Mar 9 - Vicksburg, Mississippi

Bridge over the Mississippi, overlooking the Ameristar Casino

Vicksburg National Military Park

"The National Military Park commemorates the campaign, siege, and defense of Vicksburg. The city’s surrender on July 4, 1863, coupled with the fall of Port Hudson, LA, split the South, giving undisputed control of the Mississippi River to the North. Over 1,330 monuments, a restored Union gunboat, and National Cemetery mark the 16-mile tour road."

http://www.nps.gov/vick/

Illinois Pantheon - dedicated in 1906

"Stone Mountain (GA) granite forms the base and stairway. Above the base is Georgia white marble. There are forty-seven steps in the long stairway, one for each day of the Siege of Vicksburg. Modeled after the Roman Pantheon, the monument has sixty unique bronze tablets lining its interior walls, naming all 36,325 Illinois soldiers who participated in the Vicksburg Campaign. The monument stands sixty-two feet in height, and originally cost $194,423.92, paid by the state of Illinois."

For the last several days of our travels we saw many of these trees in bloom.

Ground covers

Who else, but Ulysses

"145 of the largest and heaviest cast iron tablets and markers (such as the one shown here), which were then melted down and used in the construction of military supplies and equipment [during WWII]"

USS Cairo (pronounced cay-row), pictures of which I managed to delete


Go here http://www.nps.gov/archive/vick/cairo/cairoent.htm to learn all about this ship and its role during the Civil War as well as its amazing discovery in the river and the subsequent raising.

There are over 1300 memorials, markers & plaques. Surprisingly not all states are represented.

Union soldiers are buried here - over 17,000, making this the largest in the States.

Vicksburg, the city sits on the Mississippio river.


















This particular casino has a very nice RV campground with bus service to the casino. Apparently one gets a complimentary breakfast.

The downtown area is being refurbished. I love the ironwork balcony railings.

Unfortunately I didn't take a picture of The Attic Gallery and my only stop in town.

http://atticgallery.blogspot.com/

"Attic owner, Lesley Silver, has operated this treasure trove for close to 30 years & is one of Mississippi's foremost experts on folk art" - Marlo Carter Kirkpatrick - Off The Beaten Path - 2001. An absolutely amazing find. If I had know about this place, I would have saved my gift dollars.

Little did I know that I would visit yet another wonderful place along the Natchez Trace.

A ten minute drive outside the city is Margaret's grocery store, a most amazing assemblage of trailers, block walls. The story is that the Rev. promised his loved one that he would create a wonderful retreat. The drive back was most interesting as we followed a school bus discharging its passengers, some of whom walked to little more than a hovel for a home. At times it seemed that every 10th building was a church.