Trip to Vicksburg, MS

This morning we decided to head toward Vicksburg, MS. Since we had heard so much about it, we wanted to see its battle field. Along the way we knew of some plantations that we hoped to get a glimpse of. As we left Natchez we hopped back on to the Natchez Trace Parkway to get to a side road. This road was beautiful. No other traffic with beautiful trees overhanging it. About 5 minutes on the road and we spotted an old plantation called “The Cedars”. Since the gate was closed and it set off the road about 300 yards over looking a large pond, it was time to pull out the big lens.

Down the road about a mile was a beautiful old (old is everything here) church that sat on top of a hill. Coincidentally the community was called Church Hill. This church is the oldest Christ Church (Episcopal) in the State dating back to 1790. As much Spanish moss as there is here, it is very hard to put it into a picture.

Another mile or two down the road is the oldest remaining plantation within Mississippi. It is called “Springfield” and was built in 1790. In 1791 a young general from Tennessee by the name of Andrew Jackson married a young woman named Rachel Donelson. Since it turned out that Rachel’s divorce was not finalized, they had to remarry in Tennessee. Currently the plantation is owned by a realtor from Knoxville. He uses it as a get-away retreat and has it open to the public on Wednesdays.

Again on further down the road are the ruins of a plantation that had been built in 1861. This plantation had over 21,000 acres (over 30 square miles) associated with it. In 1890 it burned and what is left is a very startling reminder of what was standing here. There is no town close. This was a working plantation, where most are in town show homes.

Traveling on toward Vicksburg, we came upon another community, Grand Gulf, that was devastated in the “War”. The one thing that stood out here was a small church that was nestled into to the hillside. I always thought of this area of Mississippi being flat. NO WAY. There are hills, that if we were going to run here, would make me wish to be back home. Along this area is a soil that is called Loess and it has built up in this area from sediment deposited from the Mississippi river and from dust storms that deposited here on the eastern edge of the river.

The Vicksburg Battlefield is unbelievably hilly. It is completely on the Loess deposit. This deposit was a great fortification for Vicksburg. Gun placements completely prevented the river from being over taken by the Yankees. However, US Grant had other plans. After many sieges and a long wait finally the city of Vicksburg was handed over to Grant. I can’t go into the whole battle but you might find it very interesting. If sickness and the lack of support had not held the confederates back, Grant would have lost. He lost many more soldiers. This is also where the confederates used an electric bomb to destroy and “ironside” ship called “Cairo”. The remains have been pulled from the bottom of river in 1964.