Overview
Vicksburg National Military Park explains the significance of the most important strategic battle in the US Civil War. The politics of the US Civil War are well known and indefensible. The Confederates (CSA) had little true hope of winning the war. They used a strategy that has been very successful in conflicts since then. They wanted to outlast the Union. Not the army or the government, but they expected to outwait the people. It didn’t work. For the CSA, the loss at Vicksburg was the strategic blow that decided the war.
History leading up to Vicksburg
The Civil War began in earnest after the CSA attack on the Union Fort Sumter in April 1861. The CSA, mostly agrarian, with little industry, lived on the money exports brought in. They needed access to the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.
Much of the commerce from the interior of the country traveled on the rivers that flowed into the Mississippi. Then the Port of New Orleans funneled global trade. Some in Union leadership felt that closing the river to CSA commerce would strangle the CSA like an anaconda strangled its prey. The so-called Anaconda Plan, proposed by Winfield Scott, entailed blockading CSA ports on the Atlantic and driving down along the Mississippi from Cairo, Illinois, to New Orleans.
Furthermore, the plan would cut off communications between CSA forces on the west side of the river and the main CSA army. A key city on the Mississippi River was New Orleans, with the largest port in the CSA.
Naval attacks along the Mississippi River
New Orleans fell to a Union naval attack almost exactly one year after the start of the war. Baton Rouge and Natchez fell in swift succession. Only Vicksburg stood in the way of the Union naval fleet. At the same time, naval forces were fighting their way downriver as far as Memphis and leaving only a small section of the Mississippi under CSA control.
The Army led up to Vicksburg
With tentative moves by the Union Army, the naval success was wasted. Enter General Grant, the best tactician in the Union. Grant also didn’t waste time or opportunities. The campaign leading up to the battle at Vicksburg Military Park began in December 1862.
Grant planned to attack Vicksburg from the land north of the city. At the same time, land troops south of the city to attack from that direction. Both prongs failed to accomplish their goals.
The second attempt successfully landed troops south of Vicksburg, near Bruinsburg. In the seventeen days, Grant outmaneuvered the CSA and defeated them in five battles. The CSA troops retreated to the prepared positions around the city of Vicksburg, and the siege began May 18, 1863.
The Siege of Vicksburg
The Vicksburg National Military Park mainly consists of locations of both sides during the siege. Others preserve the battles leading up to it. The siege was a precursor to future wars. Trenches and artillery ruled the battlefield. In fact, none of the infantry attacks by the Union Army were successful. The defending CSA were able to beat back every attack.
With a lack of supplies and the constant bombardment of the city and troops, the CSA commander requested a meeting with Grant to discuss surrender. The meeting on July 3, 1863 yielded no acceptable terms. Grant returned to his headquarters. There he led discussion with his commanders throughout the night.
The following day, July 4, CSA Gen. John C. Pemberton surrendered the city to Grant. While the CSA suffered fewer casualties than the Union during the siege, the entire defending force of almost 30,000 surrendered. More importantly, the CSA lost control of the Mississippi River. On the same day as the surrender, the CSA under General Robert E. Lee lost the Battle of Gettysburg.
The two losses together marked the end of the CSA. While Gettysburg was a more emotional loss, the loss of Vicksburg was, without a doubt, a much larger strategic one. With the CSA army divided by the Mississippi River, and all commerce along the interior rivers of the CSA lost, there was little hope the Confederacy could survive.
Visiting Vicksburg National Military Park
Two museums are located in the park. One is at the site of the USS Cairo and the other in the Visitor Center. Neither is outstanding, but they are worth the visit. Entry into the park is through a fee station. After which the visitor has two choices: drive the loop road of the various sites in the park, or head to the Visitor Center and Museum.
If this is your first visit to Vicksburg National Battlefield, the Visitor Center is the better choice. I found the rangers there to be exceptionally knowledgeable about the Civil War in general and Vicksburg in particular.
The museum consists of a few dioramas depicting scenes from the siege. Scenes include a Union Officer’s tent, CSA troopers in a trench, and civilians living in a cave. There is also a well-stocked bookstore.
There is one cannon in the museum, the only documented gun used during the siege. The other dozens of artillery pieces in the park are period-correct, but have unknown provenance. Outside is an interesting display of various artillery pieces used during the siege. To see the different sizes is enlightening.
Another exhibit outside is a recreation of a section of trench. The problem is you can’t get close to it. A barrier prevents access. This is a shame, as I would have liked to see it up close. I assume that people were crawling over it, causing damage.
Union Positions
This article is already getting long; I have divided the two sides’ positions and sites along the Loop Road in Vicksburg National Military Park into two articles. This one covers the Union. Article two will cover the CSA, and article three will be about the USS Cario.
Part 1: Union Positions – First Section
The Loop Road begins directly after the fee station. It travels under the Memorial Arch. Just past the arch, the first of dozens of markers, memorials, and monuments is visible. The first memorial commemorates an interestingly named unit, the Chicago Mercantile Independent Battery Light Artillery. The light artillery was directly attached to the Union Tenth Division.
Continue the drive along the loop road, stopping to view the memorials along the way. However, there are few official pull-out areas. The first pullout commemorates the Michigan troops. A tall obelisk towers over several batteries of artillery. The first of the numbered audio tour stops is Battery De Golyer, which included several cannons aimed across a rough section of ground at the Great Redoubt in the Louisiana section of the CSA lines. This stop is great for visualizing how close the lines were during the siege.
Site 3, the white house, is not open to the public, and Site 4 was closed for reconstruction. A historic side note is at the next stop, Ransom’s Gun Path. There, a unit of the Illinois artillery hauled two cannons over some very rough terrain to get within 100 yards of the CSA redan. The guns were reassembled and fired at the CSA positions. The leader of this small unit was John Wesley Powell, who lost an arm at the Battle of Shiloh. After the war, he went on to lead the first expedition down the Colorado River and hold many important government scientific roles.
The next audio tour stop, number 5, covers two of the bloodiest battles during the siege. Union forces under the command of Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman twice advanced along the Graveyard Road, towards the CSA’s Stockdale Redoubt. Units got to within several yards before being repulsed both times. There are markers indicating the extent of the Union troops’ advance along the road.
Union Positions – Second Section
For some reason, Grant’s Headquarters is not listed as an Audio Tour stop. The loop road comes to a T-intersection. The audio tour heads to the left, while a spur road on the right leads to Grant’s Headquarters during the siege. A statue of a mounted Grant marks the location of the headquarters.
The term approach, as a noun, refers to Union trenches that zigzagged towards CSA lines. Audio stop 6: Thayer’s approach is an interesting one. The trench starts on the other side of the road, goes through a tunnel, then heads up a slope to a CSA position on the top. It didn’t reach the CSA position before the surrender ended the fighting.
The last Audio Tour stop is for Selfridge Battery. The site has a large obelisk dedicated to the sailors who took part in the battle and siege. There is also a series of naval guns salvaged from the sunken Union gunship, the Cario. The battery was manned by sailors from that ship.
Next, you can visit the museum and remains of the USS Cario, visit the National Cemetery, or continue on the loop road to visit the CSA positions.
