Vicksburg National Cemetery Experience

Of the 17,000 Union Solders buried here, about 13,000 are unknown. Of the 155 National Cemeteries, this is one of the first. The Union Solders were hastily buried in the fields where they died. In 1862 President Lincoln signed legislation authorizing the federal government to purchase ground for National cemeteries. The Siege of Vicksburg was a crucial turning event in the Civil War that occasionally goes unmentioned in history texts. Vicksburg was forced to surrender, and the Union took control of the Mississippi after a 47-day battle of attrition between General Pemberton's tenacious Confederates and General Grant's unyielding Union troops. To preserve the battlefield where their comrades in arms perished, a group of veterans banded together forty years later in a spirit of peace. It erected an incredible number of memorials and monuments to commemorate the sacrifices made by each state. Today, tourists from all over the world travel to Vicksburg to retrace their steps. Start your day in the visitor center, where park rangers are available to prepare you for an unforgettable day.