Thursday, October 23 ~ Friday, November 7, 2014
We arrived today in Vicksburg, Mississippi. While here we're staying at the Ameristar RV Park (down the road from the casino), close to the downtown area.
Casino RV Parks are usually very nice as well as reasonable. Ameristar is no exception. The lots are plenty long and fairly wide.
We are looking forward to exploring this city which is so rich in history and culture. Vicksburg is home to a National Park Battlefield, museums, and antebellum homes. We were last in Vicksburg in December, 2012; we were here long enough to explore the battlefield; we're looking forward to exploring it in more depth this time around...
Vicksburg National Military Park...
The largest and most complex campaign of the Civil War was fought in Vicksburg. From the start of the War, control of the Mississippi south of Cairo, Illinois, was vitally important to the Federal Government. Controlling it would let Union troops and supplies pass into the South. It would isolate Texas, Arkansas, and most of Louisiana ~ a region crucial to the South for supplies and recruits. To protect this lifeline, the Confederates built fortifications at strategic river points. But Federal naval and military forces fought southward from Illinois and northward from the Gulf of Mexico, capturing post after post. By late summer 1862, only Vicksburg and Port Hudson, Louisiana blocked Union control of the Mississippi. Vicksburg was the stronger and more important post.
After three unsuccessful attempts to take the city, Major General Ulysses S. Grant decided to "out-camp" the Confederates. He began a formal siege of Vicksburg. He set up artillery batteries to hammer the Confederate fortifications from the land side, while Admiral David D. Porter's gunboats blasted the city from the river. During this time, to escape the relentless shelling from the Federal artillery, many of the citizens of Vicksburg took refuge in caves which they dug into the hillsides. Single family caves had one or two rooms; others were huge and said to have accommodated 200 people. To avoid entrapment and induce air circulation, caves often had several entrances. Cooking took place outside the entrances. Amenities were preserved with the use of carpets, furnishings and wall niches for books, candles, and flowers. Because of the widespread use of caves, only a very small number of Vicksburg residents were killed or wounded during the 47 days of the siege.
Without adequate supplies of food and ammunition, on July 3 after 46 days of siege, General Pemberton met with General Grant to discuss the terms of surrender. On July 4 1863, in the morning, Vicksburg was officially surrendered. Port Hudson surrendered five days later.
Sights from the Battlefield...
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| entrance to the Park |
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| example of a fortification |
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| as we wound through the park we crossed the Union Lines, then the Confederate Lines and back to the Union Lines. at times the fighting was so close, they resorted to hand-to-hand combat |
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| numerous monuments were built to honor those who fought on both sides; the living as well as the dead |
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| one of the many memorials to the soldiers of Illinois. the stairway leading up to the entrance of the memorial consists of 47 steps representing each day of the Siege of Vicksburg. the monument was open for all to enter |
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| on the floor inside the monument |
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| the walls were lined with the names of those who lived & and died while fighting this battle |
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| the Shirley House. June, 1863. the hillside to the right had been completely transformed into a vast network of dugouts known as"shebangs." they helped to protect the Union soldiers from the summer heat as well as Confederate guns. when the siege ended, it served the Union army as a smallpox quarantine hospital. the Shirley House is the only remaining wartime building inside the military park. |
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| "shebangs" |
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| "shebangs" |
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| one of the many Ohio monuments |
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| all ages fought in this war |
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| monument to the Colored Troops who fought |
the following three photos are in the area where General Grants headquarters were located...
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| monuments are all along the road throughout the park |
The USS Cairo (Kay-row), named after Cairo, Illinois was the first ship in history to be sunk by an electrically detonated torpedo. She sank in twelve minutes, without any loss of life, on December 12 1862 on the Yazoo river, seven miles north of Vicksburg. The wreckage of the Cairo was lifted out of 36 feet of water and partially reconstructed. She now rests in the National Park, near the National Cemetery...
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| replica of the Cairo as she once looked |
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| view of the ship from outside. the covering is to protect her from the hot sun |
Visitors are able to walk on part of the ship...
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| original wood |
Across the street from the Cairo Museum (still within the National Park) lies Vicksburg National Cemetery. Of the nearly 17,000 Union soldiers buried here, about 13,000 are unknown. Many Confederates who died during the siege are buried in Vicksburg's Cedar Hill Cemetery.
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| photo was taken as we were leaving the cemetery |
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| Mississippi River in the background |
We continued our drive through the park and crossed the Confederate Line...
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| Fort Hill. this fort which anchored the northern flank of the Confederate lines, was so formidable that no Union attack was ever made against it. Confederate gunners posted here helped the river batteries sink the Federal gunboat Cincinnati on May 27, 1863 |
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| Missouri Monument |
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| Arkansas Monument |
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| Texas Monument |
Reminders of the Civil War can be found not only on the battlefield, but in the downtown area as well...
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| General Pemberton's Headquarters (downtown Vicksburg). |
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| side view of Pemberton's Headquarters |
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| Balfour House (located right next to Pemberton's Headquarters). |
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| Christ Episcopal Church. services continued to be held during the siege. during the siege all of the stained glass windows, with the exception of the window depicting the resurrection, were blown out by heavy artillary |
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| signs such as this one dot the landscape throughout the downtown area |
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| these murals, located downtown along the riverfront, tell the story of Vicksburg's history |
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| picture of the steamer Sultana |
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| located in the park across from the murals |
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| Soldiers Rest Cemetery is located within Cedar Hill Cemetery |
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| Confederate monument erected to honor the Confederate dead |
For the rest of the war Vicksburg was an occupied city and regional base for Federal Operations. Vicksburg was also a prisoner-of-war exchange point.
Vicksburg's citizens suffered the ignominy of living in an occupied city from July 1863 through Reconstruction. Civil liberties were suspended and 5,000 United States Colored Troops patrolled the streets. Loyalty oaths were required of the towns-people, or they could be arrested or banished. Plantations of persons declared to be an "enemy of the government" were confiscated and leased to carpetbaggers seeking fortunes in cotton speculation.
Mississippi would be readmitted to the Union in February 1870, but Federal troops occupied the city until 1877 when President Rutherford B. Hayes removed them.
Thousands of blacks poured into Vicksburg to exercise their new freedom. Many enlisted in the Union army. Skilled artisans among them set up businesses or hired out to rebuild siege-damaged parts of the city. The Freedman's Bureau opened schools to teach blacks of all ages how to read and write. Some blacks opened churches or banks, or even entered politics. Many of these freedoms were restricted or taken away when white rule returned at the end of Reconstruction. However, the occupation of Vicksburg was so successful that it became the model for reconstruction after the war.
Til next time,
Dawn, Ron & Cooper
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