Cochran, Wicker trying again to expand city’s military park

Published 12:00 pm Friday, February 4, 2011

As Vicksburg and other sites across the South have begun commemorations of the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War, Sens. Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker reintroduced legislation Thursday to expand the Vicksburg National Military Park to add the battlefields of Champion Hill, Port Gibson and Raymond.

The Mississippi Republicans want Congress to authorize the National Park Service to acquire about 10,000 acres to preserve the three Civil War battlefields — Port Gibson in Claiborne County and Raymond and Champion Hill in Hinds County.

“I am hopeful that the Senate will be able to soon consider this measure to protect more of the battlefields associated with the Vicksburg Campaign,” Cochran said in a written statement. “The battle for Vicksburg and its position on the Mississippi was a critical chapter of the Civil War. As such, this measure was written to protect additional areas that represent an important time for the history of our nation and our state.”

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“I am glad to join Senator Cochran and state and local officials in this effort to protect historic Civil War battlefields in Mississippi,” said Wicker, the bill’s primary co-sponsor. “Expanding the Vicksburg National Military Park is an important way we can preserve the history of our state.”

The VNMP commemorates the campaign, siege and defense of Vicksburg in 1863. More than 1,340 monuments, a restored Union gunboat and a National Cemetery are within the confines of the park.

The Cochran-Wicker bill, first introduced in November, addresses the three separate parcels where battles leading up to the Vicksburg battles and siege were fought.

Designated “modified core battlefield” sites by the NPS, these properties also encompass several historic homes, such as the Shaifer House in Port Gibson and the Coker House at Champion Hill. The NPS would assume maintenance and security responsibilities for these structures once they are included in the Military Park.

The legislation was developed with input from the NPS, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, the Civil War Preservation Trust and local officials, Cochran said.

Both Cochran and Wicker said they believe the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War might help propel their legislation in the new 112th Congress.

The VNMP, which hosted initial Civil War sesquicentennial programs in January, also is planning programs for 2013, the 150th anniversary of the Vicksburg Campaign.

The Vicksburg Nationa Military Park logged 581,459 visitors in 2010, up from 548,105 in 2009.