Fort Pemberton (Mississippi)

Fort Pemberton is a historic

In the winter of 1862–1863, Major General Ulysses S. Grant commanding the Army of the Tennessee conducted a series of operations to approach and capture the fortified city of Vicksburg, Mississippi, known as "The Gibraltar of the Confederacy".^[2][3] Since the city's fortifications on bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River were formidable, Grant tried other alternatives that wouldn't require a direct approach under the Confederate guns.

In the opening engagement of the Vicksburg Campaign, an advance on Vicksburg from the north by troops under the command of

The Yazoo Pass was an old water route from Memphis to Yazoo City, which had been closed off by Mississippi River levee construction in 1856 that sealed the Pass. Winding through a series of backwaters of the Mississippi Delta, the Pass had run from the Mississippi River into Moon Lake, to the Coldwater River, then to the Tallahatchie River, and finally into the Yazoo River at Greenwood, Mississippi. From there the Yazoo River continued south to Yazoo City and Vicksburg. Once on the Yazoo north of the defenses of Vicksburg, the Navy could disrupt Confederate shipping at Yazoo City, and the Army would be able to cross the river with scant opposition and secure a bridgehead and supply line.

Fort Pemberton

The Union force began moving through the Yazoo Pass on February 7. But lack of urgency by the Union Navy, coupled with low-hanging tree branches and trees felled by Confederates impeded their progress, allowing the Confederates time to prepare defenses. Pemberton had given orders to Major General

Fort Pemberton is now part of Fort Pemberton Memorial Park, in Greenwood, Mississippi.[1]

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