Vicksburg National Battlefield

We came to Vicksburg to visit the Battlefield. President Jefferson Davis knew it was vital

to hold the city for the Confederacy to survive.  President Abraham Lincoln wanted the key to gain control of the river and divide the South. Vicksburg National Military Park commemorates this campaign and its significance as a critical turning point of the Civil War. The battle was waged from May 18 through July 4, 1863.

I sacrificed to take this picture.  When I returned to the car, my left foot was covered with biting bugs.  Not sure what they were, but before I could brush them off they had left hundreds, well maybe 20, bites.  They swelled up and have pus in them.  It has been several days and it is still painful.  So enjoy this picture.

This started a 16 mile drive, through the park, with 15 sites to visit.  We had an audio tape to tell us about the sites along the way.

We saw lots of canons.

Over a thousand memorials, large and 

small.

Statues.

President Jefferson Davis

Of course the battlefield.

A graveyard. 

The small head stones are unidentified soldiers.

A museum. The U.S.S. Cairo Museum

The U.S.S. Cairo was one of seven ironclad gunboats named in honor of towns along the upper Mississippi and Ohio rivers.  These powerful ironclads were formidable vessels, each mounting thirteen big guns (cannon). On them rested in large part, Northern hopes to regain control of the lower Mississippi River and split the Confederacy.

The Cairo became the first ship in history to be sunk by an electrically detonated torpedo. Over the years the gunboat was soon forgotten and her watery grave was slowly covered by a shroud of silt and sand.  Impacted in mud.  Cairo became a time capsule in which her priceless artifacts were preserved.

Some of the artifacts that were discovered.

By studying contemporary documents and maps, Edwin C. Bearss, historian at Vicksburg National Military Park, was able to plot the approximate site of the wreck. In 1956 divers brought up armored port covers to positively confirm the find.  In 1960 the salvage efforts began in earnest.

Canons were found and the pilot house.

The rear of the boat and the iron clad side of the boat.

It was a lovely drive, which had more to see than one day allowed.  The drive was beautiful and fragrant. The honeysuckle and magnolias were in full bloom.