Lower Mississippi Trip
Apr 28 - May 9, 2022
May 6, 2022 Vicksburg Mississippi National Military Park
The time is during the Civil War. May 1863. Vicksburg is the site of a major battle that took place during the Civil War. The Battle was won by the Union soldiers but it was a battle not easily won. The Confederates fought back strongly before Vicksburg "fell" to the Unionists. We visit the National Military Park holds many memorials honoring those who died in battle. The memorials stand on acres of green as far as the eye can see. The death cries can still be felt and "seen" as we stand on the ground of so much death and desolation.
We must not forget. We must remember and we must not let it happen again.
Many African American slaves fought alongside their masters. One such slave owner was Mary Loughborough who writes in her diary, "my slaves have far more courage than is usually attributed to Negroes." Her slave George guarded her with a pistol and told her that anyone attempting to enter would have to go over his body first.
(Al) I am awed by Vicksburg. Maren and I have visited Gettysburg. That battle was over in 3 days with little involvement of the local civil population. The fighting for Vicksburg went on for 43 dayswith the local civilians just as exposed to the bombardment, starvation, and disease as the soldiers.
We also visited the restored armored gunboat USS Cairo. She was sunk by a mine the year before the battle for Vicksburg and wasn't located and raised until 1964.
There was also a display of the cannon used in the battle. All were muzzle loaders and most were smooth bore firing cannon balls. A few of the cannon had rifling to give the bullet shaped projectile a spin, much improving their effective range. I asked a guide how they were loaded and he explained the the projectile was smaller than the rifling. When the cannon was fired, the explosion would enter the hollowed base of the projectile and expand it to fit the rifling.
