Direct assaults on the Confederate fortifications on May 19 and 22 ended in heavy Union losses. With Vicksburg's defenses holding strong. Grant changed tactics and ordered a formal siege. Here, at Third Louisiana Redan, all phases of siege warfare were brought to bear on the earthen fort in front of you.

Federal troops labored 24 hours a day in the brutal heat of the Mississippi summer to dig deep trenches along Jackson Road from the Shirley House toward this position. The 45th Illinois Infantry then burrowed under the point of the redan and filled the mine with over 2,200 pounds of black powder.

Every man in the investing line become an army engineer day and night... Entrenchments, rifle pits, and dirt caves were made in every conceivable direction.
Union Soldier

Into the Breach On June 25th an explosion blew a huge hole in the walls of the fort. Union troops charged into the crater. A second wall stopped the soldiers in their tracks. For 26 hours a fierce battle raged. The Confederates held fast and forced the Union troops to withdraw. Vicksburg's defenses held.

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Show me all markers in:  Vicksburg, MS  |  Warren County  |  39183  |  Mississippi  |  United States of America

Andrew Hickenlooper
The Mine Explosion
John E. Smith's Brigade; Assault, May 22, 1863.
U.S. Logan's Approach.
Melancthon Smith
Affair of the Crater; June 25-26, 1863.
C.S. Alabama Battery;
Eugene Erwin
Third Louisiana Redan, On Left of Jackson Road.
C S Missouri

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