After trying to take Vicksburg repeatedly,and failing during April through Mid May, Grant's troops set siege to the town on May 18, 1863. Commander of the Southern Troops, General John C. Pemberton surrendered on July 4, 1863.
The Vicksburg National Battlefield Park covers 10,000 acres and has over 1,300 monuments. Eric and I took a two hour tour with Vicksburg National Park Guide Bob Cunny.
The Vicksburg National
Battlefield Park was
established in 1899.
The Illinois State
Memorial is the tallest.
Bob shared extra information on the monuments. The Illinois State Monument has 47 steps,
one for each day of the siege.
There are monuments to
numerous commanders of
the Vicksburg Campaign.
African American
Soldier Monument
General Ulysses S. Grant
Memorial
The New York
State Memorial
The gravestone with the peaked
top is for a Confederate Soldier.
The other markers are for
Union Soldiers.
Bob told us that the Cemetery at Vicksburg National Battlefield Park is full of Union soldiers
that died during the Vicksburg Campaign. Confederate Soldiers are buried in town and
city cemeteries in this area.
The Mississippi State
Memorial
The Union Navy
Memorial
The trenches have eroded. The Earth work fort is still prominent.
Monument
Estimated casualties from May 18 to July 4, 1863: Total of 19,233; The Union Army 10,142; The Confederate Army 9,091.
Union General Grant turned east and reoccupied Jackson Mississippi on July 16, 1863. He moved up in commands until being made General-in-Chief of the Armies of the United States on March 17, 1864. He accepted the Confederate surrender from General Robert E, Lee on April 9, 1865 at Appomatox, Virginia.
Confederate General John C. Pemberton was seen as a traitor after his defeat at Vicksburg. He went without a command until 1864. He resigned his General's commission. He inspected artillery as a Lieutenant Colonel until the end of the war.
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