FIRST STOP VICKSBURG, MISSISSIPPI

When we awoke on the second day of our cruise down the Mississippi we had already tied up at the Vicksburg landing. There are no docks in the smaller towns because of the rising levels of the river. 

 Included in the tour price is a Hop on Hop off bus tour of all the towns we stop at.

 We walked up the steep embankment to the road. They do have buggies for those who are not very mobile. We also enjoyed the Fall colours.

On top of the embankment there are these huge concrete levee walls to hold back the water when the river floods. We walked through a gap in the wall which is made by one of these huge concrete panels sliding open on wheels on a huge track. The levee wall has been decorated with murals showing the history of Vicksburg.

We were provided with a map and a list of places of interest. It is a good system because you can choose what you want to see and how long you want to stay. Buses come by about every 15 mins.

There are many beautiful historic houses. Some you can walk through. This one is a restaurant "Walnut Hills" an early name for the town of Vicksburg. The columns on these houses are called Pierced Columns and they are an architectural element mostly only found in Vicksburg. They are not solid columns but have the centre carved out in a variety of patterns.

Washington St is the main street full of interesting shops and museums. I loved the cups hanging from the posts outside this cafe.

 We visited the Coca Cola museum and learned about the history of this iconic drink.

 We popped into a toy museum. The collection was amazing and brought back memories.

Our last stop before lunch was the 'Old Depot Museum" Where we learnt about the Civil War. It used to be a railway station. We returned to the boat for lunch and in the afternoon we went on a "PremiumTour". That means an excursion for which you have to pay extra. 

 It was called, "On the Front Lines of the Civil War Tour". We went by bus to the Vicksburg National Military Park. It is the battlefield where ,in 1863, the 47 day Vicksburg Siege took place. This defeat, together with the Gettysburg defeat, was the turning point in the war. It was difficult for the Grant's Union army to take Vicksburg because it was perched on a high bluff overlooking the river with artillery batteries , swamps north and south, and a ring of forts and 172 guns guarding land approaches. Eventually, Grant hammered the Confederates fortifications from the land side and Porter blasted the city from gun boats on the river and Pemberton surrendered.

 We were driven around the battlefield and told about the battles. Throughout the park there are memorials from each state that had soldiers killed here. This is the Illinois memorial.

On the way back to the boat we stopped at the USS Cairo Museum. The Cairo, iron clad gunboat paddle steamer, was sunk by a mine, the first vessel to be destroyed this way. It wasn't until the 60's that the gunboat and its artefacts were raised from the bottom of the Mississippi.