Major General James R. Slack

47th Indiana Volunteer Infantry

Served from 1962 to 1865

General Slack led the regiment at the Battle of Champion Hill, a part of the Battle of Vicksburg in 1863. Vicksburg’s strategic location on the Mississippi River made it a critical win for both the Union and the Confederacy. The Confederate surrender there ensured Union control of the Mississippi River and cleaved the South in two.

Union victory. After a 47-day siege, Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton’s Confederate troops surrendered to Gen.  Ulysses S. Grant. Together with the Union victory at Gettysburg just a day before, Vicksburg marked a turning point in the fortunes of the Union army.