Great River Road - Mississippi
Vicksburg National Military Park, MS

At the time of the Civil War, the Mississippi River was the single most important economic feature of the continent; the very lifeblood of America. Upon the secession of the southern states, the river was closed to unfettered navigation, which threatened to strangle northern commercial interests. President Abraham Lincoln told his civil and military leaders:

See what a lot of land these fellows hold, of which Vicksburg is the key. The war can never be brought to a close until that key is in our pocket.... We can take all the northern ports of the Confederacy, and they can defy us from Vicksburg.

Lincoln assured his listeners that "I am acquainted with that region and know what I am talking about, and as valuable as New Orleans will be to us, Vicksburg will be more so."

In March 1863, after a series of setbacks, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant launched a successful campaign in which his army was hurled across the river below Vicksburg, pushed deep into Mississippi, captured Jackson and marched on the city from the east. Union troops stormed the Confederate works on May 19 and 22 to no avail. After a siege that lasted 47 days, Vicksburg surrendered on July 4, 1863, and the North gained undisputed control of the river. Thereby re-opening that important avenue of commerce, enabling the rich agricultural produce of the Northwest to reach world markets. It would also split the Confederacy in two, sever that vital supply route, achieve a major objective of the Anaconda Plan, and effectively seal the doom of Richmond and the Confederacy.