Vicksburg Battlefield

We originally planned to have 4 days to look around Vicksburg and take in all of it's rich history. We didn't plan on Jim getting an "intestinal bug"! Our first day was spent close to home and only Karen made a trip into Vicksburg to find a drug store.

Finally on Monday, Jim was feeling good enough to go to the battlefield. We saw lots of blooming magnolia trees on the way there.

The battle and the siege of Vicksburg took place in 1863. The town is on the Mississippi River, and the army who controlled the river had a major advantage. It was a bloody battle lasting about 6 weeks. Grant's victory was a severe blow to the Confederacy.

The battlefield tour is about sixteen miles long. The road winds up and down the hills near the Mississippi River. Numerous monuments mark the various encampments of the troops from different states. Illinois sent some 35,000 troops and many monuments mark skirmishes they were involved in. Signs noting Union trenches as well as Confederate trenches line the hills.

Cannon lines were along the ridges. In the places where trees have been cleared, it was easy to get a sense of what the cannons were aiming at. Most of the park is heavily overgrown with trees. The National Park Service currently has a project to try and clear some of the areas to return them to the cleared condition they were in during the battle.

Near the end of the tour, we visited the US National cemetery where many of the graves are from the Civil War. A large number of the graves are of unknown identity. Also near the end is the US Cairo Museum. The US Cairo is a wooden Union gunboat that was sunk by the Confederates. It was recovered in 1964 and has been reassembled for display at the museum. The gaping hole the Confederates blew in the bow is quite apparent. It was interesting to learn about the Navy operations during the war.

16 miles of monuments and battle history was quite enough for one day! We hope to see more of Vicksburg tomorrow