied for control of the hill for several bloody hours before the Federals’ superiority in numbers compelled the Confederates to withdraw.

What saved Pemberton鈥檚 troops from complete annihilation, were the engineers to build a bridge over Bakers creek and allow the bulk of the confederate army to escape intact.

However, confederates would never again have the chance to defeat the Union troops in the open field. They retreated to the trenches at Vicksburg for a stand that was to be their last.

8. Ulysses S. Grant Failed to  take Vicksburg Twice Before Settling  on a Siege

The Confederate army marched into Vicksburg on May 17, 1863, with Grant鈥檚 Federals hot on their heels. 

Despite planting their colours on the Rebel works, the Yankee attackers were turned back with a substantial loss.

On May 22, Grant tried again.  After a massive bombardment, each of his three corps commanders鈥擩ames McPherson, John McClernand, and Sherman鈥攚ere ordered to attack their respective sectors. 

McClernand鈥檚 men on the left were closest to breaking the Confederate line, with three regiments planting their colours on the Railroad Redan.  McClernand sent back to Grant for additional help. 

A diversion by McPherson or Sherman, McClernand believed, would afford him the opportunity to complete the breakthrough. 

Grant, however, was slow to respond to his subordinate’s call for aid.  McPherson sends a division to McClernand, but it is too little too late. The Confederates in this sector rallied and drove McClernand back.  

A combination of determined defence and command confusion led to another morale-sapping defeat for the Union forces. 

All told, Grant lost more than 4,000 men in the May offensive.  The Confederates lost less than 600. 

Although the Union army had won a string of victories in the open field, the Vicksburg defences proved impervious to hasty attacks. 

The May offensive convinced Grant to lay siege to the city and starve the Confederates out.

9. Confederate Leaders were Divided on Strategy at Vicksburg

Image by JW1085 from

Gen. John C. Pemberton, commanding the Confederate Army of Mississippi at Vicksburg, was in a tough bind.

On the one hand, his immediate superior, Joe Johnston, placed little stock in defending Vicksburg and instead preferred to have Pemberton’s force link up with his own.

Together, Johnston reasoned, the Confederate armies could defeat Grant’s troops in the open field before shifting their forces to other imperilled points of the Confederacy.

On the other hand, Jefferson Davis, the Confederate president, consistently directed Pemberton to protect Vicksburg at all hazards.

General Pemberton was keenly aware that abandoning Vicksburg might be viewed as an act of treason.

He’d faced similar criticism in 1862 when he advocated the withdrawal from Charleston鈥攎uch to the chagrin of South Carolina’s governor.

What’s more, a directive from the President of the Confederacy was not something he could simply ignore. Nevertheless, Pemberton attempted to mollify his commanding officer.

This half-hearted attempt to please both his military and civilian superiors placed Pemberton’s army in a precarious position that the Federals would soon exploit.

10.  Ulysses S. Grant Captured Vicksburg by Moving Away from It

Image by Natalie Maynor from

After bloody repulses in the last months of 1862, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, commanding the Union Army of Tennessee, pushed his army south through Louisiana using the Mississippi River to supply his troops. 

He planned to land his army below Vicksburg, taking this Confederate bastion from the South. 

On April 16 and 22, 1863, Admiral David D. Porter’s fleet successfully run past the Vicksburg batteries, giving Grant the naval power necessary to cross the Mississippi.

On the east bank, Grant’s swiftly moved his troops to flank the Confederate garrison at Grand Gulf, forcing the Rebels to abandon the river fortress and make a beeline for Vicksburg.

Grant, however, realizes that the terrain before him was dotted with creeks and steep-sloped ravines are well-suited for defence, not offence.

Furthermore, Grant’s front will be constricted by the Mississippi River to his right and the Big Black River to his left, preventing him from using his superiority in numbers to overwhelm the Confederates. 

In the meantime, the Southern Railroad provided the Rebels with supplies, and reinforcements. Therefore, if he was going to take Vicksburg, Grant had to cut the railroad. 

The Army of Tennessee continued marching northeast, away from Vicksburg, toward the Southern Railroad.  

While en route, troops under Gen. James B. McPherson, encountered Confederates outside of Raymond, Mississippi which was the vanguard of a relief force under Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, bound for Vicksburg.

To counter this threat to his rear, Grant sent McPherson and the Fifteenth Corps under Gen. William T. Sherman toward the Mississippi State capitol of Jackson.

After a brief battle, Johnston seemingly abandoned his plans to relieve Pemberton and withdrew, never again playing an active role in the Vicksburg campaign.

With the Southern Railroad now squarely in Union hands, and the threat to his rear neutralized, Grant can turn his sights on Vicksburg.

BATTLE OF VICKSBURG CONCLUSION

LOCATION

Vicksburg, Mississippi. Warren County

DATES

May 18-July 4, 1863

GENERALS

Union: Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant
Confederate: Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton

SOLDIERS ENGAGED

Union: 75,000
Confederate: 34,000

OUTCOME

Union Victory

BATTLE OF VICKSBURG CASUALTIES

Union: 4,800
Confederate: 3,300 with nearly 30,000 captured

ADDRESS

Vicksburg National Military Park

3201 Clay Street

Vicksburg, MS