From the abandoned general store in the extinct town of Grand Gulf, Mississippi, a narrow road meanders up the steep bluff bordering the Mississippi River floodplain and, after journeying almost 50 miles, terminates at the picturesque town of Raymond, Mississippi. This scenic and historic trace, despite its significance in American history and its remarkable state of preservation, is little known and sparsely traveled today.
This country road of today was a main thoroughfare in the early nineteenth century, and it served as Major General U. S. Grant's main supply route (MSR) during the Vicksburg Campaign. Contrary to the popular myth that Grant cut loose from his base when he moved toward Vicksburg to combat Lieutenant General John Pemberton's Confederate army in the spring of 1863, Grant established and maintained an MSR in Mississippi.
On April 29 and 30, 1863, Grant successfully crossed the Mississippi River at Bruinsburg, Mississippi in his quest for "footing upon dry ground on the east side of the river from which the troops could operate against Vicksburg." On May 1, his troops defeated a much smaller Confederate force just west of Port Gibson, and on May 3, Grant forced the evacuation of the Confederate fortifications at Grand Gulf. Immediately the river fortress of Grand Gulf became a beehive of Federal activity, and Grant's first objective after crossing the Mississippi had been achieved. He reported, "I went to Grand Gulf myself, and made the necessary arrangements for changing my base of supplies from Bruinsburg to Grand Gulf."
