VICKSBURG

(MARCH 7,2018) Today was a day where I stayed put. I got to Vicksburg, Mississippi last night and spent today touring the Vicksburg National Military Park. The only miles today was taking the driving tour around the very large park and driving around historic Downtown Vicksburg.

I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day. I awoke to crystal clear skies and temperatures in the mid-40's and they eventually rose into the mid 50's. The Quality Inn that I am staying at is less than a mile from the park entrance on the other side of Interstate 20. So after a quick breakfast and coffee at the hotel I made the two minute drive to the visitors center.

While I at the visitors center I found out that some of the park roads were closed due to being washed out over the winter.  The park staff was really helpful in marking my map with alternative route which allowed me to see just about everything possible.

I began my tour by driving through the Memorial Arch and continuing down Union Avenue.  Other than Gettysburg, I have never been to a National Battlefield that has more monuments and memorial than Vicksburg.  It would take you the better part of a month to stop and read the thousands of plaques, markers, memorials and monuments.

I took photos of many of the more prominent state monuments but won't go into detail about them here in this blog.  If you want to read about them you can do by clicking here.

As you drive around the battlefield you get on a small indication just what a horrible place this was during the late spring and summer of 1863. This was unlike other battles where the two sides lined up and charged at each other. This was a battle fought in the trenches. Soldiers from both sides fought, lived and died in the trenches. There was no shelter and the horrible sanitary conditions made disease the most common cause of death.

As I drove through the park, the deep trenches were still visible and it wasn't  difficult at all to visualize the death that took place here during the 6-weeks that Vicksburg was under siege.

One of the most prominent and ornate monuments on the battlefield is the Illinois State Memorial.  It sits on a hill next to the Shirley House, which is the only war time structure that remains on the battlefield property.

The Illinois Memorial was dedicated on October 26, 1906. There are 47-steps leading up to the Monument, one for each day of the siege.  Modeled after the Roman Pantheon the interior of the memorial has 6 bronze tablets that list all 36,325 Illinois Soldiers who participated in the Vicksburg Campaign. The monument stands 62-feet tall and was constructed at a total cost of $194,423.

I spend about 3 and a half hours on my driving tour of the battlefield, stopping a many of the state monuments and some of the other more ornate memorial that dot the battlefield. Toward the end of the driving tour I came to a high point that overlooks the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. Last night I got an alert on my phone that the rivers were flooding and wasn't expect to crest until must later in the week.

Looking out from high ground the flooding was obvious as a couple of the roads that run along the rivers were endanger of going under water.  Ever though flooding was taking place the river of commerce was still very active with a number of barges making their way up and down the river.

I made my way down from the high round to the U.S.S. Cairo Exhibit and Museum. The U.S.S. Cairo was one of the first iron clad gunboat built at the beginning of the Civil War.  Named after the City O Cairo, Illinois, she captured the Confederate of Fort Pillow which enabled the Union forces to occupy the City of Memphis and control a large part of the Mississippi River.

On December 12, 1862 the Cairo was sunk while clearing mines near Haines Bluff becoming the first ever ship to be sunk by a mine that was remotely detonated. or almost 100 years the Cairo lay at the bottom of the Yazoo River covered with mud an silt. In 1956 the Cairo was found at the bottom of the river and after several attempt a number of artifacts were recovered in 1960 including one of her 8-inch cannons.

Attempts to raise the ship in one piece failed and she was finally cut into three pieces and raised for her muddy grave. After more than a decade of careful restoration that U.S.S. Cairo was transferred to the United States Park Service for display here at Vicksburg.

A number of artifact from the Cairo are on display inside the U.S.S. Cairo Museum, including the 8-inch cannon that was initially recovered and the ships bell. The Cairo Museum is located adjacent to the Vicksburg National Cemetery.

After spending all morning and early afternoon at the Vicksburg National Military Park, it moved to downtown Vicksburg. One thing I noticed about the downtown area is there are no traffic lights. All of the intersections are controlled by 4-way stop signs.

It was mid-afternoon when I arrived at the Old Courthouse Museum which sits high on a hill over looking the Mississippi River and the historic area.  It was here that the White Flag of Surrender was raised at Old Courthouse. The white surrender flag was later replaced by Old Glory and the siege of Vicksburg was officially over on July 4, 1863

Today, the Old Courthouse is maintained as a museum dedicated not only to the siege of the city and the Confederacy but to the history of the city and its prominent citizens.  The old courtroom is maintained just as it was when cases were heard here.

For the $5.00 admission I got to see the Confederate Flag of the 21st Mississippi which was never surrendered. John Collier was the groups color bearer and her never surrendered the flag and brought it home to Vicksburg.  Also on display is the Tie worn by Jefferson Davis at his inauguration on the steps of the Alabama State Capitol in 1861.

By the time I finished my tour of the Old Courthouse it was late in the afternoon and time for me to head back to the Quality Inn. It was a really good day, with lots of history. Tomorrow its will be time to leave Vicksburg and cross the Mississippi River and head into Louisiana.


TODAY'S MILES:   33
TOTAL MILES:       894

Here is a short Video of my Visit to the Vicksburg National Military Park.