Location: Vicksburg
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Sitting high atop a bluff overlooking the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers, the city of Vicksburg was the setting of a bloody 47 day siege during the Civil War. The site of this epic battle is now Vicksburg National Military Park, preserving original fortifications and the U.S.S. Cairo, an ironclad gunboat that once prowled the waters of the Mississippi River. Vicksburg is also the place where Coca-Cola was first bottled, a fact that is happily immortalized at the Biedenharn Coca-Cola Museum.
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1. Vicksburg Campaign Trail
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 38 reviews
The 200-mile route that Grant took before capturing Vicksburg.
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
For a Civil War historian, following the Vicksburg Campaign Trail in Mississippi is similar to following Lee's Retreat from Petersburg to Appomattox in Virginia. In 1863, General Ulysses S. Grant spent months trying to find a way to seize Vicksburg and sever the Confederates' control of the Mississippi River. Attempts to bypass Confederate defenses at Grand Gulf and the Yazoo River, to the north of Vicksburg, failed miserably. He even tried to build a canal to open a better navigational route to the city. The canal flooded. Finally, Grant decided to march his army south along the west side of the Mississippi River, cross at Bruinsburg, west of Port Gibson, then proceed to Jackson, the state capitol, and approach Vicksburg from the east. So the Vicksburg Campaign Trail takes travelers from Port Gibson to Jackson to Raymond to Champion Hill to the Big Black River and finally to Vicksburg, where you can take a 16-mile tour of Vicksburg Military Park. The trail is well documented through thousands of historical monuments and markers. One of the most interesting stops in the park is at Shirley House, the only surviving wartime structure. Of all the monuments to the soldiers who participated in the 47-day siege, the Illinois monument is most impressive.
2. U.S.S. Cairo Museum
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1,481 reviews
Tour the first boat to be sunk by a torpedo.
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
My wife and I have visited Vicksburg National Military Park on other occasions so we weren't terribly disappointed when we realized on our most recent trip that the USS Cairo Museum was closed because of the COVID pandemic. Of course, visitors can park in the parking lot and stroll around one of the first American ironclad warships built at the beginning of the Civil War. Inside or outside, the Cairo is an impressive site. After participating in the capture of Fort Pillow on the Mississippi River in June 1862, it was sunk in December 1862 while clearing mines for the attack on Haines Bluff on the Yazoo River. It was the first ship ever to be sunk by a mine remotely detonated by hand. Over the years, the ship was forgotten and slowed covered by silt and sand. It was found in 1956 and salvaged from the bottom of the river in 1965. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, the Cairo was opened as a museum in a shelter on the tour road near the Vicksburg National Cemetery in the Vicksburg National Military Park in November 1980. The recovery of artifacts from the ship revealed a treasure trove of weapons, ammunition, naval stores and personal gear of the sailors who served on board. Externally, visitors can see one of the cannons on the side of the Cairo and the framework for the paddlewheels.
3. Vicksburg National Military Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 3,023 reviews
1800 acres of now peaceful countryside, this park was once the scene of a bloody 47-day Civil War battle.
Reviewed By pamgoes
There are several tour options available: self-guided Driving tour using the included brochure and map, cell phone driving tour, an audio tour CD (purchased at the Visitor’s Center for $15), the Civil War Trust Vicksburg app (free), or the licensed park Tour Guides. We were on an excursion with the American Queen and had a licensed park tour guide, Harry McMillin. He was phenomenal! Our tour began with a viewing of a short film which gave a realistic re-enactment and review of the battle at Vicksburg during the Civil War. The tour is mostly a driving tour with stops to view impressive markers erected by the states whose soldiers fought the war and to get an idea of the strategies for the campaigns. Also on sight is the USS Cairo Gunboat and Museum where the salvaged ironclad, Cairo, can be viewed. We spent three + hours in the park and learned so much more than I thought possible. Harry is a font of knowledge with many educational and interesting stories to tell. It is clear he loves his job and we are grateful that he shares his knowledge with us so well.
4. Vicksburg National Cemetery
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 387 reviews
Established by the U.S. Congress in 1865 as a military burial ground, the 116-acre cemetery is the final resting place of more than 17,000 Union Soldiers.
Reviewed By janetrM8526JB - Pensacola, United States
Drive through park, takes a while to see everything. Amazing place for Civil War History, worth the time to see this place.
5. Warren County Welcome Center
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 79 reviews
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
Even if you have planned every minute of your trip to Vicksburg, Mississippi, from where to stay to where to eat to what to see, I would encourage visitors to stop at the Warren County or Mississippi Welcome Center before embarking on your tour of the city. Located at 4210 Washington Street, off I-20 at the Vicksburg Bridge and Business Route 61, it is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mississippi is tourist-driven and the state has excellent welcome centers at several locations. They look like antebellum structures with neatly manicured grounds, picnic tables and grills, RV waste disposal facilities, 24-hour security, restrooms, weather information and motor coach parking. Pick up a free Mississippi official tour guide. You'll find brochures on lodging, restaurants and attractions in Vicksburg and throughout the state and friendly, courteous and knowledgable staff members to give advice and recommendations and point you in the right direction. If you're going to travel elsewhere in the state, be sure to pick up a Mississippi Highway Map, a Civil War Historical Sites map, a Blues Trail map, a Freedom Trail map, even a golf guide. I like to plan our trips thoroughly in advance but I usually discover, once we arrive on the scene, that I've forgotten something. And there's always something new to add to your itinerary. It's never a bad thing to ask.
6. Jesse Brent Lower Mississippi River Museum and Interpretive Center
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 263 reviews
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
The Jesse Brent Lower Mississippi River Museum and Interpretive Center in Vicksburg, Mississippi, provides visitors with a fascinating view of life surrounding the Mississippi River through multiple interactive displays that cover topics about the river's history, science behind water movement, the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, fish found in the river and how life has changed on the Mississippi River over the years. Visitors also can walk through an outdoor flood model, view a 1,515-gallon, multi-side aquarium that is home to catfish and other fish native to the Mississippi River and tour the Mississippi River Commission's towboat, the motor vessel Mississippi IV, the only fully restored, dry docked riverboat. The museum, which offers free admission, is the first of its kind in the United States. And the Mississippi IV, which was decommissioned in 1993, is the major attraction, a diesel-powered vessel with an all-steel, four-level superstructure that is powered by two eight-cylinder engines with 1,860 horsepower each. After learning about how the 1927 flood was the most destructive in the history of the United States, it was fascinating to learn how the Corps of Engineers has tamed the Mississippi River.
7. Vicksburg Riverfront Murals
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 522 reviews
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
The Vicksburg Riverfront Murals didn't exist the last time my wife and I visited Vicksburg, Mississippi. So add another interesting tourist attraction to the list of sites to see on your travel itinerary. It is a series of 32 murals painted on Mississippi River flood walls. Unveiled in 2002, they are intended to depict the city's historical significance as well as its envisioned future role in the region's commerce and culture. They show a timeline of Vicksburg history, including downtown Vicksburg in the days following the 1953 tornado, the steamboat Sprague during the roaring 1880s, ferry boats transporting train cars across the river and The Famous Teddy Bear Hunt. Artist Robert Dafford, who completed similar murals in Cincinnati, Ohio, Paducah, Kentucky, Portsmith, Ohio, and Maryville, Ohio, was commissioned to complete the first series of 12-feet by 20-feet panels along the flood wall facing Levee Street. In 2012, a 55-foot mural was commissioned to be painted on the Grove Street flood wall, across the street from the Levee Street murals. It is designed to be triangular in shape due to Grove Street's incline. It is a feature along the route of the annual 10K Run Thru History event and depicts a group of runners passing by areas of historical significance in Vicksburg.
8. Catfish Row Children's Art Park
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