The Duckport Canal was constructed 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 stretched from the Mississippi River near Duckport, Louisiana, to New Carthage, Louisiana, and utilized a series of bayous for much of its path. It was intended to provide a water-based supply route for a southward movement against Confederate-held Vicksburg, Mississippi (area map shown), as high water levels made overland travel difficult. The digging was done by 3,500 soldiers from Grant's army and was finished on April 12. The next day, the levee separating the canal cut and the river was breached, and water flowed into the canal. Trees in the bayous and water levels as low as 6 inches (15 cm) hampered the use of the canal, and the project was abandoned on May 4. Only one vessel ever passed from the river to New Carthage through the canal. After a lengthy siege, Vicksburg surrendered on July 4. ( Full article... )
March 10 : Harriet Tubman Day in some parts of the United States
| | The plumed whistling duck (Dendrocygna eytoni), is a species of bird in the whistling duck subfamily of the family Anatidae. It is resident and breeds in Australia, in a broad arc covering the northern half and most of the eastern third of the continent. There are also non-breeding and seasonally uncertain populations in New Zealand, the Solomon Islands, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. It is a predominantly brown-coloured duck with a long neck and characteristic plumes arising from its flanks. The sexes are similar in appearance. This plumed whistling duck was photographed in Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, Australia. Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp Recently featured: |