![]() Who won the battle at Vicksburg? General John C. Pemberton and the Confederate Army surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant's Union forces on July 4, 1863. ![]() Ken Parks Photo ![]() NPS Photo
How could the soldiers fight with all the trees blocking their views? The terrain at the time of the siege was virtually treeless. Most ridgetops had been cleared for farming and roads prior to the war, and the remaining forests cleared for use in building the defenses around Vicksburg once the conflict started. The trees now present in the park are the result of erosion-prevention measures taken by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s. ![]() ![]()
What is a redoubt, redan, and lunette? A redoubt is an enclosed square or rectangular earthwork with four fronts and four angles. A redan is a triangular earthwork used to cover points to the rear such as bridges or river fords, and had two fronts and three angles. A lunette was employed in much the same fashion as a redan, with two faces forming a salient angle, two flanks adjoining the faces, and the rear open to interior lines. ![]() ![]() NPS Photo ![]() The USS Cairo and USS St. Louis (renamed the USS Baron De Kalb) were sunk by torpedoes on the Yazoo River (Cairo in 1862; Baron De Kalb in 1863). Only the Cairo was salvaged 102 years later. The USS Cincinnati was sunk twice during the war - once at Vicksburg - and raised and re-fitted to survive till the end of the conflict. It was then sold and sank at its moorings on the Cache River in 1866. The USS Carondelet and USS Mound City were sold after the war, and broken up for scrap. The USS Louisville and USS Pittsburg were sold in 1865, with the Pittsburg being abandoned in 1870. |
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Last updated: April 14, 2015