Day 4: The Siege

Vicksburg MS

After breakfast at the hotel, we drove across the street to the Vicksburg National Military Park Visitors' Center and arrived at 8:30, just in time to see the 20-minute video introducing the park and to look at the exhibits. Mom's senior pass got both of us into the park.

We got back in the car to start the 16-mile drive along where the Union and Confederate lines were during the six-week siege of Vicksburg ending on July 4, 1863, when Confederate General Pemberton surrendered his men and the city to Union General Grant. The road winds through the hills with markers and monuments scattered about. Most of the drive is wooded unlike the open area it would have been in 1863. At the northern end of the park, we toured the USS Cairo, an ironclad which was sunk in the Yazoo River north of Vicksburg in December 1862, raised in 1964, and now on display. A knowledgeable park ranger gave us an exclusive 30-minute talk on the history of the ship.

At 10:30, we got back in the car, drove through the military cemetery, and headed south along the Confederate lines, which were protecting the city. After returning to the visitors' center, we drove downtown to the antebellum Old Courthouse, which served Warren County and now is being used as a museum showing many artifacts from life in Vicksburg from its founding and into the 20th century. The most prominent building on the bluffs of the city, this white building with four porticos would have been easily seen by sailors on Union ships sailing on the Mississippi River.

Time for lunch and back in the car. We drove south along Washington Street, Vicksburg's main street with many tourist shops and continued south to the casino area along the river. At 12:30, we stopped at Lady Luck, a small casino with an adequate lunch buffet. There were many slot machines and only a few tables in the gaming area, but we were able to refrain.

On the way back to the hotel, we drove through part of the Confederate lines that are not part of the park property but are dotted with markers and monuments. Here we found monuments to the soldiers of South and North Carolina.

Returning to the hotel at 2:00, we rested a few hours, just missing the afternoon thunder showers that passed through. Beers, appetizers, and a sandwich for supper. Our tablets keep us entertained and then to bed.