During our 3 day stay here in Vicksburg, Mike and I have visited the original Biedenharn Coca Cola Museum (not to be confused with the one we saw in Monroe, LA), the Lower Mississippi River Valley Museum, The Depot, the old Courthouse Museum and the Vicksburg National Military Park.
If you only have a couple of days in the area, one day must be dedicated to the Vicksburg NMP. If you are interested in the Civil War, you can easily spend more than one day. We were tuckered out at the end of our day. As many of you know, the battle of Vicksburg was a decisive battle in the Civil War as the Confederates eventually lost control of the Mississippi River after losing the battle to the Union.
The battlefield is strewn with 1300 to 1400 monuments, representing the soldiers and their states and the skirmishes which took place there during the 47 day siege. There were markers everywhere, some in red representing the Confederates and the others in Union blue which told of the positions of the troops and described their part in the battle.
There are monuments representing each of the states involved, with a few states ( such as Kentucky)having two monuments as the state was divided. Many of the statues in the park were done by "The Sculptress of Vicksburg":
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| canons in the parking area |
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| the entry arch |
To the right of the domed Illinois monument is the only house that survived the battle area, the Shirley House:
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| standing on the Union line here the canons would be firing at the monument on the far ridge |
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| Illinois monument, the largest in the park |
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| on the floor inside the Illinois monument |
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| Wisconsin |
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| a 14 year old received the Medal of Honor |
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| African American monument |
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| Kansas |
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| New York |
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| close up of part of the Pennsylvania monument |
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| New Hampshire |
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| Ulysses S Grant |
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