Thursday, June 12,2008
It is going to be a very hot and humid day here again today, but we decided to venture out to see the sights.
This morning we decided to go to the Vicksburg National Military Park. This is where the battle for Vicksburg took place for 47 days in 1863. The battlefield is covered in trees since then so you have to imagine open field with the North and the South fighting eachother across the open fields that were on the banks of the Mississippi. It takes about 2 hours to drive thruogh the park and visit all the stops along the way. We had a CD that was a self guided tour that was a huge help.
In the park is a meuseum there that contains the remains of the gunboat Cairo. It was one of seven city class ships named in honor of towns along the upper Mississippi. These powerful ironclads were formidable vessels, each mounting thirteen big guns. On tghem rested, in large part, Northern hopes to regain control of the lower Mississippi River and split the Confederacy in two.
As the gun boats passed Vicksburg in the night disaster struck the Cairo, she was rocked by two explosion which tore holes inn the ship's hull. She sank in twelve minutes and was the first ship in history to bge sunk by and electrically detonated torpedo. All on board survived. The smoke stacks were cut down so that the South would not know just where she sank and there she lay in the mud until 1956 when efforts were made to raise her and reveal her treasure of weapons, munitions, an array of naval stores, and the personal gear of the dailors who served on boad were recovered.
Also in the park there is a National Cemetery that contains the remains of 17,000 Federal soldiers and sailors, not all casualties of the Vicksburg Campaign. Only 4,000 are identified; the remainder are unknown. Upright gravestones are used to former, while small blocks of stone are used to indicate the latter.
Confederate dead from the Vicksburg Campaign are buried in the Vicksburg City Cemetery. There are approximately 5,000 Confederates intered there, of which 1,600 are identified. We also found the grave of Douglas... old Douglas was the faithful, patient" camel of the 43rd Infantry Vols. CSA.
From here we went to the Walnut Hill for llunch of fried chicken with all the southern fixin's. It was the best fired chicken that I have ever had!!
We did some more touring around town and down by the river where there are murels painted along the walk depicting the history of Vicksburg.
That is about all for today. Check in later and I will add some photos. Until then.
Love and Miss you all (that's y'all).
Candy and Johnny
