Saturday, October 27, 2012 – our last capital

We wanted to pick up the last capital on our route today; Jackson MS. However, when we got there we found it was closed – oh, yes, today is Saturday. And this looked like it would have been a beautiful building to tour. It has two large wings with domes and the central portion also has a cupola with a golden Eagle on top. We were looking in the entrance when the security guard came out to talk to us. He said we could come in and just look up in the rotunda. The carved wood railings and carvings and murals on the walls were gorgeous. I am sorry we could not see more, and, of course, I missed getting another stamp! The guard told us the building was built in 1902 and the former Capitol is now a museum. The extensive grounds were very plain; no huge monuments or floral plantings.

So, we decided to get a National Parks passport stamp and drove on to Vicksburg National Military Park, on the Mississippi River at the border of Louisiana and Mississippi. This was the site of a decisive battle of the Civil War. We first stopped at the Visitor Center to watch a movie about this important period of our United States history. Vicksburg was a Confederate stronghold. The town was located on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River and thus had control of traffic at that point on the River. General Grant had been given orders by President Lincoln to capture the town and subdue the rebels. It took Grant almost a year to finally defeat the town with almost constant artillery barrages and a formal siege.

After watching the movie, we drove through the park looking at all the spots where battles had been fought. The most impressive thing was all the monuments from small tombstones to several giant monuments with statues and obelisks. I think they were placed over the years by various regiments, states, and cities to honor soldiers, officers, and troops who had fought in the many battles.

We also spent some time walking around the city of Vicksburg looking at all the historic buildings. The Mississippi has changed course so the city is no longer on the River. We had to drive a little further south to see the mighty Mississippi and cross the bridge into Louisiana.

We made it as far as Monroe, LA before we decided to stop for the night.