Connecticut's Role At Vicksburg Remembered At Military Park

SOUTHINGTON, CT — The long holiday weekend marks 158 years since the siege at Vicksburg ended with a 4th of July Confederate surrender. Those traveling in the South this summer can see what role Connecticut played in the battle at the Vicksburg National Military Park in Mississippi and Louisiana at a monument designed in Southington.

The National Park Service tells us the Connecticut State Memorial is located at the Grant's Canal Site, near Delta, LA, and represents the contributions of the Ninth Regiment Connecticut Volunteers.

The Ninth, also known as Connecticut's Irish Regiment because of the predominant makeup of soldiers born in Ireland, was mustered in at New Haven, in September 1861.

Three months later, the 845-man regiment arrived at Ship Island, MS, and was among the first Union troops to enter New Orleans after the city surrendered in April 1862.

According to the park service, two months later, the Ninth was part of the expeditionary force led by Gen. Thomas Williams that steamed up the Mississippi River in the first Union campaign to capture Vicksburg. Lacking sufficient numbers for an assault or siege, the troops were put to work excavating Williams' Canal in an attempt to bypass Vicksburg and restore unfettered navigation of the Mississippi, according to the park service.

The Ninth Connecticut arrived at De Soto Point, opposite Vicksburg, on June 25, 1862, and began cutting down trees, removing and turning dirt. The monument narrative says supply problems, lack of drinking water, and temperatures that surpassed 100 degrees took a heavy toll as malaria, dysentery, and heatstroke spread throughout the command.

With the river level dropping and troops incapacitated by heat and disease, the canal project was abandoned on July 24, far short of completion. Some 153 men of the Ninth died within a four-month period following their arrival at the canal, according to the park service.

While the members of the Ninth saw no further action at Vicksburg, the unit participated in the Battle of Baton Rouge in August, and was then assigned to the defenses in the New Orleans area, according to the monument narrative.

At a cost of $50,000, the monument was designed by Mathieu Memorials of Southington, in conjunction with Royal Melrose Granite of Cold Spring, MN, and is sculpted of polished gray and black granites, sitting on a concrete plaza showing the outline of the state of Connecticut.

Through the artistry of Stacy Mathieu, the etching artist, and Kerry Sheldon, the image artist, the monument depicts etched photos of members of the Ninth Regiment, and scenes of its participation in the Vicksburg campaign, the park service tells us.

The memorial was dedicated on Oct. 14, 2008.

See more on it here.