The city's importance lay in its location on the Mississippi. To the Union, it was necessary to split the Confederacy in two and to stop commerce, supplies and troops from crossing the river. For the Confederacy, it was equally important to keep the north from using the river freely. The city has natural defences along the rivers, called "bluffs", and was described as "The Gibraltar of the Confederacy". The campaign to take it was long and bloody, and in the end it was achieved through starvation, not fighting.
The victory secured for Ulysses S Grant the command of all the armies of the Union, while together with Meade's less decisive victory at Gettysburg at the same time, it marked a turning point in the war. Later, when president, Grant used Vicksburg as an example of how to Reconstruct the south by the use of federal troops and the education and employment of blacks. But by the end of the 1870s, this legacy was already being dismantled all over the US.
Tuesday, we took in most of the scenic drive through the present day Military Park, and took some photos of memorials, battlefields, etc. All pics here.
Replica of a battlement, built just outside the visitor center.
An Illinois monument to the fallen.
Trenches crisscrossing the landscape. The south especially, had good snipers.
They were doing some building on this land, but I can't help but think it must look pretty much like it did when the fighting went on almost a 150 years ago...
Memorial on the site where Grant and his southern counterpart, general Pemberton met on July 4, 1863. Pemberton was originally from the North, and was accused of treason for surrendering the city.
The USS Cairo was sunk in 1862 and rediscovered and raised in the 60s. Enclosed in mud, it was like a time capsule.
Guns belonging to the crew aboard the Cairo. Right next to the ship is a small museum that houses a collection of artifacts found on board.
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