Vicksburg National Battlefield

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Packed up the car and headed to the battlefield to drive the 16 mile road.  It is very beautiful.  There are monuments everywhere.  I believe there are about 1300 of them for representation of all the men who fought there from different states.

  The Illinois monument is modeled after the Pantheon in Rome.  Each state was allowed to build their own monuments.  The North started almost right away but the Southern states did not have the money for awhile due to the loss of the war and their way of life.  Many of the monuments are very large, some smaller and then explanations of what went on in each location. 

It is so important that these parts of our history have been preserved for Americans to visit and remember when Americans were fighting and killing other Americans.  We spent nearly 3 hours here.  Also went in the Cairo museum which was an ironclad ship that was sunk in the Yazoo River that runs by Vicksburg by the Confederates.  It was raised and restored in the 1950’s and 60’s.  The museum has the restored ship and many artifacts as well as explaining how they raised it.

Went and had the oil changed. The guy who helped us told us to be sure and go to Drago’s in New Orleans for grilled oysters and then went downtown and had the worst food of the trip.  The restaurant was slow and the food was terrible.  Better use Trip Advisor next time .  We went through the brand new Mississippi river museum about the Corps of Engineers, the River and a riverboat.  Very nice.

  Exhausted from the 90 plus degree heat and 90% humidity.  Decided to stay another night as too tired to travel.  Jodi took a nap, read and swam.  Jack did the finances and watched football, LSU, the team the Huskies face next week. He thought he would send the scouting report in case Sark needs it.  Had another dinner at Shoney’s and took a quick walk and saw more monuments right here by the hotel.