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Life, Travel

Mississippi Day 5: Vicksburg and Evers Home

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<<< I have some sad news – or at least sad for me. Without going into too much detail, I have maxed out the space on our blog. To increase the space available would cost a lot of money, more than I am willing to spend on a hobby blog. It may sound silly, but it breaks my heart to feel like I am losing something I have put so much of my heart into. I have deleted all of the photos on the blog, except for the last three years, in the hopes that it would free up enough space. As of now, it hasn’t. I am hoping to find a solution, but for right now, the blog will only have words. I know looking at pictures is probably more than half of the fun for everyone – me included – and I hope I can come up with a solution soon. For now, I will try and add more pictures on social media. >>>

This was probably the most unexpected and impactful day of our trip.

Vicksburg

We started our day at Vicksburg National Military Park. And let me just start by saying, everything says you only need 1-2 hours at this park – LIES! We spent over five hours here and we could have spent more! This park is incredible.

As we were getting out of the car, Ben asks Mark and I, “Out of all of your kids, which is your favorite? Keep in mind, I can whistle.” Only Ben. We had a good chuckle.

We kicked it off in the visitors center which set the stage for everything. I completely recommend watching the movie offered there, it helps give an overview of everything and is really helpful at any national park site.

The kids were busy little bees working on their Junior Ranger books. And then we hit the tour.

Vicksburg was one of the major battle of the Civil War and was a huge victory for the Union who were able to split the confederacy in half by taking control of the Mississippi River. Vicksburg, along with Gettysburg, were huge turning points in the war.

Both sides knew how vital Vicksburg was. President Jefferson Davis said Vicksburg was “the nailhead that holds the South’s two halves together.” The Confederacy fortified the city with riverfront artillery batteries and a circle of forts surrounding the city. Vicksburg was considered their lifeline.

But the North knew they needed Vicksburg as well. If the Union were able to control Vicksburg, they could pass their troops and supplies by various means, and isolate Texas, Arkansas, and most of Louisiana. Throughout the war, the Union worked to control more and more of the Mississippi. The final key was Vicksburg. President Abraham Lincoln called Vicksburg “the key! The war can never be brought to a close until that key is in our pocket.”

Beginning in the spring of 1863, the Union began to make its move on Vicksburg. There were several bloody battles involved and ultimately after 46 days of siege, Vicksburg officially surrendered on July 4, 1863.

This park is so well done. There is an auto tour that takes you to fifteen different spots. Along the drive (which is so beautiful and peaceful) there are plaques everywhere describing what troops were where. You really feel like you get a sense of how things looked. There are grand monuments to the various states that participated in this battle as well as statues of military leaders. It truly is amazing what they have created.

Battery De Golyer

Our first stop was to look at the great battery commanded by Captain Samuel De Golyer. At this position, the Michigan Artillery hammered the Confederate Redoubt. At its peak, there were 22 Union artillery pieces positioned here. Sadly Captain De Golyer was mortally wounded during this attack.

Third Louisiana Redan

This was the location of one of the Confederate major fortifications protecting the Jackson Road leading into Vicksburg. General Grant knew it was hopeless to attempt a direct assault, so he ordered his troops to dig mines under the work and blow it up. Despite two attempts, neither mine could break the Confederate line.

Illinois Monument

The Illinois Monument isn’t an official spot but oh goodness it is incredible. Each state that participated in this battle has a monument to honor their sacrifice. Each one is unique and beautiful but Illinois is definitely the show stopper.

Shirley House

The “white house” as the Union called it, is the only surviving wartime structure in the park. During the siege it served as the headquarters for the Illinois infantry (it is right next to the Illinois Monument). They built hundred of bombproof shelters around it to protect themselves against artillery fire. It is a cutie house but was so close to Confederate lines. It would have been terrifying.

There were way too many steps to carry Lydie and her chair up the Illinois Monument. So her and I were just walking along the sidewalk waiting for Mark and the bigs to be finished up there and then I was going to switch. There was a man that came up to Lydie and I and asked if I needed help carrying Lydie up to the Shirley House (it was another spot that had a decent amount of stairs to get up). He hardly waited for me to answer before he just lifted her up, chair and all, and took her to the top. Then he said he would wait until we were done and carry her back down. All he said was, “everyone should be able to see these things.” People are good.

There had been some major flooding in the area which resulted in some erosion, and so they had the road closed to General Grant’s Headquarters which was a bit of a bummer but we made our way to the U.S.S. Cairo Museum.

U.S.S. Cairo

This was a really interesting spot. The U.S.S. Cairo was one of the first ironclad warships for the United States. Prior to the battle of Vicksburg, in December of 1862, the Cairo was going up the Yazoo River just north of Vicksburg with the mission to destroy Confederate batteries and clear any obstructions. There were two quick explosions and in thirteen minutes the entire ship sank in just 36 feet of water! Amazingly, every one was able to escape and no one was killed.

The U.S.S. Cairo was the first ship to sink by an electrically detonated torpedo. It laid on the bottom of the Yazoo River until it was discovered in 1956 and later removed in 1964. The ship is 175 feet long and 52 feet wide. There were 176 sailors and officers aboard the vessel at the time of the sinking. It had thirteen heavy cannon. It is remarkable the condition the boat is in and that you can walk aboard it today.

We had a picnic lunch outside of the museum and then made our way to the cemetery.

Vicksburg National Cemetery

In the course of our travels, we’ve visited quite a few national cemeteries. They are all beautiful and peaceful places and Vicksburg was no different. There are 17,000 Union soldiers buried here and yet 13,000 of them are unknown. What a sad thought.

The cemetery was established in 1866 and is the final resting place for veterans of the Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, and the Korean conflict. It was closed for any additional burials in 1961. There is another cemetery called the Cedar Hill Cemetery that is located outside of the park where Confederates are buried.

Sarah seemed particularly tender hearted as we walked through a little bit of the cemetery. We don’t know where Ben walked different than the rest of us, but he started getting bit like crazy and we looked at his sandals and they were covered with red ants. That brought an end to our visit there but it was a peaceful place.

Time was not our friend this day. Truly, there is so much to see at this park. We had to just pause at the various spots after lunch and read a little about them and move on because we had other things to do that day.

But Mark did come out and take a picture at the Alabama Memorial. He had an ancestor from Alabama fight for the Union during the Civil War. It is pretty amazing how courageous he must have been to be from the Deep South and serve for the North.

Junior Rangers

The kiddos worked hard and learned a lot and were able to become Junior Rangers. They earned quite a few badges on this trip!

Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home

We left Vicksburg and made the drive to Jackson. This was the most unexpected stop on our trip. Honestly, I am embarrassed to admit two things. First, I had never heard of Medgar or Myrlie Evers before I started researching this trip. And second, when planning this trip, this stop felt very “check-box-y”. I thought we would go and quickly see it and then move on to the next thing. But Mark and I left very touched.

So if you are like I was, here is some background on the Evers. Medgar got involved in civil rights and played key roles in the Regional Council of Negro Leadership (RCNL) and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

He later became the NAACP Field Director and his family moved to Jackson. His became more and more a force for change in the community. His life (and the lives of his young family) were threatened many times.

But the couple continued their work. Myrlie did a great deal of work behind the scenes and wrote speeches and managed the field office and made her home an extension of the NAACP.

They built their home for protection. They had no front door, only a door in the car port area which was more protected. Their three children’s beds were on the floor below the windows to protect them from snipers. They trained their children to crawl into the bathroom in the event of an attack because they thought that would be the safest place. Medgar tried to make self-defense a game for his children, but the threat was real.

On June 11, 1963 (one hundred years exactly from the time the siege at Vicksburg had happened not so very far away), Medgar was out late organizing and attending meetings. His family had waited up for him when he arrived home just after midnight. He was unloading t-shirts from his car when a shot was fired from bushes across the street. The bullet passed through Medgar’s body, broke a window, passed through a wall and ricocheted off the refrigerator before it stopped on the kitchen counter. Myrlie yelled for the children to get down and found her husband in the carport. He was rushed to the hospital but did not survive. His final words were, “Turn me loose.”

The trials afterward were sickening. A man was arrested almost immediately after the murder, with his rifle and fingerprints found all over the scene. But was set free after two deadlocked trials, with all-male, all-white juries. The Mississippi governor even shook hands with him at the trial. He was open about what he had done and even ran for Lieutenant Governor with the slogan “Straight Shot”. He wasn’t convicted until 31 years later.

The home is tiny and in a very “regular” neighborhood. But something about being in the home, seeing Little Golden Books on the nightstands in the children’s rooms and toys that I remember my grandparents having in their homes, made it feel really personal and intimate. My heart just broke for this family. My mind and heart will never understand this kind of hate.

It was a stop I am very grateful we made.

Jackson

Mark wanted to drive a bit more around Jackson and it was a sad city. Lots of poverty again. We also saw the most bizarre thing. There was a football game at one of the colleges and the cars were everywhere. And I mean parked cars along all the sidewalks, parked on the medians in the middle of the street – it was so weird to us!

We drove by the Mississippi capital which was beautiful.

Then we made our way to dinner for the night. We ate at Sal & Mookie’s which was such a yummy pizza place. It was just what we needed!

Before our trip I learned that the “unofficial” state food for Mississippi is butter cookies. So I found the cutest little bakery with all sorts of butter cookies. The rest of us thought they were tasty but Mark was “underwhelmed”.

That night as we were driving to our hotel, Mark and I were talking about these trips. On paper, they probably look incredibly boring to probably everyone else. But I am so grateful for them. We love them as a family and I am grateful for these powerful moments we get to have together. And even though there are heavy moments visiting some of these sights, we get to do it together and it is something special. I am so grateful for these memories.

Mississippi Family Vacation 2024 Itinerary:

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