Two Forts Named Ransom

I never knew there were two forts named Ransom. Before the one for whom our county is named there was another - on the Vicksburg battlefield. The Confederates had established a defensive ring around Vicksburg, Mississippi to protect it from General Grant’s Union forces. Whoever controlled Vicksburg controlled the Mississippi River over which Southern forces shipped supplies and kept their war effort alive. The men General Ransom commanded were tasked with attacking the middle of the line, right into the face of the enemy. While it was mostly a stalemate, his force did succeed in pushing forward a bulge or salient that took them closer for sharpshooters to pick away at the Rebels. This bulge needed a name as the thinking went and their respected leader General Ransom received the honor. It was called Fort Ransom. Grant finally called off the attack after deciding he would simply starve them out, which is what happened. The Union then controlled traffic on the Mississippi River.