WASHINGTON – Legislation sponsored by U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., to upgrade the Vicksburg Military Park, passed the U.S. Senate.  

Vicksburg Military Park preserves the site of the Battle of Vicksburg, which is known for being a key turning point in the Civil War. The battlefield is the most visited historical attraction in Mississippi with more than half a million annual visitors. The park includes over 1,300 monuments and markers, 20 miles of original and reconstructed trenches, the Vicksburg National Cemetery, and more.

However, the park has outdated structures, such as the visitor center, that were built nearly seventy years ago. The bill, Vicksburg National Military Park Boundary Modification Act, would transfer the necessary land from the National Park Service to the State of Mississippi to build a new state-of-the-art interactive interpretive center on the park’s grounds.

Senator Wicker released the following statement:

“Tourists from across the country are visiting Mississippi to learn about the history of the Civil War. Preserving and sharing Vicksburg’s past will help increase tourism in our state. This land for the new interpretive center would play a key role in the efforts to modernize the park and ensure that future generations can enjoy, and learn, from these stories,” Senator Wicker said.