The Vicksburg Campaign was one of the most decisive actions of the Civil War. 73,000 Union soldiers under the command of Major General Ulysses S. Grant spent more than six months fighting against 68,000 Confederates trying to defend the important Mississippi River city of Vicksburg. The Battle of Vicksburg ended on July 4, 1865 with the Confederate Army of Mississippi surrendering, having lost nearly four times the losses of the Union forces. 29,495 Confederates surrendered.
This is part of a series looking at sites connected to the Civil War that are having their brochures and signage that is under review by the Interior Department. I posted about the newly disclosed set of documents assembled by the Interior Department of National Park signage that may be taken down under President Trump’s year-old Executive Order calling for “sanity” in interpreting American history. Over the next week I will present some of the documents about what signage is now considered questionable. Last month, signage at the President’s House in Philadelphia was removed and the panels taken down appeared on this list.
The photographs that I present were taken by the Interior Department because someone inside the department suspects that they are prohibited under Trump’s Executive Order. So far, there have only been a small number of removals while the review is taking place.
The first thing that is under review is the park’s brochure. If you have been to any major Civil War Battlefield under the National Park Service you will recognize the format of this brochure. It is a fold out with a large illustration. The front page gives an outline of the battle. In this one there is a map of the campaign, a timeline, an archeological discovery of the U.S.S. Cairo, and “freedom and equality” in Vicksburg after the Confederate surrender. These are no notes from Interior staff on why this brochure was selected for review, but in the section on freedom and equality there is a description of freed slaves coming into Vicksburg to escape their slave masters and start a new life as freed people. This sort of presentation has been identified by the Interior Department as being questionable. You can see an easier to read version here.
The second photo is of the driving tour.
The next photos show text and exhibits of what is inside the visitors’ center that has been identified as possible violations of the president’s order. This next text is from the Mississippi Declaration of the Immediate Causes for the secession of that state. It clearly says that the state was breaking away to “secure” slavery. At other parks where the reasons for secession are posted, many of them are also under review by the Department of the Interior.
The next placard contains the Mississippi Ordinance of Secession. Since the Battle of Vicksburg only took place because of the Ordinance of Secession, it is difficult to see what potentially removing this page of text would protect us from.
The next text gives the Causes of the Civil War. National Park sites once-upon-a-time used to distort the causes of the Civil War or left them entirely out. However, for at least thirty years the National Park Service has been more realistic and given the historical consensus on the causes of the war.
Another common theme that is often brought up for review is the participation of African American men in the war. In the next exhibit the text describes Black men working as laborers, teamsters and cooks and the gradual transformation of these men into Union soldiers.
Another verboten area is identifying the causes of the war. Most National Parks say that slavery and its expansion into the Western Territories was the principal cause of the war. This sort of panel has been identified at many other National Park sites as being against the president’s order.
There is also a wayside marker outside the Shirley House which lists the slaves who worked at the house. This too is under scrutiny.
Read about the review of Stones River Battlefield.
Please contact your Representative and let her or him know you are concerned about this.
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