Battle site to be preserved

A piece of Mississippi history will be preserved with the acquisition of 67 acres of a Civil War battlefield where roughly 1,000 men were killed, wounded or declared missing after fighting in 1863, the Associated Press reports.

The Battle of Raymond was a part of the Union Army's campaign to capture Vicksburg, which it eventually did.

In 2006, the first cannons were placed on the Raymond battlefield and 14 interpretive signs were installed. In 2007, an asphalt path was added and an information kiosk to complete a walking tour of the battlefield, where Confederates were forced to retreat two days before Jackson fell.