Vicksburg National Military Park

Vicksburg, which sits high on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River, was the site of one of the most decisive battles in the Civil War. Its surrender on July 4, 1863, divided the South, and gave the North control of the Mississippi River. In 1899, Congress established Vicksburg National Military Park to commemorate its significance in the American Civil War.

The Military Park includes a 16-mile auto tour road, Vicksburg National Cemetery, 1,325 historic monuments and markers, 20 miles of reconstructed trenches and earthworks, an antebellum home, 144 cannon, and the restored Union gunboat-USS Cairo.

We left the Trace in Jackson, Mississippi, and began our trek west on I20. Before crossing the Mississippi River into Louisiana, we made a brief stop at Vicksburg National Military Park. After our customary stop in the Visitor Center and the bagging of yet another collector hat pin, we went outside to watch the cannon demonstration. The soldiers loading the cannon joked that they needed a target and glanced over at Tommy who was wearing a Yankee baseball cap. Apparently, we were the only northerners in the group and we were on enemy territory. It was strange to think of it that way.

After the cannon demonstration, we drove the 16-mile auto drive through the Civil War cemetery and memorials. It was thought provoking to look at the endless lines of white gravestones and to think of how many American lives were wasted during that war.