Grand Gulf Military Park

March 24th we drove all the way, 30 some miles, to Grand Gulf Military Park, still in Mississippi. Weather was nice, not too hot, the fans in our trailer did just fine. This is a park on what used to be Fort Wade. On his way to capture Vicksburg, Grant kinda shot this place up. But one mile farther up stream, he could not get past Fort Coburn. Now keep in mind these are not forts like you might think of a fort, these are places were cannons were set up and were reinforcements to protect an area. The rifle pits were hand dug by the men preparing their defense. These mounds are 150 years old now and still would be useful if needed.

There was a town, Grand Gulf, that lay between these two forts, it is gone completely and was not much of a town at war time. It had been thriving, but the Mississippi River had destroyed over 50 blocks of what was a thriving community.

Anyway when Grant was repulsed at this point in 1863, he just marched his men a little farther down river and headed for Vicksburg.

An old flour mill, just happens to have a dogwood tree.

Mortar left on site.

Old Spanish house. Remember they were here before us.

The Yankees are coming!

The sign tells it all.

Much larger than you might imagine.

Hard to believe these were had dug.

These truly were the "pits."

What story would be complete without pictures of Grand Gulf. By the way, Shirley decided to take a morning run to this town. Alligators drove her back. All the water you see in the background is swamp and the Mississippi.

Probably the only remaining building of Grand Gulf.

A shot of Fort Coburn

The ironclads got caught in the current and just turned around and around.

Modern day Grand Gulf, a fishing camp.

Complete with all the misquotes you could ever want. 

See, I did not make this up.

See Ya! Barry and Shirley

Return to the Battlefield of Vicksburg

We have been in an area with no phone reception and therefore no WiFi, so we are a little behind with our blog. So to catch up a little:

On the 22nd we drove to Jackson, MS the capital of the state. Typical big city but as with each city so far we felt it is in a definite economic decline. We toured the governors mansion, not much to say about this except California does not even have one. In reality it is a beautiful old building restored with original furnishings and is the third oldest governors mansion in the US. One of the few old buildings we have visited that does not claim that Grant slept here.

Please note the flag.

We had a free day on the 23rd, so Shirley and I packed a small lunch and headed back to the Vicksburg Battlefield. Remember all the cold weather we had early in the caravan, well it's well into the 80's now!

An example of the fortifications the Union had to cross.

This may be one of my ancestors I'll have to look him up.

An old house called the "Shirley" house is the only home still standing at the battle site.

Some of the statues are the best of any battlefield.

Another example of the statues.

Because of my parents being from Arkansas, had to photograph this one.

From here we left the next day for Grand Gulf, MS. My black truck is yellow due to all the pollen caked up on it. I washed it the night before we left, by next morning I could not have proved it had ever been washed. Consequently the pollen is causing havoc with everyone's allergies.

See Ya! Barry and Shirley

The Old Court House, Vicksburg,MS

On the 21st. we visited the Old Court House that was in use during the Civil War days. Built in 1858 it was relatively new when it got all shot up. It was the tallest building in town during the war and to keep it from being shot all to pieces they placed Union prisoners inside and it seemed to do the trick.

We had a speaker who told us Vicksburg did not want to secede. I guess the devil made them do it. Anyway it was interesting and we bought a book, Little Black Sambo, sure don't see that one every day anymore.

Lunch was at the Walnut Hills restaurant which was in the "best" part of town then. We had the usual, fried chicken, etc. but dessert was bread pudding. Something a little different.

The afternoon was spent looking at murals downtown. The "downtown" is another city that looks like it has fallen upon hard times. Lots of vacant buildings and little shops that look as if time as passed them by.

Dinner was aboard a tour boat, we provided our own food; crackers, cheese, etc. but it was fun. Just our group onboard and we got to see the sunset on the Mississippi. The river is currently 1.5 feet below flood stage and is expected to start flooding any day now. Where we would have parked our cars is already under water.

The compulsory sign.

Our Dogwood girl.

Gee is that Dogwood?

You get any closer and I'll shoot!

Up here honey.

Our trusty vessel.

Why not that one?

There were over 40 murals that depicted early Vicksburg.

In some ways it has not changed a whole lot.

All aboard.

Click on this one, some if these depths are awesome.

See, the trees are already under water.

Vicksburg from the Yazoo.

Sunset on the Mississippi.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, this is one long blog.

See Ya! Barry and Shirley

Antebellum homes in Vicksburn, MS

On the 20th after seeing the melodrama, Gold in the Hills or The Dead Sister's Secret, we had a morning off but gathered at 1 p.m. to tour some homes. I'm sure this was to keep the ladies in our caravan interested.

It was interesting to see these old homes and it was interesting that they are all now B and B's which seems to be the only way to support them. All were naturally owned by the very rich and they all owned slaves. Also, all of the houses received damage during the siege of Vicksburg.

The Duff Green house. 

These houses served as hospitals, schools, orphanages, or military headquarters during and after the war. 

Shirley loves Dogwood.

Jefferson Davis gave a speech here at the Anchuca in 1890. I too had a few words to say.

So happy not to be slaves.

Ceder Grove was the only house that displays some of it's damage.

Cannon ball still imbedded in the wall.

Cannon ball crashed through the floor taking out the floor joist.

Four more states to go.

By evening we had a GAM (get acquainted meeting) and named our dancing chicken and celebrated putting the Mississippi sticker on our map.

See Ya! Barry and Shirley

Vicksburg, MS

March 19th, we made it to Vicksburg. Sunny, warm and clear skies. First thing was laundry. We found one not too far, but the expense was great for laundry and you feel a little ripped-off. Have to purchase a card from a machine and the amount never equals the amount needed in the machines so therefore you have unused amounts leftover on your card.

We are parked at a casino RV park so dinner was a buffet and all you could eat. Some of our folks can really pack it away!

I knew this was bound to happen, we are seeing more than we can absorb. This was a really big deal in the war. Below are some photo's taken during a three hour guided tour of the battlefield. Actually the whole town and the river were battlefields, but the ground guys were mostly here. So much was shown to us Shirley and I are going to return on our own Tuesday to do it on our own.

To give you an idea of what a big deal this was the siege of Vicksburg lasted for 46 days.

The Illinois Memorial 

Another view of the Illinois Memorial.

The Rotunda of the Illinois Memorial

We have heard how the ironclads played such a roll in the war and finally got to see one.

The Cairo pronounced K-Ro was sunk Dec. 12, 1862. The first vessel ever sunk by an electrically detonated torpedo.

The boat was salvaged from the Mississippi after being submerged  over 100 years.

Our group overlooking an area so littered with bodies a truce was called so the dead and wounded could be removed before battle resumed.

By the second evening we had had it with battles so the group attended a melodrama that has gone on for 75 years. Next day we were refreshed and ready to continue.




See Ya! Barry and Shirley