Grant's Canal (at Vicksburg)
In Madison Parish, Louisiana

Facing SSE, at Grant's Canal NPS site, Madison Parish, LA, across the Mississippi River from Vicksburg
At the "Grant's Canal" sign, erected during the mid-20th century

A man-made channel built to change the course of the Mississippi River, but the project was abandoned before completion
Constructed by 3,000+ Federal soldiers between June 27, 1862 and late March, 1863

This battlefield locale is not a National Park Service Tour Stop
Guide To The Vicksburg Campaign, The U.S. Army War College Guides To Civil War Battles - Vicksburg Campaign Phase 1 Tour Stop 2

National Park Service (NPS) Signage


Grant's Canal

During the summer of 1862, the Federals' first attempt to bypass Vicksburg by digging a canal across DeSoto Peninsula failed. By January, 1863, the Federals had reoccupied the Louisiana shore opposite Vicksburg. Gen. U. S. Grant ordered work on the canal resumed. The canal was to be 60 feet wide, one and one-half miles long, and deep enough to float any vessel on the river. Ground was broken on january 30. Negro work gangs assisted by fatigue details from the Union Army began the work. Later, steam pumps and dredge boats were employed. To stop the work, the Confederates emplaced several big guns on the shore opposite the canal's exit but the work progressed. On March 7, the upper dam gave way, flooding the entire peninsula. "Grant's Canal" had failed.


(Photograph by John C. Sanders, October 10, 2006)



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revised: December 10, 2007
created: July 18, 2007
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