Grant's Canal was located near Delta, Louisiana. Ulysses S. Grant ordered the project, started on June 27, 1862, with two goals in mind. The first was to alter the course of the Mississippi River in order to bypass the Confederate guns at Vicksburg, Mississippi. For various technical reasons the project failed to meet this goal. The river did change course by itself on April 26, 1876. But the project did meet its second goal, keeping troops occupied during the laborious maneuvering required to begin the Battle of Vicksburg.