Between Clarksdale and Natchez, we spent the night in Vicksburg on the Mississippi River. The City is home to the Vicksburg National Military Park, commemorating the Civil War battle known as the Siege of Vicksburg. The park encompasses the Vicksburg National Cemetery and the restored USS Cairo gunboat. The steamboat American Queen cruises the Mississippi and stops for a visit in Vicksburg.
This famous Civil War battle occurred during the late spring and early summer of 1863, when Union and Confederate armies battled for control of Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Confederate President Jefferson Davis remarked, “Vicksburg is the nailhead that holds the South’s two halves together.” At the start of the Civil War, Confederates controlled the Mississippi River south of Cairo, Illinois, all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. With it’s valuable commercial port and railroad hub, the city was of tremendous importance. From points west of the Mississippi River, men, food, salt, and weapons funneled through Mexico made their way to Vicksburg and Confederate armies in the East.
Confederate engineers capably fortified strategic positions like Vicksburg. With its riverfront artillery batteries and a ring of forts with over 170 cannon, the Confederate leadership was confident that Vicksburg was safe from Union incursions. Even from the north and east, the natural topography with a maze of swamps and bayous offered a seemingly impregnable defense that kept General Grant’s army at bay for much of the eighteen month campaign.
The capture of this “Gibraltar of the Confederacy” was an immediate priority for Lincoln. If Vicksburg fell, Union forces could isolate Texas, Arkansas, and much of Louisiana, cutting off Confederate supplies and personnel. As the war progressed, Federal naval and ground forces pushed south from Illinois and north from the Gulf of Mexico as they closed in on Vicksburg. In 1863, they set their sights on Vicksburg, the Fortress City. The fate of the Confederacy rested with the fate of Vicksburg.
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