Vicksburg

Sandy and I saw this beautiful full moon when we walked this morning.

Our site:  C8.  It is not quite long enough for the entire rig so we will have to hook up before we leave Friday morning.

Old Vicksburg.

Our first stop was the Coca-cola museum.  Coke had already been invented but it was used at soda fountains. It wasn't available to be purchased by the general public.  A man named "Biedenbarn" got the idea to bottle it.  Up until then it was in syrup form.  He decided to add carbonation to the syrup and then bottle it.  Below is the humble process he used.

An old soda fountain.

Our next stop was the Lower Mississippi River Museum.

Part of the museum was being able to tour this paddleboat that had been used by the Army Corps of Engineers to be on the Mississippi River to help study the river for ways to prevent floods.

Carol pretending to pilot the boat.

We ate lunch at a place called "The Tomato Place."  If you were to drive by this place, you would think you were passing a vegetable/fruit stand.  The restaurant is in the back of the vegetable/fruit stand.

It is real down home sort of place..  As we were ordering, a man sitting at a table asked where we were from and what we had seen in Vicksburg so far.  I told him and said we were going to the military park after lunch.  He told that we needed to go to the Old Courthouse Museum.  It would tell us the Confederate side of the story.  The military park tells the Federal part but we need to get both sides.  I think he must be Confederate down to his toes.

When you walk into the fruit stand, you see these double doors.  It is not your usual entrance doors.

 Our lunch:  Fresh sliced french fried and Green Tomato BLT.  Ummm Good!

Both of us had the fried green tomato BLT with homemade fries.  Both were delicious.

Both the North and South military leaders realized that controlling the Mississippi River was essential to their side.  The South dug in at Vicksburg and defended Vicksburg.  The North tried to toss them in the river but could not.  Instead the battle turned into a siege which would give the control of the river to the North.

This park has 1300 memorials/monuments.  This is the Illinois Monument.  It is massive.  Inside are the names of every Illinois soldier who served at Vicksburg.

The battlefield in the first few days of the battle.  After the Union forces were repulsed several times, General Grant made the decision to starve them out and began the siege.

This was a 14-year-old boy who became one of the youngest recipients of the Medal of Honor.

During the Civil War the Union used ironclad warships to patrol the rivers.  One of these was the USS Cairo.  It was sank in the Mississippi River when it hit a mine.  It sank in 12 minutes with no loss of life.  In 1965 the Cairo was located and after several years, was brought to the surface.  This museum contains parts of the Cairo and artifacts from the Cairo.

Original timbers are be seen and the cannons are original.

The bell from the Cairo.

The entrance to the road that tours the park.

It was a beautiful day to be at the military park.  The sun was shining and the sky blue.  It was cool but pleasant when we would walk around the battlefield.

We only have one more day to be here in this area.  I think we are going to Natchez and drive more of the Trace.