Port Gibson in Claiborne County, Mississippi — The American South (East South Central)
At the Center of the Battle
Photographed by Cajun Scrambler, November 30, 2019
1. At the Center of the Battle Marker
At daybreak, the Union soldiers who camped here found themselves in the midst of a rugged landscape of ridges and ravines. As it happened, they were also at the center of what would become the battlefield. From this knoll, Generals Grant and McClernand could direct the battle as it unfolded during the morning hours of May 1, 1863.
Grant spent most of the early hours of the fighting on this rise from which he could see separate battles on the Rodney Road ridge and the Bruinsburg Road ridge.
" the most broken land I have ever seen."
Ulysses S. Grant, "Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant"
[Captions:]
Although this photograph (looking east from the Magnolia Church site) was taken after the war, the landscape probably appeared much as it had during the war, with the forest cleared and the ridges visible.
This plantation road allowed communication between the two wings of the battle. The fighting north of here, along Bruinsburg Road, eventually pushed the Confederates toward Grand Gulf. More information about the eastern phase of the battle, also known as the Battle of Magnolia Church, is found at the Magnolia Church site.
Confederates burned the bridge over little Bayou Pierre as they retreated north from Port Gibson. The fire did not destroy the iron and brick portions of the historic suspension bridge, and it was repaired and used into the twentieth century.
Topics and series.
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Location. 31° 56.89′ N, 91° 2.16′ W. Marker is in Port Gibson, Mississippi, in Claiborne County. It can be reached from Shaifer Road 1½ miles west of Bessie Weathers Road, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3028 Shaifer Rd, Port Gibson MS 39150, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southwest Mississippi, in Natchez Trace Corridor, and in Greater Jackson. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, and in the Great River Road Region. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of
Photographed by Cajun Scrambler, November 30, 2019
2. At the Center of the Battle Marker
Shaifer house seen.
More about this marker. Located on the grounds of the A.K. Shaifer House Mississippi Historic Site
Credits. This page was last revised on March 3, 2026. It was originally submitted on December 27, 2019, by Cajun Scrambler of Assumption, Louisiana. This page has been viewed 591 times since then and 21 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on December 27, 2019, by Cajun Scrambler of Assumption, Louisiana.
