Arriving at Mississippi Pictures - Once you cross the Mississippi River you can visit a nice visitor center, with a terrific view of the river and a battery of cannon. We stopped here and spent a few moments enjoying the view.
Biedenharn Coca Cola Museum Pictures - The Biedenharn Candy Company was the first place where Coca-Cola was bottled in 1894. Today this is a small museum that gives a look at the way the Biedenharn company used to look and showcases a large collection of antique Coca-Cola memorabilia.
Vicksburg Murals Pictures - The City of Vicksburg has a series of large murals painted on the flood wall running along the river. We took photos of several murals and the accompanying plaques.
3rd Louisiana Regan Pictures - Place of the infamous mine explosions in an unsuccessful attack on the 3rd Louisiana.
African American Monument Pictures - Monument dedicated to the black soldiers of Mississippi who fought at Vicksburg.
Alabama Monument Pictures - Dramatic monument near the Railroad Redoubt.
Battery De Golyer Pictures - Location for the largest consolidated grouping of Union cannon at Vicksburg.
USS Cairo Ironclad Museum Pictures - The USS Cairo had an uninspired career as an ironclad warship, having been sunk by a water mine before it had sunk a single enemy ship. But it is one of the most remarkably preserved shipwrecks in history, and the ship has been set up so you can walk through it. A museum displays a small assortment of the 60,000 amazingly preserved artifacts found on the ship.
Fort Garrott Pictures - Hilltop confederate position looking out over rolling fields. Named for Colonel Garrott, who died at this position without knowing that his orders to promote to General were in transit to him. While most of the park is far more heavily wooded than it was during the seige, this field has been restored to the appearance soldiers viewed in 1863.
Fort Hill Pictures - The highest view on the park, this hill overlooks what was the stretch of the Mississippi that was dominated by Confederate cannon. Ironically, the Mississippi River changed course shortly after the war and left this sharp bend dry; nature rendered the cannon positions irrelevant in a way that Union forces fought for months to do. The river you see in the pictures is a canal project created by the US Army Corps of Engineers to preserve Vicksburg's shipping industry.
Graveyard Road Pictures - Place of terrific fighting during the seige.
Illinois Monument Pictures - Half the union forces at Vicksburg came from Illinois, as did General Grant and President Lincoln, so it's fitting that Illinois gets the grandest monument at the park. This monument was designed after the Pantheon in Rome. I've seen both; the Pantheon is far more grand, but the Illinois Monument is remarkable in its own right.
Iowa Monument Pictures - This monument may include the finest sculptures on the park. Iowa had relatively little representation in the Union forces but the first park director was from Iowa, and that may explain why the state paid for such a remarkable monument.
Kentucky Monument Pictures - Another dramatic monument, and one that most people miss. You have to park and walk to this monument near Fort Garrott to see it. Featuring sculptures of Jefferson Davis and Abraham Lincoln, along with quotes from famous speeches later in their lives, the message is clear: United we stand, divided we fall.
Louisiana Monument Pictures - One of the more visible monuments at the park, the cannon at Battery de Goyler point directly at the Louisiana Memorial.
Marine - Navy Monument Pictures - Vicksburg was the first battle of the Civil War where the Navy worked strategically hand in hand with the Army, and General Grant later said that without the navy they never could have taken Vicksburg. This monument is patterned after the Washington Monument, with statues of famous Civil War navy admirals.
Miscellaneous Pictures - Mostly shots of the restaurants we visited in Vicksburg.
Miscellaneous Monuments Pictures - There are tons of bust sculptures around the park. We tried to get pictures of all we could find, as well as the statues of General Pemberton, General Grant, Jefferson Davis and others. Other state monuments are featured here as well.
Miscellaneous Battlefield Places Pictures - Various spots around the park. Everywhere you turn you find cannon tucked away behind breastworks, on top of hills, pointing in seemingly all directions.
Mississippi Monument Pictures - A powerful monument with dramatic sculptures around the base.
Missouri Monument Pictures - Another beautiful monument with an angel sculpture and bas reliefs on the walls.
National Cemetery Pictures - The contoured hills of this cemetery give it a unique appearance. Sherri found the tombstones of the two Confederate soldiers who are buried in this cemetery and marked with different markers - those are pictured here.
Railroad Redoubt Pictures - Another place of great violence during the seige. The Union forces actually took this redoubt briefly before being turned back by Confederate reinforcements. The Texas monument stands at the top of this redoubt.
Ransom's Gun Path Pictures - Another place of heavy fighting during the seige.
Rhode Island Monument Pictures - A beautiful sculpture not too far from the African American monument.
Shirley House Pictures - The only structure on the park that existed during the battle. This building is being restored so in the not-too-distant future it will be available for public tours for the first time.
Surrender Site Pictures - This was the place where Generals Grant and Pemberton met to arrange for the surrender of Vicksburg on July 4, 1863. For a spot of such an incredible importance to this battle, this marker is very simple. Just a black cannon with a brief inscription and an information plaque near an old tree. One has to wonder if this park were in the north if this spot might not get more impressive treatment.
Texas Monument Pictures - A beatiful monument with stone brought in from Texas. The sculpture is very cool although the guy looks a bit goofy when you see him up close.
Thayer's Advance Pictures - Place of another failed Union attack. When you stand at the bottom by the tunnel, it's amazing to think of charging up that incredibly steep hill into the face of entrenched Confederate soldiers pouring fire at you. In our pictures we tried to capture just how steep the hill is, what a terrible challenge those soldiers faced.
Tilghman Monument Pictures - General Tilghman was hit in the chest with a cannonball at the battle of Champion Hill, and remarkably survived for several hours after he was hit. This statue was funded by the general's sons and is probably the most powerful single statue I've seen at any battlefield.
Welcome Center Pictures - Vicksburg sports a modest welcome center, which is pictured here. There are some cool displays of the fortificatiions and other protective measures the soldiers used in the seige on display, just outside the center.
Wisconsin Monument Pictures - Tall and imposing monument, which features two very cool sculptures at the base. On top of the monument sits a statue of Old Abe, the bald eagle that went into battle with Wisconsin forces. Confederate forces recognized Old Abe, referring to him as "the old buzzard." Abe survived the war, although he was wounded, and lived for several years at the statehouse in Wisconsin before he was killed in a fire there.
More Civil War Travel Photographs
Antietam Battlefield travel photographs - The weather was somewhat uncooperative while in Antietam, but we still were able to get good shots of the Cornfield, Dunker Church, Bloody Lane (also called Sunken Lane) and the observation tower, Burnside's Bridge and around the Antietam Battlefield. You'll also find photographs of the log cabin where we stayed for this part of the trip.
Gettysburg Battlefield travel photographs - For our first vacation to Gettysburg we enjoyed terrific weather and captured location photos of all the famous places on the battlefield, including Devil's Den, the Triangular Field, Little Round Top, Peach Orchard, Wheatfield, The Angle, High Water Mark, Pickett's Charge, Seminary Ridge, McPherson's Ridge, etc. For our second vacation to Gettysburg I put a lot of effort into photographing the remarkable memorials. There are more than 1300 markers and memorials at Gettysburg and some of them are works of art - they made great photo subjects. We also took pictures of Quality Inn at General Lee's Headquarters (from the first trip) and the Cashtown Inn, (where we stayed for two nights on our second visit).
Harpers Ferry National Park travel photographs - We didn't spend a lot of time at Harpers Ferry, but we did get to see (and photograph) The Point, John Brown's fort, the view from Thomas Jefferson's Rock, the High Street historical district, etc.
Civil War Reenactment - Battle for Myers Landing in McKinney Texas - On November 9, 2009 we went to the Civil War Reenactment of the Battle for Myers Landing in McKinney, Texas. The Battle for Myers Landing is a fictional battle; how exactly do you reenact a battle that never took place? I can't figure that one out, but that's what they call it so I'll play along. We had a great time and the reenactors were terrific.
Civil War Reenactment - Liendo Plantation Civil War Weekend in Hempstead Texas near Houston Texas - One of the reenactors at Myers Landng told us about an even bigger event at the Liendo Plantation in Hempstead, Texas, so on November 20-21, 2009 we headed off with our two teenagers to the plantation just north of Houston for this two-day event. Like Myers Landing, the Liendo battle never happened, so the reenactors can make the battle include whatever they'd like, and no one in the audience knows how it will end until it happens. The weather was overcast and drizzly on Saturday but bright and sunny on Sunday . . . which actually caused some unpleasant shadows in many photos, even with fill flash. In spite of all that, it was a terrific time and we shot a TON of great in-action photographs of the greatest Civil War battle in Texas that never happened.
Civil War Reenactment - Jefferson Texas - In May 2010 we drove to Jefferson, Texas to watch the Civil War reenactment battle. Comparable in size to the Myers Landing reenactment, we had a lot of fun in Jefferson. We were closer to the action here than at the other reenactments, which made for fun photographs.
Civil War Reenactment - Fort Richardson Texas - In September 2010 we drove to Fort Richardson, Texas to watch the Civil War reenactment battle. We were close to the action here - almost too close at some points! Got some fun photographs.
Civil War Reenactment - Longview, Texas - They held a Civil War reenactment in Longview, Texas in October, 2010 and - surprise, surprise - we went to it. Beautiful weather for being outside and we had fun taking pcitures of the battle.
Civil War Reenactment - Madisonville, Texas - They held a Civil War reenactment in Madisonville, Texas in March, 2011, called the Battle for El Camino Real. Primarily a cavalry battle, the two day event showcased some remarkable horse riding and combat.
Texas Civil War Museum - Fort Worth Texas - We have driven past this facility literally hundreds of times - it is within 10 miles of our house. Every time we see it, one of us will say to the other, "We need to check that place out - is it open?" Well, we finally broke down and went for a visit on February 27, 2010. Yes, it is open. We were pleasantly surprised at how nice it was inside too! Check out the photos from the Texas Civil War Museum in Fort Worth, Texas.
Civil War Trip Reports
Civil War trip report (general notes) - Many of our observations applied to more than one battlefield or to the trip in general. This was particularly true with regards to planning and booking the trip and the items we brought with us on our vacation. Rather than duplicate those comments in the Antietam, Harpers Ferry and Gettysburg trip reports, I've included a separate page for these general comments here.
Antietam National Military Park trip report - We spent one and a half days touring Antietam National Military Park. Read this trip report to learn about our cabin, a great restaurant . . . to avoid, suggestions for improving your visit, and much more.
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park trip report - We visited Harpers Ferry National Historical Park for a half day. While we weren't there for too long, we still had a good time and identified several tips and observations that might help you as you plan for your vacation.
Gettysburg National Military Park trip report - We made two trips to Gettysburg. The first was an overnight stay as part of our June 2009 vacation to Washington DC with our two 16 year-old boys. We all loved it there and when we got home, my wife and I planned a second trip for the two of us in July 2009. We devoted a great deal of time to the Gettysburg battlefield and came up with several tips and suggestions that should help you save time, money and mix-ups on your vacation.
Vicksburg National Military Park trip report - We spent a fast two days in Vicksburg to travel the battlefield in March, 2010. We spent a great deal of time traveling around the battlefield, and stayed overnight in Vicksburg. Good tip for a hotel, not so good experiences with restaurants unfortunately. But you can learn from our mistakes.
Living Civil War History - Civil War Reenactment in Jefferson, Texas - In May, 2010 we traveled to Living Civil War History a civil war reenactment in Jefferson, Texas. This trip report describes the event and provides reviews of two restaurants you don't want to miss.
Texas Civil War Museum - Fort Worth Texas - We have driven past this facility literally hundreds of times - it is within 10 miles of our house. Every time we see it, one of us will say to the other, "We need to check that place out - is it open?" Well, we finally broke down and went for a visit on February 27, 2010. Yes, it is open. We were pleasantly surprised at how nice it was inside too! Check out the trip report from the Texas Civil War Museum in Fort Worth, Texas.