This was the first Civil War National Monument I had ever been to. To be on a battlefield where so many men were put down was not easy for me.
So during the 1930's, Americans made individual state memorials dedicated to The Battle of Vicksburg. The "War Between the States" is realized at Vicksburg, as it reminded me of separate shrines to individual states which made serious contributions to either the USA or CSA. Behind each state shrine there seemed to be trails of varying length that led to actual battle sites, marked by permanent placards on marble or stone. Those trails behind the actual monuments are worth exploring, and are peaceful areas you may choose to reflect.
Yes American history, yes a park to bring your kids, its a delight to see the perfect roads in this park, very well kept. Its hard to imagine a battle, Everything is well forested with thick undergrowth, peaceful. The statues and memorials are definitely worth seeing, and you can see that in the 1930's time and resources were set aside to make this park. The park is now timeless.
I paid the $12 and was able to come back the next day. It's very peaceful as you would expect a Battle of Vicksburg...
ย ย ย Read moreVery powerful and haunting reminder of a dark time in US history. The placement of memorials from each state in and around the former battlefield emphasises the terrible price paid by the nation, not just in the battle for Vicksburg but the wider war.
The bronze reliefs on the Mississippi memorial capture the horror of the conflict with its people fighting on both sides - something, as a Brit, I hadnโt appreciated till now.
Good free app with two driving audio tours. Minor gripe: the art-in-the-park tour (of the memorials) and the park tour (of the battlefields) are separate audio tours meaning you have to jump back and forth between them if you want the narration for memorials AND battlefield details, which is crazy!!
Helpful rangers and interesting video in the museum.
Worth driving to the top of the park to see the U.S.S. Cairo - the only surviving iron-clad steam-powered gunboat. Amazingly it had an international crew!
Tip: The excellent McAlister's Deli is a 3-minute drive away (outside the park) for great sandwiches, salads,...
ย ย ย Read moreThis could have been a good place, but several roads inside the park were closed. Due to this we could not see the cemetery or the ship. However, the reason for the one star is the picture posted below. My family has been to over two dozen parks and this was the rudest park ranger Iโve ever experienced. He constantly harassed my family and made crude remarks about my children keeping their hands to themselves and remaining close to us. He then made several off colored comments about children in general to his associate. At no time did my children leave my side and they never talked louder than a whisper. This man obviously hates children and made no point to hide his prejudice when addressing the public. I would highly suggest the park service reconsider having someone like this as the greeter and face to their park. I would think he would be more valuable scrubbing toilets or spearing leaves on the backside of the property away from civilized adults. Iโve uploaded his picture so other families might avoid this man...
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