I have decided to start a series of blogs about my other passion, the American Civil War. As an amateur student of history, and having an ancestor who fought in the Civil War, I have had a deep interest in the War for over 30 years. In most of my travels over the past 20 years or so, I have tried to visit as many of the battlefields that are left as possible. There are still some I have not seen, and I hope to see them over the next few years.
The battlefields are part of the US National Park System. While the parks themselves are well preserved, some do not encompass all of the acreage that was fought over. It was not practical for the government to try to turn an established town or city into a National Park, for obvious reasons. But, not long after the war ended, the effort began to preserve as much of the battlefields as possible.
The first installment of this series is about the battle of Vicksburg, which really wasn’t so much a battle as a siege. It is really easy to get to, either by car or plane. I prefer to drive, as I can carry more camera gear with me, and I can stop in Memphis and spend time there to and from Vicksburg.
For an historical perspective, Ulysses Grant had been trying since late 1862 to capture the city. Vicksburg was crucial, as it is situated on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River. Union naval vessels and northern merchant ships could not navigate up and down the Mississippi while the Confederates held the town. Several attempts to take the town directly had failed, so Grant, during the early spring of 1863, marched his troops through the swamps on the west side of the river, crossed back over the river, and circled aback to surround the town from the east. Once he reached the town, it took another 47 days, but finally, on July 4, 1863, the Confederates surrendered the town to Grant.
Many of the battlefields are dominated by statues, monuments and memorials. Vicksburg has its share, but you can still appreciate the terrain, and understand why it was such a difficult task to take the town. It is a beautiful place, but as with all of the battlefields, it’s very somber at the same time. When you know what happened there, how many soldiers on both sides were lost, as well as the civilian casualties, it gives you pause. The National Cemetery has a plaque, as they all do at each of the battlefields, telling how many are buried in the cemetery, and how many are known versus unknown. At Vicksburg, there are 18,244 interments, of which, 12,954 are unknown.
The photographs accompanying this are just a sample of some of my favorites that I have taken there during my many visits. Some are infrared, some regular photos. Most of the battlefield on the tour takes you around both defensive positions that were dug into the hillsides, or built on them, by the Confederates. Others are the Union positions. At varying points during the siege, the two lines were less than 200 yards from each other. The townspeople dug themselves into hillsides too, to protect themselves from constant Union artillery bombardment. The Visitor’s Center there gives a very accurate depiction of what the civilian experience was during the siege.
