Now we will take
you for a little tour of the Vicksburg National Battlefield
The Battle of Vicksburg was a battle
fought over the control of the Mississippi at the vicinity of the city
of Vicksburg, Mississippi. When the Union (U.S. Grant) couldn't over
run the defenses at Vicksburg by force, they laid siege to Vicksburg for
six weeks until the Confederate's surrendered.
The above is a representation of
a typical defense works
-
There are many monuments erected
by States who had soldiers in the battle throughout the park, very similar
to the way Gettysburg and other large battlefields have them
-
This is the largest in the park,
it is by the State of Illinois
-
There are many cannon's all throughout
the park. If you look closely you can see the Mississippi between
the spokes of the wheels
-
The Union built this tunnel to
get under a road to avoid gunfire
-
The Union Gunship Cairo was sunk
by the Confederate's and it was raised in the late Sixties and preserved
and put on display in the early Eighties. If it weren't for the sinking,
we would never been able to see an example up close like this
-
A National Cemetery is located
there which holds about 17,000 Union soldiers of which only 4000 are known,
the rest fell in the battlefields of the South and were never identified.
The Confederate's from the battle are buried in a cemetery in the city
itself
-
From the top of the Park you can
get a good view of the Mississippi and the city of Vicksburg (on the right)
-
"Yes I saw the Steven's go by,
they went that a way"
Join us tomorrow as we venture
into Arkansas
RETURN
TO INDEX
