I have been to Gettysburg several times but have always wanted to see Vicksburg, the site of the other Civil War battle that also took place in July of 1863. Together they were considered the turning point of the war. Since I taught four classes a day of American History for 17 years, I felt I had been through the siege of Vicksburg 68 times but have never seen the actual site. This weekend we are in a campground south of Vicksburg and spent the day yesterday touring museums and the battlefield,
We started at the Old Depot Museum, a private restoration of, as you can guess, an old depot. Dave, the man in charge on Saturday, is a retired nuclear engineer from Boston whose hobby is all kinds of models--trains, ships, battles, etc. He made many of the models of 19th and 20th century ships found on both the first and second floor. We had to navigate piles of sandbags to get into the museum; he said they had expected flooding in December, which fortunately didn't materialize, but since they'd had five feet of water on the first floor in 2011, they had completely emptied that level in December and had just finished putting it all back. Some model train displays are not fully restored yet.
The centerpiece of their display is a detailed diorama of the battlefield. It takes up 250 square feet. They also have a 30 minute video about the siege and battle. Outside, along the levee is a wall covered with murals depicting important events in Vicksburg's history. One is of the Sprague paddleboat, built in Dubuque, Iowa.
The centerpiece of their display is a detailed diorama of the battlefield. It takes up 250 square feet. They also have a 30 minute video about the siege and battle. Outside, along the levee is a wall covered with murals depicting important events in Vicksburg's history. One is of the Sprague paddleboat, built in Dubuque, Iowa.
We did lunch at 10 South Rooftop Bar and Grille, a delightful place built on top of an old bank building. Because of the winds, clear shades were in place, detracting from the view of the Mississippi somewhat but the food and service were excellent. Earlier, when we were viewing the levee murals, I had slipped on loose gravel, banging up both knees, and my right wrist, elbow and shoulder. So I was still moaning and groaning when we got on the elevator to leave the restaurant and I got clobbered in the right arm again by the elevator door which decided to close unexpectedly. Hence my own battle scars. The picture was taken before that incident.
The Vicksburg Military Park starts with a nice visitor's center and 20-minute video about the battle. You are provided with a driving tour map of the 16-mile road around the park. All of the states with participating troops have placed monuments at the points where various units fought--about 1300 in all. Iowa had the third largest number of Union troops, next to Illinois and Ohio, so of course I had to get a photo of the main monument. The terrain is filled with ridges and ravines and it is easy to see why trenches became necessary in this era of direct onslaughts. The Union victory came because of the siege of the Confederate army and the city rather than the battle.
We finished our tour with a stop at the USS Cairo--a Union gunboat that has been raised from the river and partially restored--an amazing structure. These gunboats were incredible. Because the models we had seen at the first museum were so varied, I had commented to Dave that it appeared there were no plans--every one was built according to the builder's whims, many just modified older ships. He said that was true, and he has written a book called If It Floats, Put a Cannon on It about the development of the Civil War navies.
Today we will pack up and head west to a place called Poverty Point, an unlikely name for a Native American culture who built earthworks and mounds in Northeast Louisiana between 1650 and 700 BCE. We always like to look at things older than us.
Today we will pack up and head west to a place called Poverty Point, an unlikely name for a Native American culture who built earthworks and mounds in Northeast Louisiana between 1650 and 700 BCE. We always like to look at things older than us.
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