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VICKSBURG – Mississippi officials Wednesday celebrated plans to build a $114 million Civil War museum and visitor center next to Vicksburg National Military Park, one day after President Donald Trump signed legislation that will help with the development.
Historians consider the Siege of Vicksburg a key turning point in the Civil War. The Confederate surrender to Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant on July 4, 1863, helped Union forces take control of the Mississippi River and effectively cleave the Confederacy into two.
“What you have here today is an opportunity to continue to expand the real story about who actually fought here and saved this country of ours, and ultimately put it back together,” U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson said during the ceremony.
The expansive new building, set on nearly 13 acres adjacent to the national park, already one of the state’s largest tourist attractions, is expected to be completed by 2030…