My Mississippi Manifest Destiny: Vicksburg Battlefield, Part Three, Illinois Memorial

Modeled after the Panthenon, the most impressive of the state memorials within the Vicksburg National Military Park honors the Illinois soldiers who took part in the campaign to capture the "Gibraltar of the Confederacy."

Leading up to the monument are 47 steps, one for each day of the siege.

Engraved inside the dome the names of each of the 36,325 Illinoisans who participated in this key battle.

Here's what Marlo Carter Fitzpatrick wrote about the memorial in Mississippi Off The Beaten Path:

Of the thousands of names listed, two are of particular interest. Fred Grant, the general's twelve-year-old son, is listed as his aide. Also listed is Albert D. Cashire, who served throughout the Vicksburg campaign. When Cahsire was hospitalized years later he was discovered to be a she--an immigrant named Jennie Hodgers, who had masqueraded as a man for nearly half a century.

Click here for Colonel Austin Bay's post on Vicksburg and the 26th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment.

Next: The USS Cairo

Related post: Glenn & Helen podcast with Austin and Annabelle Bay

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