Vicksburg - Day 1

The boys are MAJOR history buffs. When we were deciding which route to take to get to TN, we decided that stopping in Vicksburg was a MUST! In fact, we did not even tell them that Vicksburg was our half-way point until the day before we left! We got to Vicksburg National Military Park about noon. We decided to have picnic that day, so we went straight for the driving tour/picnic stop. We stopped at 12 of the 15 stops. This was stop #1 and it had the most cannons. Davy Crockett (Jacob) and Commander Rylan tore up the Rebels!



We were so surprised at how hilly the park was... BIG, steep hills! Imagining the soldiers trying to climb these hills was overwhelming! This is the bottom on Thayer's Appraoch - later the binocular pics are on the top of the hill looking down.
Picnic!
This was a pleasant surprise at the Park - the USS Cairo. The USS Cairo was Union ironclad from the Civil War. It was in use from January 1862 to December 1862. She was hit by a Rebel mine in the Yazoo River and sunk in just 12 minutes. The ship was not found until 1960 and was brought to the surface in 1964. The museum had incredible artifacts that been covered in river silt and soil for 100 years. The ship was in remarkable condition considering it was underwater for 100 years. This was the boys fave part of the Park.






View of the Mississippi River from the Fort
Jacob and Rylan looking down Thayer's Approach.

Most of the wooden fortification had been destroyed, but this was re-built to show how they Rebel soldiers fought.
And our little Federalist... he refused to look at the Confederate monuments!