The New International Encyclopædia/Vicksburg

VICKS′BURG. The largest city of Mississippi and the county seat of Warren County, 236 miles north by west of New Orleans; on the Mississippi River, and on the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley, the Alabama and Vicksburg, and the Vicksburg, Shreveport and Pacific railroads (Map: Mississippi, D 6). It is attractively situated among the Walnut Hills. The Federal Government building and the county court house are noteworthy structures; and among the prominent institutions of the city are the Charity Hospital and Saint Aloysius College. The National Cemetery here has 16,727 graves, 12,723 of unknown dead. Vicksburg is a conunercial centre of importance, being noted especially for its cotton trade, and in manufacturing it ranks second among the cities of the State. The leading industrial establishments include railroad shops, lumber mills, cottonseed-oil mills, and manufactories of machinery, carriages, shoes, etc. Population, in 1890, 13,373; in 1900, 14,834.

Vicksburg was laid out on the plantations of William Vick and John Lane, and was incorporated in 1840. It was strongly fortified in 1861 and was provided with a large garrison, which, after a long siege, surrendered to General Grant on July 4, 1863. (See Vicksburg, Campaign Against.) Consult a sketch in Powell's Historic Towns in the Southern States (New York, 1900).