Grand Illumination
On July 3, Friends of Vicksburg National Military Park will partner with VNMP to create a Grand Illumination to honor the 20,000 American lives, both Union and Confederate, that were casualties during the Battle for Vicksburg.  Please click here to read more and learn about how you can help support this effort.

Battlefield Restoration Complete Thanks to Friends
The battlefield restoration project of the Vicksburg National Military Park (VNMP) is complete. A total of approximately 90 acres in three key military engagement sites were restored through the removal of woodland cover and maintenance of the landscape to create a more open and visually accessible site.  The $300,000 project was funded through the Friends of the Vicksburg National Military Park and Campaign by Mr. and Mrs. John Nau of Houston, Texas.   

John L. Nau, III is President and Chief Executive Officer of Silver Eagle Distributors, L.P., the nation’s largest distributor of Anheuser-Busch products. Nau currently serves as Vice Chairman of the National Park Foundation Board of Directors, Civil War Trust Board of Directors and Chairman Emeritus and Board Member for Friends of Vicksburg National Military Park. He is founder and President of The Nau Foundation.  He served as chairman of the National Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, 2001-2010, a position appointed by the President of the United States.  Read More >>

FRIENDS sponsors Experiential field trips in February
Every fourth grader in Warren County was given the chance to jump into their history book and experience the VNMP as a soldier to commemorate the Sesquicentennial.  Friends worked closely with VNMP staff and the Vicksburg Warren School District to develop and offer this unique tour. 

Students completed pre-visit work including selecting a soldier identity and electing class corporals and lieutenants.  Once they stepped off the bus for their tour, classes were taken back in time to 1863 and stepped onto the battlefield as volunteers.  After taking the oath, signing the contract, and receiving their weapon and rations, soldiers marched by regiment to different experience stations where they learned about civilian life and freedmen, documentation, cannons and artillery, and the terrain and the strategic importance of Vicksburg.  Read More >>

Vicksburg National Military Park Commemorates the Sesquicentennial of the Vicksburg Campaign

The United States Mint and National Park Service officially released the "America the Beautiful Quarter: honoring Mississippi and Vicksburg on August 30th, 2011, at the Vicksburg National Military Park.  The Vicksburg coin, which is being distributed nationally, features the USS Cairo on its obverse, and is the ninth coin relased in this series dedicated to America's most scenic and historic places.  Vicksburg was chosen by the Mississippi Legislature to represent the state, and the image of the USS Cairo was approved by the Secretary of the Treasury.  Depiction of this historic icon on the quarter emphasizes the crucial importance of control of the Mississippi River to both the Union and the Confederate armies during the American Civil War.  The USS Cairo, a U.S. Navy ironclad river boat was sunk by Confederates in the Yazoo River north of Vicksburg, was raised in 1964, and is now on permanent display in the Park. 

The Beautiful Quarter: honoring Mississippi and Vicksburg on August 30th, 2011, at the Vicksburg National Military Park.  The Vicksburg coin, which is being distributed nationally, features the USS Cairo on its obverse, and is the ninth coin relased in this series dedicated to America's most scenic and historic places.  Vicksburg was chosen by the Mississippi Legislature to represent the state, and the image of the USS Cairo was approved by the Secretary of the Treasury.  Depiction of this historic icon on the quarter emphasizes the crucial importance of control of the Mississippi River to both the Union and the Confederate armies during the American Civil War.  The USS Cairo, a U.S. Navy ironclad river boat was sunk by Confederates in the Yazoo River north of Vicksburg, was raised in 1964, and is now on permanent display in the Park. 

The Cermonial release of the coin was attended by over 2,500 people.  Attendees could purchase rolls of the quarters after completion of the ceremony.