Battle of Port Gibson

The Battle of Port Gibson, fought on May 1, 1863, was a Union victory during the American Civil War. Union troops under General Ulysses S. Grant marched through Port Gibson, Mississippi, en route to Vicksburg. Grant famously remarked that the town was "too beautiful to burn". This engagement was part of the larger Vicksburg Campaign, a strategic Union effort to capture the Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River. The capture of Vicksburg would divide the Confederacy and give the Union control of the entire river. The Battle of Big Black River, occurring shortly after Champion's Hill, further weakened Confederate forces under General John C. Pemberton as they retreated into Vicksburg, which was then besieged by Grant's army.123