The three exhausted, limping figures frozen in time atop Vicksburg National Military Park’s African-American Monument as they, with determination, carry an injured comrade will soon have a new, stronger footing.

A construction crew was working Tuesday to replace and seal the slate base of the monument on Grant Avenue inside the park.

“They replaced it completely because the old tile was just not holding up,” said Jim Jacobs, chief of maintenance for the military park.

The slate base of the monument was put in place in before the statue of three African-Americans — two soldiers and a common field hand — was unveiled in February 2004

“It was just very fragile and we had some water issues. Water got underneath it and it made it pop out when we had some freezing,” Jacobs said.

The new slate is stronger than the original material, Jacobs said, and will be sealed to prevent water from getting under the tiles.

“We want to discourage people from walking on it but know that will be difficult,” Jacobs said.

Repair work is expected to be completed by the end of the month, according to park officials.

“It all depends on the weather. Their needs to be a little bit of time between the water proofing coatings,” Jacobs said.

The statue designed by Brookhaven artist and physician Ken Sessums is the only monument in a national park honoring African-American troops who fought for the Union during the Civil War.

Approximately 25,000 formerly enslaved men from Mississippi joined the Union fight during the war, VNMP ranger Dr. David Slay has said. About 7,000 veterans of the U.S. Colored Troops are buried in Vicksburg National Cemetery.

One group formed in Vicksburg was the 3rd U.S. Colored Calvary, a predecessor to the more famous Buffalo Soldiers.

Nationwide, by 1865, more than 178,000 black soldiers joined the Union Army and about 18,000 set off with the Navy.