Wikipedia article of the day for March 10, 2026

The Wikipedia article of the day for March 10, 2026 is Duckport Canal.
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.