Angry Birds

I have now left Louisiana for good. Or at least for good as far as this particular trip is concerned. It was not my most favorite state, but a lot of that may have had to do with the weather. Seemed like it sure does rain a lot there and everything just seems damp, damp, damp.

Vicksburg, Mississippi – the home of Riverfront Murals and also one of the most decisive battles of the Civil War. I'm not real keen on battlefields, I find them sad. The Vicksburg National Battlefield, besides it's place in our history, is also considered an 'Art Park' – art as in every time you turn around, there is another monument – and a very fancy monument at that.

Now for a quick history lesson: Vicksburg sits on some very high bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River. The Union wanted to capture Vicksburg because it would split the Confederacy in half and disrupt a major supply chain. General U.S. Grant tried attacking several times and was foiled at each attempt because of those high bluffs. Finally, it became a siege situation and it took 47 days before the Confederacy surrendered to the Union. While the siege was going on, the town was bombarded day and night by cannon fire. The citizens resorted to digging caves and living in them while the siege went on.

After watching the movie at the park headquarters, I took the self-guided driving tour through the battlefield. It was really a lovely day for a drive but after a couple of hours, I have to admit that I began to get bored. There is only so much white marble(granite?  alabaster?) that a person can see in a day.

Minnesota's monument is one of the first grand ones you come across

The Illinois monument ain't too shabby either - there are 47 steps to commemorate the siege

At one point though, on the drive is the USS Cairo museum. The USS Cairo was one of the first American ironclad warships built at the beginning of the Civil War. She was built in 1861 and sank in 1862. She has the distinction of being the first ever ship to be sunk by a mine that was remotely detonated by hand. In the 1960's, she was raised from the mud and has been on exhibit in Vicksburg.

Is it just me or is the USS Cairo actually an Angry Bird?

The Riverfront Murals are a set of 31 murals that have been painted on the flood walls on the levee. They depict the history of Vicksburg and were quite large.

Dedication of the Illinois Monument in 1906

Teddy Roosevelt went bear hunting a little bit north of Vicksburg.  His guide caught a bear, tied it to a tree and told Teddy to shoot it.  Teddy refused and this is where Teddy Bears came from or so they say

Downtown Vicksburg

River Scene

Sultana was a Mississippi River side-wheel steamboat. On April 27, 1865, the boat exploded in the worst maritime disaster in United States history. She was designed with a capacity of only 376 passengers, but she was carrying 2,155 when three of the boat's four boilers exploded and she burned to the waterline and sank near Memphis, Tennessee, killing 1,192 passengers.(Wikipedia)

I stayed at the Rivertown RV Park which was your typical RV park where we are all lined up in a row. I started talking to this woman and it turns out she is from Minnesota as I am. Interesting, she lives in Rosemount where my son used to live. Turns out her name is Cindy also. Hmmm. As I'm talking to her, I notice her sandals – they are the same exact sandals I have. Weird. Then I look at her shirt – I have the exact same shirt hanging in my closet. Evidently this is a woman with great taste and good breeding.