Duckport Canal
It was intended to provide a water-based supply route for a southward movement against the Confederate-held city of Vicksburg, Mississippi, as high water levels made overland travel difficult.
Trees that had grown up in the bayous and falling water levels that reached as shallow as 6 inches (15 cm) at one point hampered the use of the canal, and the project was abandoned on May 4.
Grant moved men and supplies through the overland route, which had been made more accessible by the same falling water levels that doomed the canal.
After some inland maneuvering and a lengthy siege, Vicksburg surrendered on July 4, marking a significant turning point in the war.
A key component of the Anaconda Plan was controlling the Mississippi River, which would cut the Confederacy in two as well as provide an outlet for American goods to be exported.
[6] Union infantry began construction on what became known as Grant's Canal in hopes of creating a waterway that would bypass Vicksburg, but the project was abandoned in late July.
[7] In August, Confederate troops occupied and fortified a second point on the Mississippi River at Port Hudson, Louisiana, 130 miles (210 km) south of Vicksburg.
Another prong led by Major General William T. Sherman traveled down the Mississippi River closer to Vicksburg before attacking, but was repulsed at the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou.
[12] This canal was delayed by flooding after the levee separating the Mississippi River and the lake was breached, and was eventually abandoned in late March, as Grant shifted his focus to other plans;[13] it had also seen difficulties with trees blocking the channel.
[22] Engineer David F. Bastian states that the length of the cut was 0.5 miles (0.8 km),[29] and Winters and Jones give a distance of 300 yards (270 m).
[36] After the levee was cut, Pride estimated that only four more days of work were needed,[40] although it was noted that the water in the bayous was rising slower than expected.
[41] When the transport Silver Wave entered the lower end of Bayou Vidal on April 18 to scout the pathway, she was unable to do so due to low water and trees.
[28] The falling waters that had hampered the canal also opened up the overland route, allowing Grant to use it on a larger scale to bring men and supplies to New Carthage.
[44] The Union Navy had also determined that ships could pass the Vicksburg batteries with little risk of major hull damage by hugging the Mississippi shore of the river.
[45] On April 30, Grant landed troops on the Vicksburg side of the Mississippi, downriver from the city and the Confederate position at Grand Gulf.
Turning west,[48] Grant's army defeated the Confederates at the battles of Champion Hill and Big Black River Bridge,[49] and the Siege of Vicksburg began on May 18.
