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VICKSBURG
THE CITY ON THE WALNUT HILLS
By H. F. SIMRALL
Vicksburg has no colonial traditions.
The Walnut Hills on which it stands,
near the northern margin of that portion of
Mississippi which was successively under the
sway of France, Great Britain and Spain,
could not be settled and improved until long
after the region about Natchez. The city is,
in fact, of modern origin. The county of
Warren was not organized until 1809, and
Vicksburg had no real existence until it became
in 1836, second after Warrenton, the
county-seat.
To understand the late origin of the town, one should study the colonial history of Mississippi. By the discovery and exploration of the Mississippi in 1680-82, France claimed all the territory drained by the river and its affluents
