The city of Vicksburg was once known as Walnut Hills. It was incorporated as Vicksburg in 1826, named for a local Methodist minister, Newitt Vick. It is located on the Mississippi River, about forty miles west of Jackson, the state capital.

Of all the cities covered on this website, Vicksburg has endured a history so associated with the Civil War that it cannot be separated from it. Many of its residents survived the starvation brought on by a Union blockade and the shelling of its civilian and military population by artillery. Many of the people of Vicksburg did not survive, succumbing to either starvation, sickness or shrapnel, during the long weeks of the seige. The city fell to Union troops on July 4, 1863 and the citizens didn't celebrate Independence Day for over eighty years. In telling the story of Vicksburg, it is impossible to ignore the Civil War.

Vacationers traveling to Vicksburg are frequently doing so to study the Civil War. If that is the case, you won't be disappointed here.

Click to visit the Civil War Album of Vicksburg.