Vicksburg, Mississippi

Vicksburg is a city in west-central Mississippi, on a high bluff overlooking the Mississippi River.

Vicksburg is known as the site of the Siege of Vicksburg, one of two major campaigns of the American Civil War which took place in 1863, both of which ended in Union Army victories on consecutive days (Gettysburg on July 3 and Vicksburg on July 4). Due to Vicksburg's surrender on what is Independence Day, once it was named an official Federal holiday, a persistent rumor exists that the city would only irregularly celebrate the holiday until after World War II (in reality, prior to then, July 4 was generally celebrated with family picnics, not large celebrations).

In 1875, the Vicksburg massacre took place, when a group of armed Whites shot a group of unarmed Blacks after the popularly elected county sheriff, Peter Crosby, was forcibly removed from office by a mob. Crosby would later be reinstated under Federal authority but then was shot in the head; though he did not die, he was unable to finish his term.

In 1876 a flood along the Mississippi River would change its course, turning Vicksburg from a thriving port city into a backwater. It would not recover until 1903 when the United States Army Corps of Engineers would create a diversion channel from the Yazoo River (north - upstream - of the city). The Corps maintains a large presence in the city: the headquarters of the Corps' Mississippi Valley Division, its Vicksburg District, and its Engineer Research and Development Center (along with four of ERDC's laboratories) are based in Vicksburg.