Mississippi Vicksburg National Military Park map and highlights

Vicksburg National Military Park in western Mississippi, in Vicksburg.    

A key battle of the Civil War—including the campaign, siege, and  defense of Vicksburg from March 29 to July 4, 1863—is commemorated at  this park. Battles at Port Gibson, Raymond, Jackson, Champion Hill, and  Big Black River were all part of the Vicksburg campaign, as was the  47-day Union siege against the city. Located high on the bluffs,  Vicksburg was known as "The Gibraltar of the Confederacy" and guarded  the Mississippi River; with its surrender, the Union regained control of  the lower Mississippi River and split the Confederacy in two. Today,  more than 1,300 monuments and markers are scattered throughout the  grounds, as are reconstructed trenches and earthworks, an antebellum  structure, more than 125 emplaced cannons, and the Vicksburg National  Cemetery. The U.S.S. Cairo Museum and Gunboat is also on the grounds. A  16-mi auto-tour road winds past many of the significant historic sites.  The park was established in 1899 and transferred to the Park Service in  1933.    

WHAT TO SEE & DO    

Auto touring, bird-watching, hiking, touring museum and  cemetery, viewing restored Union gunboat, walking. Facilities: Visitor  center, interpretive signs, U.S.S. Cairo Museum and Gunboat (mile 7.9).  Bookstore, picnic tables. Programs & Events: Guided battlefield  tours, self-guided driving tours. Ranger talks, black powder  demonstration, living-history program, and cannon firing demonstrations  (all mid-June-mid-Aug.). Tips & Hints: Wear comfortable clothing and  walking or hiking shoes. Audiotapes available for driving tours. Best  weather Mar-May. Busiest Apr. and May, least crowded Nov. and Dec.    

FOOD & LODGING    

Hotels: None in park. In Vicksburg: Ameristar Casino Hotel  (4155 Washington St., tel. 601/638-1000 or 800/700-7770; 149 rooms;  $69-$189), Battlefield Inn (4137 I-20 N. Frontage Rd., tel. 601/638-5811  or 800/359-9363; 118 rooms; $50-$75), Hampton Inn (3332 Clay St.,  601/636-6100 or 888/568-4044; 147 rooms; $75). X Restaurants: None in  park. In Vicksburg: Eddie Monsour's (127 Country Club Dr., tel.  601/638-1571; $5-$10; no lunch Sat., no dinner Sun.), Walnut Hills Round  Tables (1214 Adams St., tel. 601/638-1910; $7-$17; closed Sat., no  dinner Sun.).  

FEES, HOURS & REGULATIONS    

Entrance fee: $5 per vehicle, $3 per bus passenger. Guided  battlefield tour: $30 per car, $40 per van, $60 per bus; reservations  available. No hunting. No metal detectors. No fires or cooking. Park  open daily dawn-dusk. Visitor center open daily 8-5. Cairo Museum open  Nov-Mar., daily 8:30-5; Apr.-Oct., daily 9:30-6.    

HOW TO GET THERE    

In Vicksburg off I-20/U.S. 61 at Exit 4B; take Clay St. (U.S. 80) west for lA mi to park. Closest airport: Jackson (50 mi).    

CONTACTS    

Vicksburg National Military Park (3201 Clay St., Vicksburg, MS  39183, tel. 601/636-0583; 601/636-3827 battlefield tour, fax  601/636-9497,). Vicksburg Convention & Visitors Bureau (Box 110,  Vicksburg, MS 39181, tel. 601/636-9421).

Basic information for visitors to the Vicksburg National Military Park In western Mississippi, in Vicksburg