In 1904, the government of Illinois appropriated over $190,000 (20% of their budget for that year) for the erection of a monument on the battlefield, now known as the Vicksburg National Military Park.[3] The monument was designed by architectWilliam Le Baron Jenney and sculptor Charles Mulligan. Jenney had previously served in the Union Army during the war and was later honored with a monument on the battlefield that was unveiled in 1911. The construction was carried out by the Culver Construction Company, with William B. Mundie serving as the general contractor.[4] An additional sculpture in the memorial was designed by Frederick Hibbard, who would later design an equestrian statue of Grant in the park.[4] Construction began in mid-1906 and was completed by October of that year.[3] The total cost for the memorial, paid for by the state of Illinois, was $194,423.92.[4]
In the 1980s, the memorial underwent some restoration that included repointing and cleaning in the interior.[6] In 1996, members of the Illinois Army National Guard and Mississippi Army National Guard participated in a joint activity near the memorial called the Blue and Gray Staff Ride, where they reenacted part of an assault on the location and held a wreath laying ceremony at the memorial.[5] That same year, the statue of an eagle on the memorial was regilded, and several years later, additional gilding work was performed to the memorial.[6] On October 28, 2006, a rededication ceremony was held on the 100th anniversary of the memorial.[3]
Design
Interior of the memorial
The memorial's design was based on that of the Roman Pantheon.[2][4][1] The base and stairway is made of granite quarried from Stone Mountain in Georgia, while the remainder of the 62-foot (19 m)[3][4] structure is made of Georgia marble.[4] It is the largest memorial on the battlefield.[1] According to the National Park Service, "[n]o device indicative of war" is featured in the memorial, which was specified by the commission that oversaw its creation.[1] Sixty bronze tablets line the interior of the memorial and bear the names of all 36,325 Illinois soldiers who participated in the campaign.[4][2] A bronze statue of a bald eagle, sculpted by Hibbard, sits atop the memorial.[4] It was gilded in the 1990s, along with lettering and other details on the interior.[6] The stairway consists of 47 steps, one for each day of the siege.[1][4] It is located near the Shirley House on the battlefield, along Jackson Road.[1]
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