Today was good! No lost earrings; no forgotten hatches; no wasted tours. Easy drive from Birmingham to Vicksburg. Speaking of Birmingham - ate at a really good old fashioned BBQ joint. Once we arrived in Vicksburg arrived at our Motel a bit early, but the Manager checked us in (he was more than a bit uncertain about the computer system and we had to wait and wound up in a 'handicapped' room with 2 doubles instead of the king room we had reserved). Went down to request a change and he not only changed the room, but put us in a room with a fridge w/freezer and a sink and a full sized couch. Yay us!
Then, did not get lost going to the Vicksburg Battle site. Spent 2-3 hours driving through the site. Very informative and got a much better understanding about how the battle/siege took place. The battle siege lasted 47 days, during which time the Union forces constantly shelled the city leaving mostly rubble.
Then, did not get lost going to the Vicksburg Battle site. Spent 2-3 hours driving through the site. Very informative and got a much better understanding about how the battle/siege took place. The battle siege lasted 47 days, during which time the Union forces constantly shelled the city leaving mostly rubble.
A confederate soldier behind the fortifications.
Each of the states that had men at the battle put up monuments to remember the participants. The largest is Illinois - actually lists every soldier from Illinois who was at the battle.
Each confederate state also had a monument - chose Texas just because it was rather 'attractive'.
We forget that part of the battle was fought on the rivers (Mississippi and Yazoo). A union Ironclad - the USS Cairo (pronounced Care-o) was sunk by mines, and was later salvaged and re-built using as much of the original materials as could be dredged.
Tonight ate at a local 'grille' downtown near the river. Not great, but good local color.
Quiz: What river was the 'grille' near? Remember, no using an atlas or other aid.
10/30 - this is a trick question. Everyone knows that Vicksburg is on the Mississippi. Whoops - it was during the Civil War, but during the 1870's and 1880's the river cut a new channel which left Vicksburg high and dry (the river comes back just south of town. During the 1930's a canal was dug connecting the Yazoo north of the city with the Mississippi south of the city - so the correct answer was Yazoo Canal.
Tomorrow, we do some of the Natchez Trace Trail and then back downtown for some picture ops. This being the 'deep south', nothing is open for dinner tomorrow. However, when we checked at the front desk we found out that one of the riverboat casinos has a buffet and of course the casinos don't close.
FYI - yesterday, Harriet made it to state 45 in Alabama; today, Mississippi was state 46; today Mike made it to state 49.
Tomorrow, we do some of the Natchez Trace Trail and then back downtown for some picture ops. This being the 'deep south', nothing is open for dinner tomorrow. However, when we checked at the front desk we found out that one of the riverboat casinos has a buffet and of course the casinos don't close.
FYI - yesterday, Harriet made it to state 45 in Alabama; today, Mississippi was state 46; today Mike made it to state 49.
3 comments:
My geography in general is rubbish, especially of that part of the world. CW will probably give it a better shot than me.
But everything around the river sounded lovely!
So now that I've figured out what state you were in, I'd have to say the Mississippi River?!
It's late, what can I say :-)
Mississippi River is an excellent guess, but incorrect. In 1863 it would have been correct, but in the 1870's the river cut a new path leaving Vicksburg with no river access. In the 1930's a new canal was cut to link the Yazoo River to the Mississippi - so the correct answer is THE YAZOO CANAL.
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