You are on the historic Jackson Road, a critical link between Jackson and Vicksburg during the Civil War. To guard this key entrance to the city, Confederate forces built a major fort here: the Third Louisiana Redan. Look to your left at the end of the road—the high ground beyond is the old fort's wall.
On May 22, 1863, Union troops swarmed down Jackson Road from the east to attack the Third Louisiana Redan. An innocent-looking ridge today this once-massive structure posed a forbidding obstacle to Federal forces. The assault failed, and Grant's men withdrew to safety behind the ridge below the Shirley House (to your right).
Sharpshooter vs. Sharpshooter
When the siege began, Union troops dug toward the Third Louisiana Redan. As the trench neared the fort, Confederate sharpshooters made life difficult for the Federal digging crews.
Lieutenant Henry Foster—known as "Coonskin" for his raccoon fur cap—built a tower out of railroad ties facing the Third Louisiana Redan to protect his comrades.
Union sharpshooters concealed in Coonskin's Tower used a mirror to watch for Confederates
taking aim at Federal soldiers below. Without becoming targets themselves, Foster and friends beat their enemies to the trigger.
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