Grant's Louisiana Winter: The Road to Vicksburg

Before Ulysses S. Grant could take Vicksburg, he had to get his army past it. During the winter of 1862–63, Union troops camped in the swamps of Tensas and Madison parishes, digging canals, building bridges, and dying of disease while Grant tried every conceivable approach to the Confederate fortress. Winter Quarters — the only surviving plantation home on Grant's march route — served as a Union hospital. The bullet holes are still in the walls. Understanding the Vicksburg Campaign requires standing on the Louisiana side and appreciating the sheer misery of the approach.