Visited December 5-9, 2020
By Marty
Note: This is an "after the fact" post as we work our way backwards to catch you up on our previous destinations.
Our exploration of Mississippi took us to Jackson, the state Capital, for five nights. We stayed in Pelahatchie, about 30 miles east of Jackson, at Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park. As we approached the park ever faithful Google Maps told us to turn right at the dirt road in this picture. When you are driving 60' of motorhome and tow car, knowing that backing up is NOT possible with a tow car, you really don't want to make any wrong turns. We saw this sign and decided that Google was having some fun at our expense.
About 1/4 mile down the road was an actual road where we turned right to find this sign.
When we were heading out for sightseeing the next day we pulled over to take the picture above this one. We were "busted" by the owner you can see walking down the driveway to check his mail. He was a nice fellow and we chatted a bit. Turns out his granddaughter made the "turn up yonder" sign to try to discourage Google maps adherents from turning into his driveway.
Being the first week in December the park was practically empty
They did have the holiday spirit on display though!
Holiday decor visible from our windshield. We gather it's a pretty popular place with families, especially when the weather is warm. They have a nice water park and many fun and interesting games around the park (human foosball anyone?) Our first night was a Saturday and there were hay rides blaring Christmas music as they drove guests around the park to see the decorations.
It was too cold to swim, or bombs away for me! Really... honest...
This was the first gator warning sign we saw in the south. The first of many to come.
The Lower Mississippi River museum is in Vicksburg, about 45 minutes west of Jackson. At this museum we were surprised to learn that 41% of the continental United States ultimately drains through the Mississippi River. I'm sure most of you knew that but it was an eye opener for me.
The drainage basin, shown above, for the Mississippi River is the third largest in the world, after the Amazon and Congo Rivers. It drains 1,245,000 square miles, including all or parts of 31 states and two Canadian provinces. Impressive, eh?
There are 32 murals along the Vicksburg floodwall depicting periods of history in Vicksburg.
This one depicts the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, the worst flood in US history. In the winter and spring of 1927 rain in the Mississippi Valley was ten times the annual average. The levee breaks began in April, ultimately flooding over 1 million acres and 162,000 homes, with over two hundred lives lost and 600,000 people displaced to refugee camps. It was August before the floodwaters would fully recede.
More info on the flood and the Mississippi River Basin:
Following the Great Flood of 1927 the US Army Corp of Engineers was charged with taming the Mississippi River. This effort resulted in the world's longest system of levees along with other measures to manage the river.
The flood gauge on the Vicksburg flood wall shows how high the river was in 1927 before the levees broke, and how high it would have been had the levees held.
Placed on the highest land in Vicksburg the old Warren County courthouse was completed in 1860. It was a symbol of Confederate resistance during the siege of Vicksburg. Upon the surrender of the Confederates on July 4, 1863 the Confederate flag was lowered from its tower and the Stars and Stripes raised. The old courthouse is now a museum.
The "new" courthouse was built in 1939. Is it time for a "new new" courthouse?
Vicksburg is best known for it's role in the Civil War. President Lincoln said “See what a lot of land these fellows hold, of which Vicksburg is the key. The war can never be brought to a close until that key is in our pocket.”
With Vicksburg the Confederacy maintained a critical transport hub for supplies coming from the Gulf of Mexico and the Confederate states to the west. It also prevented the Union from use of the Mississippi River for it's own purposes.
The Union troops’ 47-day siege on the city of Vicksburg, led by General Ulysses S. Grant’s Army of the Tennessee, cornered Confederate General John C. Pemberton’s troops in the city and issued relentless attacks on an army awaiting reinforcements that never came, leaving Southern soldiers and civilians alike trapped and cut off from supplies. After 42 days of the siege, General Pemberton received a letter from one of his soldiers that begged, “If you can’t feed us, then you had better surrender us, horrible as the idea is, than suffer this noble army to disgrace themselves by desertion.”
The Confederate surrender of Vicksburg occurred on July 4, 1863, one day after the Union victory at Gettysburg. With these two pivotal defeats it was only a matter of time until the Confederates would be defeated.
Illinois Memorial
From the National Park Service website:
Soon after Vicksburg National Military Park was established in 1899, the
nation's leading architects and sculptors were commissioned to honor
the soldiers and sailors that fought throughout the Vicksburg campaign.
The park's earliest state memorial was dedicated in 1903, and more than
95% of the monuments that followed were erected prior to 1917.
An aging Civil War veteran who hastened to Vicksburg to see the
resulting works was so impressed that he aptly described Vicksburg
National Military Park as "the art park of the world." The work
of commemoration has continued since 1917, and today, more than 1,400
monuments, tablets, and markers dot the landscape offering mute
testimony to the courage and sacrifice of blue and gray alike. The
commemorative landscape is a fundamental part of the park's purpose,
which reflects the efforts of veterans groups and states from both sides
to write their legacy on the landscape of Vicksburg National Miltary
Park, while healing and reuniting the nation.
Louisiana Memorial
There is a 16 mile loop through the National Military Park for bike and auto use. We saw about 10 miles of the park on our bikes before running out of daylight.
This is only here because it made me smile.
The Medgar Evers home was on our list to visit, an important part of the Civil Rights movement heritage of the south. The home has been open in the past for tours, but not at this time.
Sorry to say it, but we were not particularly impressed with Jackson. We were able to access the State Capitol, which is a beautiful building, inside and out. During Covid most of the state Capitols are closed to visitors. It was a treat to be able to explore this one.
I asked Janell if she would call me Guv'nor from now on. Or at least once in a while. Ah, no.
Going up!
We enjoyed a 20 mile pedal on the Chisa Foka trail near Jackson which generally parallels the Natchez Trace Parkway, running through historic Choctaw Indian homelands.
Freeloader!
What a interesting, historic visit.
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