Vicksburg National Military Park - Full of History
Written: Jun 30 '03
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Pros: Well kept, lots of history
Cons: heat, crowd
The Bottom Line: Great place for families and children to learn about history!
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| tchoate's Full Review: Vicksburg National Military Park |
We just returned from a week’s vacation in Destin, Florida. We not only enjoyed our stay there, but stopped along the way to visit and see places that we hadn’t seen before. One of those places was Vicksburg National Military Park in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Located in the northeastern portion of Vicksburg, Mississippi high upon a bluff near the Mississippi River sits the military park which during the Civil War was a major fortress guarding the supply route along the Mississippi River. The entrance to the park is on Clay Street just one-quarter of a mile off of Interstate 20.
I have always enjoyed the study of history, but the Civil War is my favorite period in history to learn about. The Vicksburg National Military Park is one of those places where you can see where the battle was and learn how the men lived and died during the battle for Vicksburg. The siege of Vicksburg took place from March 29 to July 4, 1863.
The Park
Upon entrance to the park you may choose to visit the Visitors Center where you can see an orientation film, exhibits on the various topics of the Civil War period, bookstore, pay telephone, rest room facilities and regional (city/county) information. We didn’t stop and see the film, because we were in route to Florida and didn’t really have time to see everything that the park has to offer.
Vicksburg Military Park is really a beautiful place and well maintained. There is a 16-mile tour road that you can drive along while seeing cannons and statues that commemorate the different states brigades and where they served during this battle. There are 20 miles of reconstructed trenches along the tour rode, we stopped the car and got out several times to look across the trench and were able to see the cannons across the way that were firing across that very trench during the battle. It is a very interesting way to tour the park, because you can pick how much or how little time you want to spend at each particular place. We found the road to be free of litter, well mowed and with picnic areas along the roadside we stopped and had lunch inside the park at the Texas Memorial Statue. The wooden picnic table was fairly clean, the area around the table was mowed and there was no trash around. There was a trash can nearby for you to throw away your trash after eating. We were very impressed with the cleanliness around the picnic area and the monuments to each of the states. All in all there are 1,325 historic monuments, 20 miles of reconstructed trenches, 144 emplaced cannon and an Antebellum Home called the “Shirley House” inside the park.
The most impressive part of the park to me was the National Cemetery. It was amazing to see all of the graves on the terraced hillside. Of the nearly 17,000 Union soldiers buried here, about 13,000 are unknown. It was unreal to see all of the headstones that were marked unknown, it really made me think of the men who died in the war and what a sacrifice all those who serve our country make. The National Cemetery was established in 1866 and also has veterans from the Spanish-American war, World Wars I and II and the Korean conflict buried here. It was closed to burials in 1961. This cemetery is a beautiful resting place that is well maintained and has many large trees that stretch out and shade much of the area.
Also included in the park tour is The USS Cairo Museum and Gunboat which offers general and historical information services, exhibits on naval operations of the Civil War, bookstore, pay telephone, restroom facilities and picnic area. There are many artifacts on display here along with a movie to explain the sinking of the USS Cairo. Once again, due to time issues we didn’t stop and spend any time here, but plan to go back when we have time to spend more time in the park.
Admission Fees
There is an admission fee to the park. Daily admission is $5.00 per vehicle and $3.00 per non-commercial bus. You can purchase a one year Vicksburg annual park pass for $20.00, which will allow you entrance to the park anytime during a one year period. They also offer a National Park Pass for $50.00 which will get you into any National Park for one year from date of purchase. Once we paid our fee to the park we had access to everything inside for no other charges. We were given an Official Map and Guide to show us the way through the park and explain the different stopping points and their significance to the battle. We spent about 2 hours here and didn’t even come close to seeing and doing everything there is to do at Vicksburg National Military Park. We do plan on a return trip to the area when we will have more time to visit and enjoy this historical park and learn more about the history of our country.
If you find yourself close to Vicksburg, Mississippi, be sure and visit the Vicksburg National Military Park, you will be glad that you visited and learned about the history of this area in our country.
Thanks for reading!!
Recommended:
Yes
Best time to go: June-August
Recommended for: Anybody
Review Topic: Overview
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Epinions.com ID:
tchoate
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Location: Plano
Reviews written: 325
Trusted by: 267 members
About Me:
Proud First Time Grandmother of a beautiful granddaughter born August 31, 2006.
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