Day 89 - Vicksburg Battlefield

The National Battlefield Park in Vicksburg is amazing.   It has a nine mile drive marked with hundreds of battle information, statues, and plaques.   It is a very peaceful and beautiful drive.

It is hard to picture the sounds of war raging throughout the area.

The Union Army had quite a task ahead, open areas and long hill climbs to fortified Confederate positions.

The Union Army dug in at the base and fired uphill.

This house was restored, it is the only remaining home from the period.   The Union Army used it as a hospital.

Every State has a Monument to their fallen.

The Confederate's view of the battlefields are very different.  Up high atop the hills, very defensible. 

The Mississippi far below.

The Union Army sent their Iron Clads, nine of them down river.

This one was raised from the bottom and partially restored.

Leading the fleet of Iron Clads and Paddlewheels full of supplies, it hit a mine.

It sank in twelve minutes.

After several failed attempts to storm the Confederate hilltop positions and the loss of thousands of Union soldiers, General Grant changed his strategy.    With the Iron Clads command of the river and the hill surrounded Grant dug trenches and waited.   With their supplies cut off and constant shelling from below, the Confederate Army had little choice but to surrender.  By the time they did, the animals of Vicksburg were gone, horses, cats, dogs..... the men were sick, wounded, depressed, and down to eating their shoe leather to survive.   After surrender Grant realized feeding and caring for the then 30,000 Confederate troops and transporting them North to prison would be a huge task.  Instead, he pardoned them.   Relieved them of their weapons, and sent them on their way back home. He assumed that in their condition they would not pose a threat anymore.

17,000 gravesite line the acres here.  14,000 are marked "Unknown".   Very sad to think of the families that raised a boy to the age of 13, 14, 15, 16, to see him go off to war and never hear from him again.   To not ever know if he suffered, where he died, the circumstances surrounding his death, or where he was laid to rest.   Young, Proud, and Brave.  Men and boys alike, silently buried here.

"Unknown"

Not much to say for Downtown Vicksburg.  We did not find many buildings that even looked like they were around at Civil War time.  This classic, sports a satellite dish.

Seeing the sign for Baton Rouge got me looking for a couple with faded jeans trying to thumb a diesel down, I saw none.

The closer we got to New Orleans, the more water appeared everywhere.

So much to see and do here.   We are here until Wednesday.   Three full days.  Tonight we will formulate a plan.

For many soldiers the war was not as much about slavery as it was about preserving the Union and shaping the Country we would become.   One where all men are created equal.  Seeing the sacrifice that was made to preserve that ideology, it is hard to imagine someone shooting a cop or denigrating this Country.  With all our faults, America is still the best Country in the world.