Vicksburg National Military Park

I started this blog to chronicle my motorcycle trips, as well as other adventures, and I've done a poor job of it.  I never finished my blog from August when I rode to Florida, so here goes.

When I arrived in Vicksburg, all I wanted was a couple of beers, a meal, a shower, and a bed.  Not too much to ask, right?  I planned to eat at Cracker Barrel next to my hotel, so the beer would need to pick up a 6-pack somewhere.  I stopped at 2 gas stations where I found nothing other than your run of the mill big brewer 'American' beers, and that just wouldn't do.  I figured I must need to go to a liquor store to get a good beer.  I struck out at the 1st liquor store, and at the 2nd they didn't even carry beer, I asked the owner if there was anywhere in town where I could get a good beer.  In the best Indian accent that I can do on paper, he responds, "What do you mean good beer?"  My response, "You know, craft beer?  Micros? Any good local stuff."  Owner:  "No, we don't have local beers.  You have to go to gas station across the street, and they have plenty of good beer there.  You should try Bud Light Platinum.  It's very good and high in alcohol."  So I went across the street and settled for a 6-pack of Red Stripe.

The next day, I planned to meet up with Cody and Courtney in Shreveport, but not until later in the day.  I made the most of the morning by heading over to Vicksburg National Military Park.  The park, which has been around since 1899, is the site of the Battle of Vicksburg and many other Civil War battles that took place nearly 150 years ago.  The weather was perfect, and I spent about 3 hours touring the park on my Harley before heading to Shreveport. 

 

 

This is the USS Cairo.  It was sunk in 1864 and recovered over 100 years later.  I don't know much about boats, but this boat seems huge for it's day at 175 feet long, 51 feet wide, and weighing 512 tons.

The Vicksburg National Cemetery is a very humbling site.  There are nearly 20,000 graves here, all Union soldiers.  Confederate soldiers were laid to rest at another site in Vicksburg.

The battles around Vicksburg were fought in the trenches.  The photo below shows the remaining signs of trenches that were dug across the hillside.

The photo below that is the same hillside from a different angle.  A fort stood at the top of the hill where the ground is raised.  The Union troops dug into the hillside from either side (valley's in pic) to get within a few feet of the fort.

 

There's an audio tour that can be played via cell phone.  It's a very interesting tour that I would suggest if you find yourself passing through Vicksburg, MS on I-20 and have a couple of hours to spare.