Donation aids improvements at Civil War battlefield in Vicksburg

Associated Press

5 days ago

Vicksburg National Military Park is receiving over $5 million toward restoring a key monument and removing a building that previously was used as a visitors' center.
Friends of the Vicksburg National Military Park recently announced a $2.8 million private donation to the park by John L. Nau III, a Texas businessman and philanthropist who was a founding board member of the nonprofit Friends organization.
The National Park Service's Centennial Challenge program will match the donation with $2.5 million in federal funds.
The money will go to restoring the Illinois Memorial and removing an unrelated building that was 'erroneously constructed on core battlefield ground — an intrusion that obscures the story and sacrifices of the men who fought and died there in 1863,' according to the Friends.
'Standing on restored battlefield ground gives visitors a chance to truly understand the story of Vicksburg — not just read about it, but feel it,' Bess Averett, executive director of the Friends of Vicksburg National Military Park, said in a press release. 'Visitors deserve to walk this hallowed ground and see it as Union and Confederate soldiers saw it during the siege.'
In 1863, Union forces led by Gen. Ulysses S. Grant laid siege to Vicksburg. After 47 days, the Confederate army surrendered, and the defeat turned the tide of the Civil War as the Union gained control of the Mississippi River.
Vicksburg National Military Park was established in 1899 at the battleground. It commemorates the siege and its role in the Civil War, as well as those who fought.
The Illinois Memorial is dedicated to more than 36,000 soldiers from that state who fought in Vicksburg. Both the stone and the inscriptions inside the building have worn down from weather exposure.
In the release, Friends of Vicksburg National Military Park said the park needs both public and private support, as the National Park Service manages over 400 units nationwide.
'We need donors and volunteers now more than ever before,' Averett said.
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This story was originally published by Mississippi Today and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.