Historic Vicksburg...Day 9

After bidding a fond farewell to our friend Dane in Memphis, we headed south towards the historic town of Vicksburg, Mississippi. This was quite an unexpected trip back in time that we all truly enjoyed.


The Visitor's Center was a small, gifty affair. But, it was the 16 mile drive that was worth the time. Beautiful markers noted the locations of the many, many men, both Union and Confederate, that were camped here during the 47 day siege. As we made our way along the route, we came to the gunboat USS Cairo that was recovered from the bottom of the Yazoo River and reconstructed. The museum of the gunboat and the artifacts it held for over 100 years while submerged was interesting and educational...not to mention cool!


We had the pleasure of talking to a couple of Civil War reenactors, dressed in period uniforms; incredible costuming and wealth of information, to be sure. The gentleman on the right demonstrated the rather complicated loading of a rifle - he was pretty fast, too. He explained that good soldiers on the battlefield would be able to load and fire three times a minute, all while dodging enemy fire.


More information on the Seige of Vicksburg

We spent way too much time at this fascinating place. Near the end of our visit, the clouds rolled in, along with thunder and lightning. (Sound effects, eh?!) We quickly made our way out of the park and onto the highway heading towards Lucedale, where my beloved mother-in-law was waiting for us. We arrived a little late, but Vicksburg was worth it.