Vicksburg National Military Park, Mississippi

by William C. Everhart

2. JEFFERSON DAVIS STATUE.

(in front of museum) Davis was a West Point graduate, Mexican War colonel, Mississippi cotton planter, United States Senator, Secretary of War, and, finally, President of the Confederacy.

As you begin the tour, notice the natural strength of the Confederate position on the crest of the ridge. The ground drops away to your right and, several hundred yards across the ravine, rises to a similar and parallel ridge. From this, the Union Army launched its siege operations against the Confederate line. Before the siege began, all the trees between the lines had been cut down by the Confederate engineers to insure a clear field of fire.