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At 3 o'clock on the afternoon of July 3, 1863, General John C. Pemberton and General Ulysses S. Grant met here to discuss the surrender of Vicksburg. Although the generals failed to come to terms at this meeting, an exchange of letters late that night resulted in acceptable terms. The city and its garrison were surrendered by Pemberton on July 4. The fall of Vicksburg marked a turning point in the war as it gave the North undisputed control of the Mississippi River and split the Confederacy in two.
This 42-pounder cannon marked this site from 1867-1940. The restored cannon was returned here in 1990.
The original monument erected by Union occupation forces occupied this site from 1864-1867. The marble shaft was one of the earliest monuments ever placed on a Civil War battlefield.
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