Into the city which had defied him for so long, and which nearly proved the graveyard rather than the springboard of his military career, rode General Grant. At the courthouse, where the Stars and Bars had floated in sight of the Union Army and Navy throughout the siege, he watched the national colors raised on the flagstaff, and then proceeded to the waterfront. With every vessel of the Navy sounding its whistle in celebration, he went aboard Porter’s flagship to express gratitude for the work of the fleet.
Vicksburg, and the simultaneous repulse of Lee’s invasion at the battle of Gettysburg, marked the beginning of the end for the Confederacy. Previously, there had been confidence that victory, although demanding desperate measures, could yet be achieved. Afterward, there was only the hope that the North might sicken of the frightful cost of continuing the war and terminate hostilities. The great objective of the war in the West—the opening of the Mississippi River and the severing of the Confederacy—had been realized with the fall of Vicksburg. While in the East the Union armies battled on in bloody stalemate before Richmond, the armies of the West would now launch their columns deep into the vitals of the Confederacy.
Grant emerged from the Vicksburg campaign with a hard-won reputation as a master strategist, which prompted President Lincoln to place him in supreme command of all the armies of the United States. From this position he was destined to direct the final campaigns of the Civil War and to receive Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. As for Pemberton, the fall of Vicksburg subjected him to painful criticism from those who held that a more resourceful defense might have saved the city, or his army, or both. Essentially, both commanders had disobeyed orders in like manner—Grant in striking behind Vicksburg alone rather than waiting to combine forces with Banks; Pemberton in deciding to protect Vicksburg at all cost rather than joining Johnston and risking loss of the city. But Grant’s gamble had succeeded and Pemberton’s had failed; and in war, as a leading Confederate commander had soberly remarked, the people measure a general’s merit by his success. “I thought and still think that you did right to risk an army for the purpose of keeping command of even a section of the Mississippi River,” President Davis wrote to General Pemberton after the fall of Vicksburg. “Had you succeeded none would have blamed, had you not made the attempt few if any would have defended your course.”
In the Confederate capital, Gen. Josiah Gorgas, one of the most able of Southern leaders, confided to his diary the implications of the calamitous change in fortune to the South attending the twin disasters of Gettysburg and Vicksburg:
Events have succeeded one another with disastrous rapidity. One brief month ago we were apparently at the point of success. Lee was in Pennsylvania threatening Harrisburgh, and even Philadelphia. Vicksburgh seemed to laugh all Grant’s efforts to scorn.... All looked bright. Now the picture is just as somber as it was bright then. Lee failed at Gettysburgh.... Vicksburgh and Port Hudson capitulated, surrendering thirty-five thousand men and forty-five thousand arms. It seems incredible that human power could effect such a change in so brief a space. Yesterday we rode on the pinnacle of success—today absolute ruin seems to be our portion. The Confederacy totters to its destruction.
Events have succeeded one another with disastrous rapidity. One brief month ago we were apparently at the point of success. Lee was in Pennsylvania threatening Harrisburgh, and even Philadelphia. Vicksburgh seemed to laugh all Grant’s efforts to scorn.... All looked bright. Now the picture is just as somber as it was bright then. Lee failed at Gettysburgh.... Vicksburgh and Port Hudson capitulated, surrendering thirty-five thousand men and forty-five thousand arms. It seems incredible that human power could effect such a change in so brief a space. Yesterday we rode on the pinnacle of success—today absolute ruin seems to be our portion. The Confederacy totters to its destruction.
In Washington, a grateful President sat at his desk seeking words to express appreciation to Grant “for the almost inestimable service you have done the country.” Explaining the fear he had entertained that the Union Army might be destroyed during its daring thrust in the rear of Vicksburg, which he believed at the time to be “a mistake,” Lincoln wrote to Grant, “I wish now to make the personal acknowledgement that you were right and I was wrong.”
On July 9, the Confederate commander at Port Hudson, upon learning of the fall of Vicksburg, surrendered his garrison of 6,000 men. One week later the merchant steamboatImperialtied up at the wharf at New Orleans, completing the 1,000-mile passage from St. Louis undisturbed by hostile guns. After 2 years of land and naval warfare, the Mississippi River was open, the grip of the South had been broken, and merchant and military traffic had now a safe avenue to the gulf. In the words of Lincoln, “The Father of Waters again goes unvexed to the sea.”
The Union Army passing the courthouse as it took possession of Vicksburg on July 4, 1863.From a wartime sketch.
The Union Army passing the courthouse as it took possession of Vicksburg on July 4, 1863.From a wartime sketch.
Vicksburg National Military Park is shaped like a great crescent, enclosing the city of Vicksburg within a 9-mile arc which curves from the old bed of the Mississippi River north of the city to the river south of Vicksburg (from U. S. 61 north of Vicksburg, across U. S. 80 east of the city, to U. S. 61 south of Vicksburg). The two main avenues in Vicksburg National Military Park, Union Avenue and Confederate Avenue—constructed along the siege lines established by the two armies—are parallel. The black markers, on iron standards, indicate the position of the fortified lines and the units which occupied that sector. The remains of artillery batteries, forts (and the ditches in front), and trenches are clearly visible, although, during the 36-year interval between the siege and the establishment of the park, the fortifications and trenches have suffered marked alteration from wind and weather. All the cannon barrels are originals, used during the Civil War; the carriages are replacements. This self-guiding tour begins at the museum, going north on Confederate Avenue. It provides a brief inspection of Union Avenue, proceeds to the national cemetery, a distance of 6 miles, and returns south by way of Union Avenue. The numbered stops of this tour correspond to the numbers on the tour map found on pages28-29.
Located at the center of Confederate Avenue, at its junction with U. S. 80. Here are exhibits illustrating and explaining the campaign and siege of Vicksburg and the outstanding features of Vicksburg National Military Park. A recorded lecture synchronized with lights on a large relief map explains fully the story of the Vicksburg operations.
(in front of museum) Davis was a West Point graduate, Mexican War colonel, Mississippi cotton planter, United States Senator, Secretary of War, and, finally, President of the Confederacy.
As you begin the tour, notice the natural strength of the Confederate position on the crest of the ridge. The ground drops away to your right and, several hundred yards across the ravine, rises to a similar and parallel ridge. From this, the Union Army launched its siege operations against the Confederate line. Before the siege began, all the trees between the lines had been cut down by the Confederate engineers to insure a clear field of fire.
Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton, a native Pennsylvanian, elected to fight for the South and commanded the Confederate Army of Vicksburg. When a command in keeping with his rank ofthree-star general was unavailable after Vicksburg, he voluntarily resigned his commission and served as a lieutenant colonel of artillery for the remainder of the war—a testimonial of his loyalty to the South.
Museum and administration building of Vicksburg National Military Park.
Museum and administration building of Vicksburg National Military Park.
A State memorial to her 4,600 soldiers in the siege, the bas-relief and sculptures around the base of the shaft depict battle scenes. The 9-inch Dahlgren gun at the rear of the monument was one of the largest used at Vicksburg.
This is a monument to Brig. Gen. Lloyd Tilghman who was killed at the battle of Champion’s Hill, 18 miles east of Vicksburg, as he manned an artillery piece in an attempt to hold off a Union charge. A broken gun carriage lies under his horse’s forefeet.
The largest fort on the Confederate line, its well-preserved walls extend on both sides of the Louisiana memorial. On top is the Eternal Torch. The low marble markers on the slope, below the avenue in front of the fort, mark the farthest advance of Union regiments in the unsuccessful assault of May 22. On the ridge, 200 yards away, is the Union line.
Grant and Pemberton met under an oak tree, midway between the lines, for surrender negotiations. The tree immediately vanished to provide souvenirs of the historic event; notches on this monument erected by Union soldiers after the surrender are the work of latter-day souvenir hunters.
The tour now follows Union Avenue, which parallels Confederate Avenue, for a short distance before returning to the Confederate line.
The Illinois Memorial.
The Illinois Memorial.
Symbolic figure of Michigan bringing laurels to her soldiers of the siege. Beyond the monument, left of the avenue, notice the wall which protected the Union artillery.
A siege landmark, and termed the “White House” by the soldiers, it is the lone surviving wartime structure in the park.
Modeled after the Pantheon in Rome, this Memorial Temple, the largest monument on the field, is dedicated to the 36,312 Illinois men whose names are inscribed on the bronze plaques within. The Illinois Commission specified that no device indicative of war should appear on the memorial.
This Confederate fort, marked by the three artillery pieces at right of the avenue, was reached by “Logan’s Approach,” a Union advance trench. Federal engineers constructed a mine underneath the redan and exploded 2,200 pounds of powder, which blasted a tremendous crater into which Union infantry raced, only to be driven back after severe fighting.
The precipitous slopes of the ridges and deeply cut ravines protected the city, making Vicksburg a natural fortress. The 75-foot drop from the bridge well illustrates the difficult terrain over which the Union Army moved.
Site of the Arkansas memorial. The twin pylons are representative of North and South, which were split by the sword of war and reunited by the cross of faith in a restored Union. Depicted on the left are Arkansas soldiers repelling a Union assault; on the right, the Confederate ramArkansas.
A border State, Missouri was divided in sympathy during the Civil War. Her soldiers enlisted in the armies of both the North and the South. By the fortunes of war, in this sector of the siege line, Missouri soldiers of the Union and Confederate armies faced and fought each other. The monument honors both. The plaque on the left depicts Missouri Federals attacking this position; on the right, Missouri Confederates defending it. Between the panels, the prow of the Ship of State symbolizes the divided Union; the figure above is the Republic, emerging from the war with renewed strength.
For a close view of siege warfare, walk up into the fort, to the artillery piece at the right of the avenue. From the ridge 150 yards away, Union cannon, which are trained on the fort, blasted the Confederate defenders continuously. During the assault of May 22, Grant’s infantry reached the wall of the fort. The two black markers in front of the cannon and just below it indicate where colorbearers planted their flags, almost at the top of the wall, before the assault was broken and driven back.
Erected by the Vicksburg National Military Park Commission, in 1909, to provide a panoramic view of the park and the city of Vicksburg.
Terraces in Vicksburg National Cemetery.
Terraces in Vicksburg National Cemetery.
Anchoring the Confederate left flank on the Mississippi River, its guns commanded the Union right as well as the river. The flags of England, France, Spain, the United States, and the Confederate States have flown over this historic site, where the bluffs meet the river, during the centuries-old struggle for control of the Mississippi. Fort Nogales (Spanish) was built here in 1791, and Fort McHenry, 1798, was the first American settlement at Vicksburg. The water below the fort is not the Mississippi River—it changed its course in 1876—but the Yazoo Diversion Canal, bringing the Yazoo water into the old bed of the Mississippi.
Established in 1866 to reinter the remains of nearly 17,000 Union soldiers who had been given temporary burial in scattered locations during the war. The identity of almost 13,000 of the soldiers is unknown. The national cemetery also contains the remains of veterans of the Mexican and Spanish-American Wars, World Wars I and II, and Korea.
From the lower cemetery drive, you may leave the park and emerge 2 miles north of downtown Vicksburg on U. S. 61. If time permits, we recommend your completing the tour of the park by following the “Park Tour” arrows from the cemetery, south on Union Avenue, in order that you may view the Union lines and monuments and the southern portion of the park.
The 202-foot shaft is a tribute to the achievements of the Union Navy in the Vicksburg operations. Statues of four fleet commanders, Admirals Farragut and Porter and Flag Officers Davis and Andrew H. Foote, surround the base.
An equestrian statute of General Grant marks his headquarters location. Impressive monuments, here, of five northeastern States—PENNSYLVANIA,NEW HAMPSHIRE,MASSACHUSETTS,NEW YORK, andRHODE ISLAND—indicate their troops were on the exterior line of defense against Johnston’s army.
“Old Abe,” the famous Wisconsin war eagle and mascot of the 8th Wisconsin, was carried alongside the regimental colors, on the march and in battle, through 3 years of war. A 6-foot bronze replica atop the State monument now honors his war service. Names of all Wisconsin soldiers at Vicksburg are on plaques around the base.
At the base of the 100-foot shaft, a symbolic figure of Peace holds a shield and a sword, signifying that the soldiers of both armies have placed their weapons in her keeping, and the Union is at peace.
The Alabama Memorial.
The Alabama Memorial.
In front, a mounted colorbearer with unfurled flag awaits the order to advance. The six bronze bas-relief panels portray scenes of the Vicksburg operations in which Iowa soldiers participated—the bombardment of Grand Gulf, the battles of Port Gibson, Jackson, Champion’s Hill, and Big Black River, and the assault on Vicksburg of May 22, 1863.
Also called Square Fort, its walls are well preserved. The two lines of markers in front of the fort indicate the site of “Hovey’s Approach”—a Union trench dug almost against the walls of the Confederate fort.
Around the flag—which represents the spirit of Alabama—the group of figures symbolizes the courage and devotion of both the soldiers and women of Alabama during the war. The monument was dedicated in 1951.
This completes the park tour. By continuing northward on Confederate Avenue for one-half mile, you will reach U. S. 80 at Memorial Arch. Turning left, through the arch, you will be in the city of Vicksburg. Colored route markers will guide you over U. S. 61 north and south and U. S. 80 west through the city. You may also reach U. S. 61 south and U. S. 80 west by turning south at the Alabama Monument and following Confederate Avenue through the southernmost portion of Vicksburg National Military Park to U. S. 61, below the city of Vicksburg.
Vicksburg National Military Park was established in 1899 to preserve the site of the siege of Vicksburg and was placed under the jurisdiction of the War Department. In 1933, it was transferred to the National Park Service of the United States Department of the Interior. The park consists generally of the Confederate and Union siege lines, now Confederate and Union Avenues, and the area between. The park’s 30 miles of avenues and about 1,330 acres of federally owned land contain 128 artillery pieces and 1,600 monuments, markers, and tablets, as well as 17 State memorials.
The park forms a semicircle around the city of Vicksburg, Miss., which is located at the intersection of U. S. 80 and 61, midway between Memphis and New Orleans.
Vicksburg National Military Park is administered by the National Park Service of the United States Department of the Interior. Communications should be addressed to the Superintendent, Vicksburg National Military Park, Box 349, Vicksburg, Miss.
Other Civil War battlefields administered by the National Park Service, and important to the military operations in the West, are: Shiloh, Stones River, and Fort Donelson National Military Parks, Tenn., and Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Ga.-Tenn.
The Union and Confederate siege-lines are well marked and readily visible from Union and Confederate Avenues. Information and free literature, as well as the service of park historians, are available in the museum which contains exhibits explaining and illustrating the Vicksburg operations. An electrical relief map synchronized with a recorded lecture affords a full explanation of the campaign and siege to each visitor. Educational groups may receive a guided tour of the park.
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1961 O-586734
(Price lists of National Park Service publications may be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25, D.C.)
Memorial column