Vicksburg Campaign Trail
| 1. Grant’s Canal In Delta, LA. From I-20, take Exit 186 to US-80. A segment of the Williams/Grant canal still exists. The canal was started by Brig. Gen. Thomas Williams and Rear Adm. David Farragut in late June, 1862. The effort was abandoned in late July, 1862. Grant resumed work on the project in the winter of 1863, but abandoned it when floods forced evacuation of the area. 2. Duckport Canal 3. Milliken’s Bend 4. Historic Richmond Two miles south of the center of Tallulah. Now gone without a trace, in 1863 Richmond was the largest town in Madison Parish. Here, on 31 March 1863, the advance guard of the Union army forced a crossing of Roundaway Bayou, compelling Confederate Maj. Isaac F. Harrison’s Fifteenth Louisiana Cavalry to withdraw to the south. Richmond was used as a forward supply depot by the Union army from 1 April to 16 May 1863. It was later used as base by Confederate Maj. Gen John Walker’s Texas Division from 5 – 15 June 1863. A Union task force led by Brig. Gen Joseph A. Mower forced Confederate evacuation after a sharp skirmish on 15 June 1863. 5. Winter Quarters On LA-608, 6.5 miles southeast of Newellton. Owned by Dr. Haller Nutt, this was one of the largest plantation homes on Lake St. Joseph, and the only one not burned in 1863. Used on 27 April 1863 as a bivouac by Union soldiers en route to Hard Times Plantation on the Mississippi River 3 miles to the east. Entrance fee. 6. Grand Gulf Military Park Seven miles northwest of Port Gibson. Grand Gulf was once an important port on the Mississippi River. By 1862 the river had washed away much of the town. Union Flag Officer David D. Porter attacked the newly constructed batteries on 29 April 1863, hoping to silence them in preparation for a landing by Grant’s army. Defeated in his attempt, Porter then regrouped at Hard Times Plantation, 4 miles up-river. Grand Gulf State Park features a Civil War museum, an antebellum Catholic church and houses, a section of the original parapet of Fort Cobun, one of the 13-inch mortars used to bombard Vicksburg, and other attractions. Entrance fee. 7. Ruins of Windsor
8. Bethel Presbyterian
9. Old Rodney Road
10. Shaifer House |
11. Wintergreen Cemetery One mile southwest of the Claiborne County Court House in Port Gibson. Wintergreen Cemetery began in 1807 as the family burial plot of Samuel Gibson. The cemetery is noted for its enormous Eastern red cedar trees and cast-iron ornamental fences. It is the final resting place of Brig. Gen. Benjamin G. Humphreys, first post-war governor of Mississippi, Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn, and many of the soldiers killed in the Battle of Port Gibson. 12. Grindstone Ford Accessible only from the Natchez Trace Parkway, this historic river crossing is 4.5 miles northeast of the junction of MS-18 and the Trace. On the evening of 2 May 1863, Confederate troops retreating after the Battle of Port Gibson set fire to the wooden decking of the suspension bridge. Union troops extinguished the blaze and repaired the damage. They crossed early the following morning and flanked Grand Gulf. Ruins of the stone foundations can still be seen by walking the Old Natchez Trace.
15. Lebanon Presbyterian Church and Cemetery Eight miles northeast of Utica on MS-18. Lebanon Church, one of the oldest churches in the state, was passed by Maj. Gen. James McPherson’s XVII Corps on its way from Utica to the Battle of Raymond. The old roadbed may be seen in front of the church. MS-18 closely follows the route of McPherson’s march. 16. Hinds County Courthouse in Raymond
17. St Mark’s Episcopal Church
18. Confederate Cemetery
19. Raymond Civil War Battlefield On the MS-18, 2 miles southwest of town center. Confederate Brig. Gen. John Gregg’s brigade of 3,000 men attacked Union Maj. Gen. James McPherson’s 11,500-man XVII Corps late on the morning of 12 May 1863. After an all-day battle, Gregg’s brigade was forced to withdraw through Raymond and retreat toward Jackson. A monument honoring the Seventh Texas Infantry can be seen beside MS-18 at Fourteenmile Creek. The Union victory at the Battle of Raymond caused Grant to change his offensive plan and attack Jackson on 14 May 1863. 20. Old Capitol Museum |
21. Governor’s Mansion In the city center at 300 E. Capitol St. Designed in 1842 by William Nichols who was also the architect of the Old Capitol. It is an excellent example of Greek Revival architecture. It is the oldest occupied governor’s mansion in the United States. Tours available Fridays on the half hour, 9:30-11:00.
22. Manship House
23. Greenwood Cemetery Located at 324 George Street. Established in 1823, Greenwood’s burials include seven of Mississippi’s governors. A Confederate Cemetery is located within the oldest public cemetery in the city of Jackson. 24. The Oaks House Museum Located at 823 North Jefferson Street. The museum interprets the life of the Boyd family from the 1840’s to 1860’s. It is one of the few houses to survive the burning of Jackson during the Union occupation of 17-23 July 1863. Fee charged. 25. Historic Middle and Jackson Roads
26. Coker House Four miles southeast of Edwards on MS-467. It was used as a hospital following the decisive Union victory at the Battle of Champion Hill on 16 May 1863. The house fronts on modern MS-467, which very closely follows the alignment of the historic Raymond Road, one of three axes of advance of the Union army. 27. General Lloyd Tilghman Monument On MS-467, 3.5 miles southeast of Edwards. Confederate Brig. Gen. Lloyd Tilghman was killed at this spot by Union artillery near the close of the Battle of Champion Hill as his men were delaying the Union advance along the Raymond Road. The Tilghman monument north of the road was placed by his sons in 1907. 28. Pemberton’s Headquarters
29. Vicksburg Military Park
30. Old Vicksburg Courthouse |
Ten miles west of Port Gibson on the Rodney Road. On 30 April 1863 Grant and McClernand conferred briefly at this site after landing unopposed at Bruinsburg Plantation two miles to the west. Built by Smith Coffee Daniell III, the 5-story mansion burned in 1890, leaving only the 22 magnificent Corinthian columns as a reminder of its former grandeur.
Three miles south of Windsor on MS-552. After marching from Windsor on the afternoon of 30 April 1863, the Union soldiers of Grant’s army reached the road junction at Bethel Church. At the junction a Union officer directed the column into the historic Rodney Road leading east toward Port Gibson. Heavily damaged by a tornado in 1943, the present structure is a restoration of the 1863 building.
Now known as the Russum-Westside Road and the Shaifer Road, this road was the Rodney Road in 1863. The original width of the road is preserved in the abandoned section north of Bethel church. The road served as the main axis of advance for the Union army to Port Gibson. A Union soldier described his experience: “The moon is shining above us and the road is romantic in the extreme. The artillery wagons rattle forward and the heavy tramp of many men gives a dull but impressive sound.” Today, the old road appears much as it did in 1863.
Four miles west of Port Gibson on the Shaifer Road (the historic Rodney Road). The house was used by Maj. Gen. John McClernand as headquarters during the Battle of Port Gibson. It was later used as a hospital by both Union and Confederate troops. The Battle of Port Gibson began at this site when, near midnight on 30 April 1863, Confederate pickets fired on the Union advance guard as it marched eastward toward Port Gibson. Much of the battle was fought on the ridges immediately to the east as well as along the road 2 miles to the north. The site is now owned by the State of Mississippi.
Sixteen miles northeast of Port Gibson on the Natchez Trace. Union General McClernand arrived here on 6 May 1863 from Willow Springs. One of his soldiers wrote, “came to… Rocky Springs several stores and fair buildings. I called at one, where a crowd was gathering up the articles and got a couple of books.” Grant arrived here with Union General McPherson on 7 May from Hankinson’s Ferry. Another soldier noted, “here we have good, cold spring water, fresh from the bosom of the hills.” The only remnant of the 1863 town is an old cistern, an abandoned bank safe, and the old red-brick Methodist church and its cemetery.
Located in Raymond. The Courthouse was constructed by the famous Weldon Brothers of Natchez between 1857-1859 using skilled slave labor. One of the most elegant examples of Classic Revival architecture in Mississippi. It served as a Confederate hospital following the Battle of Raymond, 12 May 1863.
Next to the Raymond Courthouse. Built in 1854, St. Mark’s is the only antebellum church in Raymond and is still in use. The church was used as a hospital to treat Union soldiers following the Battle of Raymond. Bloodstains are still visible on the old wooden floors.
Located in the Old Raymond Cemetery on Port Gibson Street, 0.4 miles from the town center. The Confederate Cemetery is the final resting place for 140 men who were killed during the Battle of Raymond. Most of the dead are from the Third Tennessee and Seventh Texas Infantries.
Located near the center of Jackson at 100 South State Street. One of three public buildings in the city not destroyed by Maj. Gen William T. Sherman’s army when it occupied the city on 17-23 July 1863. The historic building, built in 1836 by William Nichols, architect from England and a resident of Raymond, is now a museum. Free. Open Friday 8-5, Saturday 9:30-4:30 and Sunday 12:30-4:30.
Located at 420 E. Fortification Street. Built in 1857, the restored house is a rare example of the Gothic Revival residential style of architecture. The house survived the destruction of Jackson during the Union occupations of 14-15 May, and 17-23 July 1863. Entrance fee.
Located at 1018 Crawford Street, near city center. Confederate Lt. Gen. John Pemberton used this house as his headquarters. Here, on the night of 2 July 1863, Pemberton met with his commanders to discuss surrender, and on the following day, sent a message to Grant to “arrange terms of capitulation of Vicksburg.” Vicksburg and the Confederate army were surrendered on 4 July.
Clay St. just off I-20. Established by Congress on February 21, 1899, to commemorate the most decisive campaign of the Civil War. The park includes 1,325 historic markers and monuments, a 16-mile tour road, the antebellum Shirley House, one hundred and forty-four cannons, the USS Cairo Museum, and the Vicksburg National Cemetery. Entrance fee.
One of the most famous buildings in the South and certainly Vicksburg’s most imposing structure. Construction began in 1858 according to designs developed by the Weldon Brothers of Natchez. Today, the historic building is maintained as a museum with emphasis on Civil War history. Entrance fee