Ed Bearss On Illinois In the Civil War, Vicksburg

Illinois has the biggest monument at Vicksburg Battlefield.  It is a copy of the Pantheon in Rome.  William Le Baron Jenney was the architect   During the Civil War, he served as the Chief Engineer of the 15th Corps and designed the world;s first skyscraper in Chicago, the Leiter Building.

Illinois has the biggest monument because that state furbished the most troops to the Vicksburg Campaign.  The monument has 49 steps which represent the 49 days of the siege.

U.S. Grant's son, Frederick Dent Grant, was with his father at Vicksburg and on the general's staff.  He was struck by a shell fragment when the fleet ran by Vicksburg.s defenses.

--Old Secesh