We woke up reasonably early to leave Jackson, stopped for coffee, and drove the short hour to Vicksburg where Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee laid siege to the Confederate stronghold that President Lincoln called the “key to the South.” Lincoln and Grant knew that the taking of Vicksburg would allow safe passage for Union supplies and soldiers down the Mississippi River and employed innovative military strategy to ensure the outcome would favor the Union.
We were pressed for time but my landlord, Ralph, in Eutaw, said Vicksburg National Cemetery was a must-stop before we left the South. We bought a cd from the Visitor’s Center and embarked on a one-hour self-guided tour through the park. We cruised the 16-mile road that tours the grounds of one of the most intricate battles of the war that pitted brother on brother.
I want to share just a few of the nuances of the battle that I absorbed during our brief visit.
A little war strategy to start... Initially, Grant issued a standard frontal attack from across the river, but the rebel soldiers withstood the bombardment and Grant’s army suffered substantial losses. Grant and his army regrouped and crossed the Mississippi south of Vicksburg thanks to a tip from a runaway slave concerning a more passable route. Union Navy ships had to travel by Vicksburg to rendezvous with Grant’s army who marched south. All the ships were damaged but only one was lost. The captain of the lost ship along with all the men aboard had an option to return on another ship but instead the sailors chose to stay and fight on land. After the Union army captured Jackson, cutting off supplies to Vicksburg, Grant and his army laid siege to the town for more than forty days before white flags rose over Vicksburg.
Today, there are more than 17,000 Union soldiers, of which 13,000 are listed as “Unknown,” buried at Vicksburg National Cemetery. None of the Confederate soldiers who died during the battle of Vicksburg are buried in the cemetery, instead they were buried behind what was still Confederate lines.
A quick fact: Mississippi still retains the Confederate flag as part of their state flag (in fact, it is the only remaining state to do so).
Having lived in the Deep South for two years, I’ve run across the occasional Confederate flag T-shirt and bumper sticker. I still don’t get it... I don’t comprehend this lingering pride. Driving through the battlefield just outside of Vicksburg, I think of the men who fought on both sides. I recognize the need to celebrate the acts of bravery and courage by Union and Confederate soldiers alike, but I do not comprehend the need to raise a flag in protest to the victory of the North that brought freedom to black slaves and the future generations of blacks.
Anyway, we left the one state that still flies the Confederate flag and headed to the Lone Star State, who has considered seceding from the Union a little more recently.
Maddie made a point to take the route through East Texas that included the town of Nacogdoches, the hometown of her boss in Nashville. We enjoyed our first taste of Tex-Mex at La Carreta...I scarfed on fajitas and $1 beers (just two).
From there, we traveled the last four-and-a-half hours to Austin where Maddie united with one of her best friends, Mari. Mari just wrapped up her Master’s in Opera Performance from UT. We’ll be livin’ it up here for the next 3 nights.
I’m thinking brisket, “Juan in a Million” breakfast burritos, and possibly a quick trip to the Alamo are in our near future.
-E
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