Duckport Canal

The Duckport Canal was an unsuccessful military venture by Union forces during the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. Ordered built in late March 1863 by Major General Ulysses S. Grant, the canal connected the Mississippi River near Duckport, Louisiana, to New Carthage, Louisiana, using a series of swampy bayous for much of its path. 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 made overland travel difficult. Some 3,500 soldiers of Grant's army dug the canal, which was filled on April 13 with water from the Mississippi River. But trees and low water levels rendered the canal all but impassable, 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, a turning point in the war.

Canal data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).