By the
summer of 1862 only Vicksburg and Port Hudson, LA blocked Union control of the
Mississippi river. Vicksburg was the
stronger and more important port.
President Abraham Lincoln called Vicksburg the “key”. He believed “the war can never be brought to
a close until that key is in our pocket”.
So today we are visiting where the siege of Vicksburg took place. The temperature was in the high 90’s and the
humidity was also in the 90’s – not what we are used to so we faded fast today.
The
visitor’s center has a short audio presentation that gives a good rendition of
the battle. It also has several displays
of life during the time of the battles.
And, of course, books and souvenirs that can be purchased.
The drive
through the park included a lot of beautiful memorials from the Midwest
states. The Union forces that fought
here must have been made up mainly from the Midwest, especially Illinois.Minnesota
Indiana. We counted at least 4 more Indiana monuments
Illinois. We lost count of the smaller Illinois monuments. This large monument was dedicated in 1906 at the cost of $190,000. That would be $4.6 million in today’s dollars.
Wisconsin
The park is beautiful and well-kept but in a more natural state than the well-groomed Gettysburg Park we toured previously. The roads meander through the park, we wondered if this was the original road for this area.
The Battery
DeGolyer was where the Union’s 8th Michigan Artillery hammered the
Confederates directly across the field.
The Shirley House is the only surviving wartime structure in the park. During the siege it served as headquarters for the 45th Illinois Infantry. It has been restored to its 1863 appearance but it wasn’t open so we could tour inside. The house is located on Jackson Road which was a critical link between Vicksburg and the capitol of Jackson. Although the Shirleys had 25 slaves, they were Union sympathizers. Their teenage son joined the Union forces when they were on his doorstep and fought against the Confederacy.
A large rose
garden flanked the walk up to the house.
This large
memorial is dedicated to the service the Navy provided during the siege of
Vicksburg. Grant’s troops were moving on
Vicksburg over land from the east while the Navy bombarded her from the north
and west.
The U.S.S.
Cairo Museum is an open air museum. The
Cairo was commissioned by the Union on January 16, 1862 at a cost of $101,808. On December 12 of that year it was part of a
mine sweeping expedition on the Yazoo River when suddenly explosions tore holes
in the boat. It sank in 12 minutes into
36 feet of water. No lives were lost as
the crew was rescued by nearby vessels.
Historians can’t determine if there were torpedoes (called mines today)
detonated from the shore or if there was a line of torpedoes that were
detonated when the Cairo ran into it.
This was the first armed vessel in the history of warfare to be sunk by
an electronically detonated torpedo (mine).
The pilot
house was salvaged in 1960. The rest of
the Cairo was finally brought up in three pieces on December 12, 1964.
The cannon wagons on display outside are replacements. This is one of the original cannon wagons.
Over 6800 artifacts were brought up and cleaned for display in 1963.
This front shot shows how the restoration was completed on the main deck but below that the original wood was pieced back together.
Going aboard
Lots of beautiful woodwork went into the restoration.
These
boilers used a ton of coal an hour. The
maximum speed of the Cairo was 9 mph.
Looking up
into the pilot house where the pilot steered and the officer on duty kept an
eye on the river.
Over 17,000 Union soldiers are buried here – 13,000 of them unknown. Many of the Confederates who died in the siege are buried in Vicksburg’s Cedar Hill Cemetery.
The unknown soldiers are marked with numbered stones.
Others have headstones.
Throughout the cemetery large trees stand guard over those buried here.
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