Vicksburg MS Part 2

As our week in Vicksburg Mississippi was nearing the end, we still had a few more things on our list.  So much to do and so little time!  We stayed at the Ameristar RV park that is owned by one of the casinos.  A very well kept park.  We would stay there again.  Still on our list were the National Military Park, which is a National Park honoring the soldiers from the Civil War.  Also, we want to tour a couple of the old antebellum mansions.

Historic Vicksburg Walking Tour

We walked all over the historic district that stretches a 6 block square area.  Through the narrow downtown district that has many revitalized shops and uphill both ways.  We walked by the many mansions, some dating back to 1830.  Vicksburg had many wealthy homeowners due to the cotton growing boom from the farmers, to the traders and transportation industry.

One interesting fact about the town is that the Mississippi River ran directly alongside the town until sometime late in the 1890’s when it changed course and ran a few miles from town.  Since the area was largely based on the river transit industry, the Corps of Engineers diverted a portion of the flow in a channel alongside the town, now called the Yazoo River.

Duff Green Mansion

We did the inside tour of this very historic old gem.  The Duff Green, dates back to 1856.  Built by a local cotton broker for his bride, the mansion was built for entertaining in the grand antebellum lifestyle.   That life was short lived by the Green family when war reached Vicksburg in 1863.  The home has survived all of these years through a very interesting story told by the owner of this charming bed and breakfast.  The owner, Harley and her husband, bought the B&B just a couple of years ago and are trying to make it a self-supporting piece of the town’s history.

They had all the guest rooms occupied by a bicycle group from all over.  The owner invited us to come back that evening for a black gospel group that was performing an A Capella concert.  They were amazing and it was a special evening to experience the Mississippi culture first hand and to praise the Lord.

Anchuca Mansion

Another home that we paid for the inside tour.  These two homes were very well furnished with period furnishings.  This home was used by Jefferson Davis to give a speech from the front balcony.

Vicksburg National Military Park

This park wrapped around a section of the city, just as the battle lines were formed back in March of 1863.  The Union forces laid siege to the town for 47 days and eventually forced the confederate forces to surrender due to they were sick and starving.  The full campaign, since March 29, claimed 10,142 Union and 9,091 Confederate killed and wounded.

We have now visited several locations in our RV travels that were significant in the Civil War.  It is still hard to imagine such a time in our country’s history.

The USS Cairo exhibit was truly amazing.  This is an Union iron clad vessel that was sunk during the war in 1862 and never found until the 1960’s.  It was preserved in the mud, retrieved, and placed on display.  Thousands of small contents were also recovered.

The photo above shows the iron armor and original wood structure.  Except for the light colored boards.

We have now moved on to Abbeville, Louisiana to Betty’s RV Park.  The cajun food is spectacular.  Our eating out budget is going to take a hit!  And the Zydeco music is very interesting indeed.  More on this location in the next update.