As part of our vacation last summer we spent a couple of nights in Vicksburg, Mississippi which of course is the site of the Siege of Vicksburg during the Civil War. I didn’t really know anything about Vicksburg or the siege or why it was important or really anything at all.
There is all sorts of great information on the Siege of Vicksburg on the web. Vicksburg was important militarily because of its natural forts overlooking the Mississippi River. The Union wanted free mobility up and down the river. So in 1863 General Ulysses S. Grant ringed the city with 75,000 Union troops and hundreds of cannon. The Union Navy had their mortar barges on the river and for 47 days rained hell on the Confederate troops and civilians in Vicksburg.
The Confederates of course defended themselves the best they could but finally surrendered the city on July 4, 1863. Vicksburg did not celebrate July 4 until the 1940’s.
The Vicksburg National Military Park takes up the heart of Vicksburg and even now Vicksburg has the air of an occupied town. The Battlefield is wonderful but there were not that many people there in the heart of the summer.
It’s a very solemn place. During the battle the soldiers were buried here, there, and everywhere and it wasn’t until after the war that they were dug up and re-interred in cemeteries. I’m sure that they missed quite a few.
I had been trying to figure out how to post about Vicksburg. There is too much stuff there for just one post so I am going to several.
These photos show local high school and and college students demonstrating, under the direction of a Park Ranger (above right), the teamwork needed to fire a cannon. It was very interesting. He let us get up close until it came time to fire the cannon and we had to back.
At just a half charge of powder, firing blank, it set the burglar alarms off in the cars in the nearby parking lot and made a ton of smoke. I cannot imagine what dozens of cannons firing together, full charges, would sound like.
NO WAY! It really did set off car alarms? That’s crazy! Why are their heads always down when you take a picture?
An interesting post. Funny how we learn so much history writing and reading blogs.
Terrific, interesting post! Love your photos and the history you’ve included. I agree with Gaelyn, it is amazing how much we can and do learn about so many things — including history by just reading and writing blogs. Proof that we never have to stop learning — unless we choose not to! Have a great day!
Sylvia
thanks alan. It’s a haunting place. did you get to visit the Confederate Cemetery? And when I last visited, there in the middle of the National Cemetery, all the graves decorated with American flags, was one stone with the Confederate battle flag on it. would love to know that story.
I was in Jackson a few years ago and should have made a special trip to Vicksburg. Very interesting! Love your photos.
I was wondering why they kept their heads down too, camera shy..! An interesting post, I visited Old Williamsburg in 1985 and that was very interesting too.
Come on over and see my post on trains and historic Pickering Castle.
I didn’t know the importance of Vicksburg to the union soldiers so found this post very interesting. I guess I can understand why they didn’t celebrate the 4th of July until the 40s!
That must have been an eerie situation with the car alarms going.
Vicksburg took the Civil War pretty hard. These dates are tough. Gettysburg has the bad luck of falling just before the nation’s birthday.
These battlefields….You can feel it.
I traveled through Vicksburg at night on the way to NC, but on the way back it was during the day. I understood how important the spot was when driving over the Mississippi bridge. It is only a half mile across. In most other places its well over a mile across. You can see that it is a choke point for enemy shipping and made it possible for troops, and material from Texas and Arkansas to help in the Eastern war zone. It was a great loss to the South when it fell. Lee lost at Gettysburg and Vicksburg fell on the same day. A real one two punch.
It is interesting that we are generally discouraged from flying the Confederate Stars and Bars. It is now considered a holdover from segregation and racism. While it can be seen that way, it is more a symbol of regional pride for a lot of Southerners.
Growing up in Oklahoma we didn’t learn a whole lot about the civil war. I guess it was not so much a part of our history as for people who live where it was fought.
Historic re-enactments are fun…had to giggle about the car alarms.
Hi Yogi, Thank you for the history lesson – I’ve never been to Vicksburg. I can’t even imagine the noise and smoke! I bet those guys were hot in their uniforms!
I still recall how moved I was at our visit to Gettysburg many years ago. When you walk these grounds and read the history it brings home the horror of war, and in this war we killed our own.
How interesting! Bet the cannon made a lot of noise!
Did you have earplugs?
I bet it was right loud!
I can imagine the BOOM!
Interesting sights from the place.
Years ago we took our kids to Disney World (there were only 2 parks at the time) and planned to spend the night when we went through Vicksburg. Unfortunately we hadn’t made reservations and little did we know that the Miss Mississippi pageant was being held that very night. There wasn’t a hotel room to be had for miles. So we were only able to see a bit of the grounds. So glad your posting about your time there!
Those are great pictures and these places are such a great way to learn history. We missed Vicksburg, but saw our share of Civil War places on our trip east last year. I was amazed at meeting people who make it their life’s goal to visit every single thing about that war, planning every vacation around it. I’m not that into thinking about that sad event every minute, but I think it’s important to learn and (obviously) very important to remember.
Gunners were usually deaf from the noise. I like your well endowed gun detail, they don’t at all like they had been through a siege. Humour aside, it must have rubbed salt into the wound to have Independence Day celebrated on their most terrible loss.
I really appreciated your post.
Interesting post, Yogi. I’ve heard of the Seige of Vicksburg but I didn’t really know what it was about.
are there reenactment for tourist to watch?