IN THE DEEP SOUTH

May 3-5, 2006

After saying goodbye to Aunt Ethlyn we drove through the green, rolling hills of Arkansas slanting our route to the southeast along green country roads.  We dipped down into northern Louisiana, and then turned east to Mississippi.

It was late afternoon as we crossed the Mighty Mississippi River.  We stopped at the Welcome Center, just on the Mississippi side of the river, even though it was after hours, and admired the view of the river, with barges and tugboats working and a riverboat gambling casino along the dock.

We drove down into the town to see the big casino riverboat there.  We thought there might be more, but there was just one, permanently anchored and attached to a hotel on the land.  The town was quiet and not as quaint as we expected.  We drove out of town to the entry to the famous Civil War Memorial and checked into a motel for the night.

The next morning we got up and went out to the Vicksburg Memorial.  After a stop and orientation film at the visitor’s center, we headed out on our bikes to tour the battlegrounds.

Control of the Mississippi River was a vital asset in the War Between the States.  Whoever controlled the Mississippi River and access to Ohio, Illinois, Missouri and Indiana had the upper hand.  Transportation of supplies and troops by river was vital for both sides.  The Confederates erected fortifications at selected points along the Mississippi to prevent movement of Union troops and supplies.  The Union forces, approaching from both the northern states and Gulf of Mexico, attacked the forts and captured post after post, until Vicksburg was the last obstacle on the river.  Rebel reinforcements poured into the area to protect this vital fortress and the Union soldiers made their way south.  A major battle was fought here, and then the Union side, lead by Ulysses S. Grant, laid siege to the Confederate encampment for45 days before Vicksburg was surrendered.

The battleground sits high up on a bluff, overlooking the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers.  The Military Park and memorial covers several miles of rolling, hilly country, with 16 miles roadway meandering up and down the hills along the fronts of the two armies.  Along the route, about every 25 feet or so, are memorial stellae with the company name, and often the names of their fallen soldiers. 

First we were riding along the Rebel lines, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, Tennessee.  From time to time we would stop to read about the battle that was fought for a certain hill.  Brave soldiers on both sides fought and died here for their way of life and what they believed in.

Next we entered the area of the Union lines and saw markers for Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan—all soldiers who moved south along the Mississippi. 

Next was a very interesting museum of the USS Cairo.  The USS Cairo was a Union ironclad gunboat which was destroyed and sunk by underwater mines, the first ever used.  The actual boat was raised in the 1970s and has been reassembled (with some parts reproduced) and is now on display at this museum.  The huge, jagged hole in the side of the ship can be seen, just as the blast left it as it sank into the Yazoo River.  In the museum building were displays of naval stores, armament and personal gear, which was recovered during the salvage operations.

After finishing the ride through the rest of the park we packed up our bikes, took a sponge bath in the lavatories and set out towards Alabama.  The Mississippi rest stops are very nice, with rolling green lawns, beautiful trees, and nice picnic tables.  We stopped in Meridian, Mississippi for the night.