Volume 39, number 6
March 2018
Grand River Times The Newsletter of the Grand Rapids Historical Society Inside this issue:
Grant’s Canal: The Union’s Attempt to Bypass Vicksburg
Cover Story: March program Letter from our President page 2
Civil War Research Project page 2 Women’s History Month page 4 Happening in History page 6 Search: Grand Rapids Historical Society
Next program: After the
March program, the Grand Rapids Historical Society’s next program will be on April 12, 2018 at the Grand Rapids Public Library. Christine Byron and Tom Wilson be speaking about: Grand Rapids—Gateway to the Playground of the Nation: A Look Back at Promoting the City and West Michigan. Grand River Times
PRESENTED BY: David Bastian Thursday, March 8, 2018, 7:00 p.m. The Setting: When the War Between the States broke out in 1861, Vicksburg, Mississippi was a small town by today’s standards but at the time it was a major port along the Mississippi River. Its prominence as a river town was enhanced by being one of only three river towns located within the Confederacy served by rail on both sides of the river. There were no highways at this time. Waterways – rivers and canals – were where the greatest tonnage of traffic moved within the United States. This was followed by rail. Thus Vicksburg, with the Mississippi River could participate in north-south traffic while the railways provided eastwest transportation. Simply put, Vicksburg was a major transportation hub. Geologically and topographically, Vicksburg was located on commanding bluffs overlooking a large bend in the River. The bluffs elevated Vicksburg above the annual Mississippi River floods but interfered with landside traffic. These loess bluffs had a peculiar characteristic. Their soil properties are such that they have almost perpendicularly slopes and this came to be a tremendous defensive asset as the war reached Vicksburg. Continued on page 3 1