(in front of museum) Davis was a West Point graduate, Mexican War
colonel, Mississippi cotton planter, United States Senator, Secretary of
War, and, finally, President of the Confederacy.
As you begin the tour, notice the natural strength of the Confederate
position on the crest of the ridge. The ground drops away to your right
and, several hundred yards across the ravine, rises to a similar and
parallel ridge. From this, the Union Army launched its siege operations
against the Confederate line. Before the siege began, all the trees
between the lines had been cut down by the Confederate engineers to
insure a clear field of fire.