total: 1403 miles.
We left the Evans home a little after 9am. Ed and I go way back, back when we were both young and foolish and before he and Chris were married and that was 44 years ago. In fact, I knew both of them when they were single and largely unaware of each other, but that changed pretty fast and the rest is marital history. It's been nearly seven years since the four of us last hung out together and I'm hoping it won't be another seven before we meet again. . . .
With Chris' directions in hand for getting out of town and taking backroads in the direction of Vicksburg we made our way to Louisiana route 84 heading east. At Winnfield we turned north on US 167 to Ruston (where we had confronted the aftermath of a tornado on the 25th) and then turned back east, this time on I-20 for Vicksburg, MS.
We crossed the Mississippi into Mississippi (a unique distinction I should think) a little after noon and made our way directly to the battlefield park, the entrance of which was located directly across from our hotel for the evening. This was the first time we got to use our Senior Citizen's park pass, and we reveled in that moment for about 30 seconds.
After a brief stop at the visitor's center we grabbed the driving tour guide map and hit the road. The drive covers some 17 miles along which are some 1,400 monuments, memorials, tablets and sculptures. An incredible sculpture garden. (Sadly, the Rhode Island monument had fallen over as the result of a recent downed tree.) You can learn more about the major monuments right here.
Minnesota:
Michigan:
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| The Illinois monument off in the distance |
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| along the drive |
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| the "white house," Union headquarters during the siege |
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| view from the Illinois monument |
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| detail of the Wisconsin memorial |
The Navy Monument: surrounded by four larger than life statues of the key Naval officers who were instrumental in defeating the confederates on the water.
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| David Dixon Porter |
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| David Glasgow Farragut |
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| Andrew Hull Foote |
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| Charles Henry Davis |
The USS Cairo Museum is located about midway along the tour and directly across from the national cemetery. The replica outside under the large tent is actually built on the ship's remains which were recovered from the Yazoo, where it sunk during the war, many years after the war.
Leaving the museum we walked across the road to the national cemetery. I was on the hunt for the grave of Charles Soule.
Charles was born about 1845 in Michigan, the son of Benjamin (1810-1876) and Alzina or Alvina (1816-1868) and the brother of Harrison Soule, born about 1842 in Michigan. Both men enlisted in the 3rd Michigan Infantry.
Charles was taken prisoner on November 30, 1863 at Mine Run, Virginia, and sent to Andersonville, Georgia. Charles was struck down by dysentery and admitted to the prison hospital on March 24, 1865 with chronic diarrhea. He was exchanged on March 26, and admitted to McPherson hospital in Vicksburg, Mississippi from Camp Parole on April 7. Charles died in the hospital on April 20, 1865 and was buried in Vicksburg National Cemetery: section I, grave 7429.
Note, the cemetery is laid out on a series of stepped hills and many of the sections -- arranged by letter and then sequential grave number -- are not clearly marked if at all. Also, you will need to go to the USS Cairo Museum to ask about specific burials. They can provide you with maps -- also not very good -- and give you the general sense of where to look.
His three brothers James, Warren and Harrison all died during the war, as did two sisters, Martha and Olive. One brother, Wilbur, survived. Not long after the cemetery we came across this spectacular view across what used to be the Mississippi into Louisiana and is now dominated by the Yazoo diversion canal (Big Muddy having changed course long ago).
The Missouri (Union and Confederate) monument:
Monument to Confederate Brigadier General Lloyd Tilghman:
After leaving the park we drove across the street and checked in to our hotel. Once we dropped our things off we made our way in to downtown Vicksburg. As we drove around we were both struck by the singular fact that this was a town that lacked the verve, the energy, the life that seemed to be everywhere in Natchitoches.
Also we found ourselves hard-pressed to find someplace to eat. We finally settled on Anthony's at the Vicksburg Country Club. Nice staff, good service and the food was Ok but largely underwhelming.
Next it's off to Oxford, MS for lunch and then a night Corinth, MS before moving on to Shiloh Battlefield in Tennessee. Don't touch that channel!
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