Vicksburg National Military Park

Vicksburg National Military Park Preserving and interpreting the story of Vicksburg in the Civil War and Reconstruction. Department of the Interior. Both the park's Visitor Center and the U.S.S.

Vicksburg National Military Park, established in 1899, is a unit of the National Park Service, U.S. The 1800 acre main portion of the park preserves the eastern Confederate defenses and Union siege lines of the Vicksburg Campaign of May - July, 1863. The park also includes several sites along the Mississippi River and Pemberton's Headquarters in downtown Vicksburg, a three acre remnant of Grant's

Canal in Delta, Louisiana; and the preserved Union ironclad gunboat U.S.S. Cairo, as well as artifacts retrieved from her raising. Cairo and Museum are in the main park, along with a 16 mile tour road through Union and Confederate lines.

šŸ¾ Meet our newest Bark Ranger, Willow Grace!Willow Grace recently took the Bark Ranger pledge and is ready to help prote...
06/09/2026

šŸ¾ Meet our newest Bark Ranger, Willow Grace!

Willow Grace recently took the Bark Ranger pledge and is ready to help protect Vicksburg National Military Park.

Being a Bark Ranger means you will:
Bag your petā€™s waste
Always leash your pet
Respect wildlife
Know where you can go

We love welcoming four-legged explorers to the park. By following the Bark Ranger principles, you help preserve this special place so everyone can enjoy it.

Congratulations, Willow Grace! We can't wait to see where your next adventure takes you.

Visiting with your dog? Stop by the Visitor Center to learn how your pup can become a Bark Ranger, too!

163 years ago today, on June 7, 1863, the supply depot of Millikenā€™s Bend became a proving ground for African American s...
06/07/2026

163 years ago today, on June 7, 1863, the supply depot of Millikenā€™s Bend became a proving ground for African American soldiers. Confederate forces attacked the depot in an attempt to relieve pressure on the besieged Vicksburg garrison.

Union troops, new recruits with little training yet, fought hand to hand with determination, bravery, and courage in repulsing the assault. Prior to the battle, many people had doubts as to how African American soldiers would perform in battle.

Millikenā€™s Bend reversed this belief and lead to renewed recruitment of African American soldiers joining to fight for freedom.

Discover the ancient world hiding beneath Vicksburg National Military Park (VICK), where stories millions of years in th...
06/03/2026

Discover the ancient world hiding beneath Vicksburg National Military Park (VICK), where stories millions of years in the making come alive!

From tiny fossil snails and towering mammoths and mastodons hidden in the loess bluffs. To the more than 400 species of fossil marine life trapped in a time when this landscape lay beneath the warm waters of an ancient Gulf Coast embayment. šŸššŸ¦

Vicksburg National Military Parkā€”itā€™s not just historic ā€”

itā€™s deeply, wonderfully prehistoric.

Learn more about the rich geologic history of Vicksburg and see some fossils at the Visitor Center now through the end of June!

NPS Photo: Various fossil species at Vicksburg National Military Park/ NPS Charles Beightol. Image 1: Paleozoic crinoid in pre-loess gravel. Image 2: Oligocene fossil coral, Archohelia vicksburgensis. Image 3: Oligocene giant single cell foram, Lepidocyclina, in limestone. Image 4: Oligocene giant snail, Turbinella wilsoni.

05/25/2026

This Memorial Day, we honor the men and women who gave their lives in service to the United States Armed Forces. As America approaches the 250th anniversary of its independence, may we continue to remember those who gave what Abraham Lincoln called ā€œthe last full measure of devotion.ā€

Within Vicksburg National Cemetery, more than 18,000 soldiers who served in the Civil War Spanish-American War, World I, World War II, and the Korean War are laid to rest, their stories forever woven into the history of our nation. Established during the Civil War, the National Cemetery is a historic landscape intentionally designed as a ā€œsacred grove,ā€ a place of permanent dignity and tranquility, where remembrance is expressed through order, care, and reverence.

As the words of Bivouac of the Dead by Theodore O'Hara are read, we pause to reflect on the cost of preserving the ideals upon which this nation was founded and the generations who answered the call to defend them.

#250

05/16/2026

On May 16, 1863, the Battle of Champion Hill became the decisive clash of the Vicksburg Campaign as Union forces struck Confederate troops along a strategic ridge east of Vicksburg. Fierce fighting erupted across the rolling hills, and despite determined Confederate resistance, the Union breakthrough forced a retreat toward the Big Black River.

Join us as we commemorate the Battle of Champion Hill, Saturday, May 16, 2026, 9 AM-4PM at the Coker House, the only antebellum house left on the battlefield.

Want to learn more about the Battle of Champion Hill and its impact on the fall of Vicksburg? Visit:

Some lives leave a lasting mark in a very short time. Brevetted Brigadier General Embury Durfee Osband, the highest-rank...
05/13/2026

Some lives leave a lasting mark in a very short time. Brevetted Brigadier General Embury Durfee Osband, the highest-ranking officer buried at Vicksburg National Cemetery, was one of them.

Some lives leave a lasting mark in a very short time. Brevetted Brigadier General Embury Durfee Osband, the highest-rank...
05/13/2026

Some lives leave a lasting mark in a very short time. Brevetted Brigadier General Embury Durfee Osband, the highest-ranking officer buried at Vicksburg National Cemetery, was one of them.

A passionate abolitionist and educator, Osband rose from Illinois cavalry officer to commander of the 3rd United States Colored Cavalry, leading formerly enslaved men in some of the most important Union operations in the Deep South during the Civil War.

In May 1865, following the Confederacyā€™s collapse, Osband officially dissolved Mississippiā€™s Confederate government in Jackson under orders from President Andrew Johnson, marking a pivotal moment in Reconstruction.
Osband died just one year later at only 34 years old, but his legacy of leadership, justice, and freedom endures.

#250

Address

3201 Clay Street
Vicksburg, MS
39183

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Saturday 8:30am - 5pm
Sunday 8:30am - 4:30pm

Telephone

+16016360583

Website

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