The February 22nd Clarion (Ms) Ledger had an article about little-known Civil War history that is spotlighted on a new tour which covers about 100 miles.
Union General U.S. Grant spent months trying to bypass Confederate batteries at Vicksburg, Mississippi before deciding he'd just have to capture the place. He spent months trying to dig a canal through the river bend opposite the city and out of reach of Confederate guns, but this didn't work out.
NEW PLAN
By Mid-March, 1863, a new plan had been developed to send five Union gunboats through 100 miles of twisting waterways and bayous north of Vicksburg in what became known as the Steele Bayou Expedition which ultimately became a failure as well because of Confederate attacks, blockages, and sniper fire.
Recently, a free tour guide has been released by the Lower Delta Partnership. There are seven interpretive signs with eleven stops between Vicksburg and Rolling Fork. You can spend four hours minimum and cover one hundred miles to do it. The Partnership got a $37,000 grant from the National Park Service to do it.
More to Come. Old B-Runner
The Battle of Fort Fisher, N.C.
