Union forces laid siege to Vicksburg for 46 days in 1863. Civilians were forced into basements or caves. When supplies for entrenched Confederate troops ran out--and diseases spread--a July 4th surrender was arranged. Union forces then controlled the Mississippi River.

The National Military Park is only sampled in this gallery. It surrounds Vicksburg like a crescent, some 30 miles (48 km) west of the Natchez Trace Parkway.