As we were driving home for our visit with Thad and Kim, we saw signs for Vicksburg, Mississippi, a well-known Civil War battle site. Erick and I decided it was a good time for a quick break from driving, so we decided to check out the national park and see if we could get a few stamps in our book, Passport to your National Parks. We first stopped at a rest stop just off the freeway. There were some amazing views of the river.
Next we went over to the actual national park. It is called Vicksburg National Military Park. We soon learned that this park was not someplace for a quick look. It is huge! It includes over 1,300 historic monuments, a farm home, a restored iron-clad boat, a national cemetery, and 16-mile driving tour.
We had a long day of driving ahead of us, so we did our best to take the condensed version of the tour.
Here is a quick blurb about Vicksburg from www.nationalparks.org:
Vicksburg National Military Park was established by Congress on February 21, 1899, to commemorate one of the most decisive battles of the American Civil War, the campaign, siege and defense of Vicksburg.
The Vicksburg campaign was waged from March 29 to July 4, 1863. It included battles in west-central Mississippi at Port Gibson, Raymond, Jackson, Champion Hill, Big Black River and 47 days of Union siege operations against Confederate forces defending the city of Vicksburg. Located high on the bluffs, Vicksburg was a fortress guarding the Mississippi River. It was known as "The Gibraltar of the Confederacy." Its surrender on July 4, 1863, coupled with the fall of Port Hudson, Louisiana, divided the South, and gave the North undisputed control of the Mississippi River.
The kids liked the iron-clad boat the best. It is called the Cairo, and it was brought up from the depths of the Mississippi.
Here is a quick blurb about the Cairo from www.nps.gov:
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 in two.
, was rash and ambitious, a stern disciplinarian, but an aggressive and promising young officer. On the cold morning of December 12, 1862, the Cairo's skipper, Lt. Commander Thomas O. Selfridge, Jr. led a small flotilla up the Yazoo River, north of Vicksburg, to destroy Confederate batteries and clear the channel of torpedoes (underwater mines). As the Cairo reached a point seven miles north of Vicksburg the flotilla came under fire and Selfridge ordered the guns to ready. As the gunboat turned towards shore disaster struck. The Cairo was rocked by two explosions in quick succession which tore gaping holes in the ship's hull. Within twelve minutes the ironclad sank into six (6) fathoms (36 feet) of water without any loss of life. 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. - www.nps.gov
My favorite part was (and always is) the national cemetery. The kids didn't join me in the cemetery. They were tired, and we had run out of time for our visit. But Erick encouraged me to take a quick walk through it. It was so peaceful and beautiful. And sad.
I loved seeing the Mississippi River peek out from behind the trees beyond the cemetery.
