"Grant's crown of immortality was won, and the jewel that shone most brightly in it was set
there by the blood of the men of Champion Hills ...... Six thousand blue and gray-coated men were lying there in the woods, dead or wounded, when the last gun of Champion Hills was fired.

Major S. H. M. Byers, Fifth Iowa Infantry

Legendary Civil War Historian
Ed Bearss, Passed Away at 97

On September 15th, 2020, Ed Bearss, Historian Emeritus of the National Park Service, passed away at the age of 97. Ed and his wife, Margie, were friends of Champion Hill. In earlier years, they walked and mapped every foot of the pivotal battlefield. Ed was a friend to the many thousands that followed him on his tours of the National Parks and battlefields. The Civil War Preservation Trust dedicated a monument to him on the Champion Hill Battlefield to honor his achievements. on Champion Hill. Ed will always be remembered as the “Pied-Piper” of America’s Civil War history.

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Champion Heritage Foundation to Close

By Rebecca Blackwell Drake

CHAMPION HERITAGE FOUNDATION TO CLOSE: For the past 20 years, Sid Champion and Jim and Rebecca Drake, have spearheaded the Champion Heritage Foundation’s bi-yearly events held on the Champion Hill battlefield east of Vicksburg. Since 2005, the foundation has placed 9 historic markers on the Champion’s portion of the battlefield and, the last one (#10 “The Burial Trenches”) is in the making. The foundation’s two decades-long passion for battlefield interpretation & preservation have, without doubt, been fulfilling – especially in terms of research.

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VNMP Acquires Champion Hill Battlefield Property

By Rebecca Blackwell Drake

    On July 2, a crowd gathered on the grounds of Champion Hill Missionary Baptist Church for an official announcement regarding the newly acquired battlefield acreage at Champion Hill. The Mississippi Department of Archives and History was proud to make public the transfer of 800 acres of Champion Hill battlefield property to the Vicksburg National Military Park. The 800 acres includes land along the historic Old Jackson Road in the heart of the battlefield. The land transfer is the largest expansion of the VNMP since it was established in 1899.
    Plans are in the making for the Vicksburg National Military Park to develop the battlefields at Champion Hill and Raymond. Both would be an extension of the VNMP.

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Monument Unveiled
Honoring Edwin C. Bearss

    On May 3, 2019, a large crowd of friends and Civil War enthusiasts, including a tour group with the American Battlefield Trust, gathered at the crossroads on the Champion Hill battlefield for the unveiling of a large monument honoring Edwin C. Bearss. Ed holds the reputation as being the nation’s leading Civil War historian who, in earlier years, began the mission of preserving the Champion Hill Battlefield located 25 miles east of Vicksburg.

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Cockrell's Counter Attack

Historic Marker Placed

     The new historic marker, “Cockrell’s Counterattack” has been placed on the Old Jackson Road between the Cross-roads and the Hill of Death. To date the Champion Heritage Foundation has placed ten historic markers on the battlefield.

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 Bowen's Counter Attack

Historic Marker Placed

     The new historic marker, “Bowen’s Counterattack” has been permanently placed at the Crossroads within sight of the 2013 marker, “The Fight for the Crossroads.” To date the Champion Heritage Foundation has placed nine historic markers on the battlefield.

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"The Hill of Death"
Historic Marker

"THE HILL OF DEATH" read by
Edwin C. Bearss, Historian Emeritus, National Park Service