Vicksburg National Military Park commemorates the campaign, siege and defense of Vicksburg, Mississippi, March 29–July 4, 1863. Congress established the park on February 21, 1899. Its 1,325 historic monuments and markers are second only to Gettysburg in number. The 1,800-acre park includes 20 miles of reconstructed trenches and earthworks, a 16-mile tour road, antebellum home, 144 emplaced cannon and the Vicksburg National Cemetery. A unique feature of the park is the ironclad Union gunboat USS Cairo, sunk by a Confederate "torpedo" (mine) in the Yazoo river, the first U.S. ship ever lost to a floating mine. It was raised and restored in 1964.
Read a summary and a list of articles about the battle of Vicksburg.