"The father of waters again goes unvexed to the sea"

It is the 148th anniversary of the surrender of the city of Vicksburg and the Confederate forces defending it. The title above is the famous quote by President Lincoln referring to the Mississippi River.

The river passed beneath the bluffs of Vicksburg and the protection of the Confederate guns. It was the final objective to cutting the Confederacy in two. With the news of the Army of the Potomac's victory over Lee's Army of Northern Virginia on July 3rd at Gettysburg it turned the normal Independence Day celebrations even more joyous and sad at the same time for the people of the North.