Vicksburg is most famous as the location of a 47 day siege during the American Civil War (May 18 – July 4, 1863). In the decades leading up to the American Civil War, Vicksburg became very affluent from the large number of Delta planters and merchants making considerable profits selling cotton to European and North American textile producers. Vicksburg sits at the southern most tip of the Mississippi Delta, and served as a production and commerce hub for the cotton industry. Cotton was grown most profitably in the Mississippi Delta region. Vicksburg experienced rapid growth during the expansion of the cotton trade in the American South. It was named after Newitt Vick, a Methodist minister. A sprawling community developed which officially incorporated in 1825 as Vicksburg. When the Americans took possession in 1798, they changed the name to Walnut Hills. In 1790 the Spanish founded a military outpost on the site, which they called Fort Nogales (nogales meaning 'walnut trees').
The first Europeans who settled the area were French colonists, who built Fort-Saint-Pierre in 1719 on the high bluffs overlooking the Yazoo River at present-day Redwood.
The area which is now Vicksburg was previously part of the Natchez Native Americans' territory.
