A Stronghold on the Bluffs

A Stronghold on the Bluffs. . , In mid-19th century America, rivers were highways. And the Mississippi was the greatest of them all, the nation's main artery for commerce leading all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. By early 1863, two Confederate strongholds still blocked Union shipping from a key section of the river: Port Hudson in Louisiana, and here at Vicksburg. , Vicksburg's river port and railroad hub were critical to the Confederacy. Vital supplies and troops arrived from the south and west, and then traveled to armies in the east via railroad. Powerful cannon on the bluffs commanded this important stretch of the Mississippi River. , [Bottom right photo] , Safeguarding the River , You are standing at the highest point along the Vicksburg bluffs. During the Civil War this spot provided a perfect perch for Confederate gun to guard the Mississippi, and to prevent Union vessels from getting past., [Top right map caption} , The waterway you see from here today is not the Mississippi, it's a diversion canal from the Yazoo River. During the Civil War, the Mississippi ran along the base of these bluffs. In 1876 the river suddenly changed course. It now fronts modern-day Vicksburg only at the city's southern edge.