The Civil War battle in Vicksburg was very critical by 1863, because the winner controlled the Mississippi River, also known as the lifeblood of America. The siege for control lasted 47 long days in the south's humid summer. Ultimately, the Confederate army surrendered their vital stronghold of the Mississippi River to Major General Ulysses Grant's Union army.
The National Park commemorates the campaign and siege of Vicksburg, and includes a national cemetery for more than 17,000 graves of Civil War soldiers and a few more from other wars. The park maintains over 1,300 monuments, the restored USS Cairo (a Union ironclad gunboat), a 16 mile tour road and a virtual museum exhibit depicting life during the siege.
Many visitors of the park attend the living history demonstrations, also called Civil War reenactments, in the summer. Veterans marked the battle lines shortly after 1900, making Vicksburg National Military Park one of the most accurately marked military parks in the world, according the government's National Park Service site.
Headstones, cannons, cast iron tablets and position markers all blanket the well preserved park, and its tour stops and buildings from the war do well to remind a million annual visitors the importance of this sacred place in American history.
Mintage:
| Philadelphia | Denver | Clad Proof | Silver Proof |
| 30,800,000 | 33,400,000 | 1,267,691 | 722,076 |