One hundred and forty-five years ago, artillery looked like these cannons located in Vicksburg National Military Park.
Here is this modern version.
A glimpse of Vicksburg National Military Park, site of the last battle of the Civil War and the final resting place of some 17,000 soldiers, of which 13,000 are unknown.
No rumor of the foe's advance
I just returned from a nice weekend of cooking, eating, drinking and general laziness in Houston with Beatrice, The Scrabble Champion (damnit!), and I thought you guys would like to see Mississippi from a different perspective. From 10,000 feet above.
Here is the Mississippi River just above Vicksburg complete with barge traffic.
And the dual bridges that traverse the Mississippi at Vicksburg. The darker bridge is the "Old River Bridge" which is currently being rehabilitated. Sections of the concrete deck are being repoured for what reason I have no idea. It is my understanding that the bridge will never be reopened to vehicular traffic. I guess it'll become a giant foot bridge.
Attached to the south face of the bridge is a rail line, which back when you could still take the old bridge over to Delta, Louisiana made for an interesting, white-knuckled ride when the train passed.
And the Ross Barnett Reservoir and Pearl River just above Jackson. 33,000 acres of open water and another 17,000 acres of park and recreation area surrounding the reservoir.
My grandfather and my father completed the centerline profile of the dam back in the 50's when it was truly a deep and dense swamp. My father always remarks about how big and thirsty the mosquitoes were down in the river basin and all he could think about was getting back to school, flying right, making good grades, etc. Anything beat doing hand auger soil sampling during the heat of the summer.
Hell, he never straightened up. Slacker! And with that being said, it just occured to me that today is Dad's birthday. Happy Birthday Dad!!!!
Looks like I'm going shopping.
I'll be the first one to admit that I am not much of a Civil War historian and I'll leave the discussions of the reasoning why, results and aftermath to those who care to argue amongst themselves in futility.
Personally, I think it's a very dark and disturbing chapter of America's history and if we could only turn back the clock. . .
When I come to Vicksburg I am intrigued by the history and the relics of the era. Like the giant cannon below. This thing is gigantic, nearly five feet high at the "cascabel" or the little knob-like protrusion from the rear of the barrel. I cannot even imagine having to move this thing around either by horse or man. I've hiked the hills, hollows, valleys and gullies of the terrain that makes up the Loess bluffs from Vicksburg to Natchez. There are some serious grade differences and I simply cannot fathom how they moved this thing around.
And it must have been something to touch this mother off too. In this spirit of giving, I'm certain it was better to give than receive.
There is an antebellum home in Vicksburg named Cedar Grove which bears the scars of war to this day in the form of a cannonball still lodged in a wall of the home.
The poor fellows outlined in this historical marker did not fare well either, leaving me with the bitter truth that war is truly hell.
"Oh you Mississippi River, with waters so deep and wide
My thoughts of you keep risin', just like an evening tide
I'm just like a seagull that's left the sea
Oh your muddy waters keep on callin' me"
Mississippi River Blues
by Hank Snow
Here is the river at Vicksburg as it stood this afternoon. As I'm sure you know it's been flooding to the north and all that damn water has to go somewhere. The flood stage at Vicksburg is 43 feet and they expect the river to crest above that level. You never think about it much, but when the Mississippi gets to a certain level it can constrict the outflow of some of it's tributaries, such as the Yazoo River and the Big Black River. Some are predicting potentially large crop losses due to the rapid rise of the water.
Notice the wake at the base of the bridge columns. That water is really boogieing.
Obviously, this is all a result of Al Gore's Global Warmi, er uh, Climate Chan. . .uuhh, the "I don't know what to call it anymore because the Earth has actually cooled and it snowed in Iraq and the polar bears are doing ok and the ice is thicker than ever in Antarctica and it snowed in Mississippi twice this year and the only thing bigger than my carbon footprint is my ass and I look like a fool now."
Call it what is is Al: The Royal Scam.
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