Vicksburg National Military Park, Mississippi

by William C. Everhart

GRANT’S CANAL.

Vicksburg’s location on the horseshoe bend of the river had suggested a solution to the Vicksburg problem the previous summer. By digging a canal across the peninsula below Vicksburg and diverting the river through it, unarmored transports could bypass the city batteries and deliver troops safely to the bluffs below. In January, Sherman’s Corps, assisted by dredging machines, began excavation of the mile-long canal. This project continued until March when a sudden rise in the river flooded the peninsula, driving the troops to the levees, and destroying much of their work.

Pivot-gun and crew of the Union warship Wissahickon, which fought the Vicksburg batteries. From Photographic History of the Civil War.

GRANT’S CANAL
FEBRUARY-MARCH 1863

By digging a canal across the mile-wide peninsula, Grant hoped to by-pass the Vicksburg batteries, move the army on transports below the city, and attack from the south.

Union soldiers at work on Grant’s canal opposite Vicksburg. From a wartime sketch.