Pemberton's Headquarters: Where Vicksburg Surrendered

The two-story house at the corner of Crawford Street in Vicksburg was built in eighteen thirty-six and was one of the finest homes in the city. When Confederate General John C. Pemberton arrived to defend Vicksburg in eighteen sixty-three, he chose it as his headquarters.

For forty-seven days, Union forces under Ulysses Grant besieged the city while residents took shelter in hillside caves and Pemberton and his officers planned their response inside these rooms. On July third, eighteen sixty-three, Pemberton opened talks with Grant, and the garrison surrendered on July fourth. The fall of Vicksburg, coming the day after Gettysburg, split the Confederacy in two and gave the Union control of the Mississippi River.

The National Park Service now owns the house, which is a National Historic Landmark.