Porter's Bombardment of Grand Gulf, c.1863 (engraving)

The Battle of Grand Gulf was fought on April 29, 1863. In the Vicksburg Campaign of Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, Union naval forces under Rear Admiral David D. Porter led 7 ironcalds in an attack on the Confederate fortifications and batteries at Grand Gulf, downriver from Vicksburg, MS. Although Confederates withstood the bombardment and prevented infantry from landing against their fortification, the defeat was only a minor setback to Grant's plan to cross the Mississippi River and advance against Vicksburg. The image shows the ironclads coming under fire and firing towards the embankments rising up on the right. Engraved by J. Rogers.