vicksburg

(noun) a town in western Mississippi on bluffs above the Mississippi River to the west of Jackson; focus of an important campaign during the American Civil War as the Union fought to control the Mississippi River and so to cut the Confederacy into two halves. Synonyms: Vicksburg.

(noun) a decisive battle in the American Civil War (1863); after being besieged for nearly seven weeks the Confederates surrendered. Synonyms: Vicksburg, siege of Vicksburg.