Vicksburg, Mississippi

Known as "The Gibraltar of the Confederacy," the port city of Vicksburg represented control of the Mississippi River. American president Lincoln proclaimed the capture of Vicksburg as crucial because of its economic importance as a shipping port to world markets. Its fall would result in the division of the Confederacy into two non-connected parts. In the spring and summer of 1863, General Ulysses S. Grant and Union forces bombarded Vicksburg, which was located high on a bluff. The Confederate resistance lasted 48 days. On July 4, the starving Confederates surrendered. The fate of the Confederacy had essentially been sealed. Just a day before, the Confederates under Robert E. Lee were defeated at Gettysburg.

United States Landmarks