Vicksburg National Military Park, Vicksburg Mississippi. This was the most interesting Civil War battle site we have visited yet (and there have been a few). Vicksburg sits on a bluff above the Mississippi River and was the last Confederate stronghold left on the river after New Orleans and Memphis and everything else had fallen to the Union army. The Union army had tried to take Vicksburg unsuccessfully many times until they finally succeeded on July 4, 1863 when the Confederates surrendered after being trapped in their perfect defensive position for almost 2 months. They started killing their mules for food because they had no supply lines open. The battle sites are laid out in the beautiful terrain of rolling green hills in the park. Below are photos of the sites, a monument and the USS Cairo, a Union ship that the Confederates sank in the Mississippi. The ship was discovered 100 years later and eventually put on display at this museum (under the white tent).The Illinois Monument (looks like a take on the Pantheon) was the most impressive civil war monument I have seen yet.

The Illinois Monument honouring the many soldiers from that state who fought and died at this site.

The Illinois Monument's inside dome

........and it's columns

behind us is the USS Cairo, dredged from the bottom of the Mississippi River....and hidden in the shadows under the tent

sailors on the USS Cairo

The USS Cairo

Oxford, Mississippi. This is a very cool university town. Everyone is fit and healthy looking. Not exactly the same as many of the other towns in Mississippi. William Faulkner lived and worked here and in his former home-museum you can see writing in his hand on the wall of the room where he wrote sketching the plot outline of his novel A Fable. Lots of nice restaurants and lively bars centred around the centre of town, Oxford Square, anchored by an old-style book store called Court Square......there were no candles or other home decorating items for sale......just books! Yes, we bought a Faulkner novel, Light in August.

William Faulkner's Home

The approach to Rowan Oak

Faulkner sketched his story outline for his novel The Fable on the wall of his writing room almost like the storyboards he had done for his Hollywood movies 

The Fable

Estelle Faulkner's bedroom and studio

Faulkner's favourite drink, cheap bourbon

Faulkner's daughter Jill and her caregiver, Mammy Callie, 1932

A fantastic book store in Oxford

University of Mississippi football stadium 

Seen at a filling station in Oxford

Driving along the highways in Mississippi, everything that isn't moving  is covered in these crawling vines

Clarksdale, Mississippi. We headed south from Memphis on Highway 61. Clarksdale is where, legend has it, Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil in exchange for epic guitar skills. We stayed at a place that was on the site of an old cotton plantation where you are assigned a sharecropper's shack. The name of the place, predictably is The Shack Up Inn

Well Abe says, "Where do you want this killin' done ?"
God says. "Out on Highway 61"

Had a bite to eat at this dive owned by Morgan Freeman; great place

Emily at The Shack up Inn

Cotton field

Shack Up Inn

Cotton ball

Emily enjoying tea from a dog-shaped tea pot

The Crossroads (said to be the intersection of Hwy 61 and Hwy 49)

Memphis Tennessee. The central city is in serious decline; lots of boarded up buildings, it is pretty sad. Beale Street is pretty tacky, too although there is some decent music in the clubs. Despite this, there is still a lot of spirit and pride and thriving places left behind after many people fled to the suburbs and out of town. Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken is still packed feeding the people the best fried chicken around. Gibson Guitars makes its hollow body and semi hollow body electric guitars in downtown Nashville (like the E 390). We toured the factory and it was cool. The National Civil Rights Museum is in Memphis too. It is located on the site of The Lorraine Motel where Dr. Martin Luther King was shot in Memphis. This museum is interesting because it is privately run and pitches a pretty good case that the authorities weren't exactly doing everything they could to protect Dr. King. I was never aware that James Earl Ray (the man who eventually confessed to the crime) slipped out of Memphis after the shooting and flew from Atlanta to Toronto where he obtained a fake Canadian passport and then flew to London England where he was eventually arrested. The old Sun Records studio still operates and runs tours during the day. This is where Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley started their careers. Speaking of the King, we did make the pilgrimage to Graceland to see Elvis' home and possessions. It was pretty surreal. People were crying at his gravesite. Last stop, the Stax Museum where some truly amazing music was recorded back in the sixties.

Gus has the best fried chicken in Memphis

Gibson Guitar Factory, Memphis

s

Dr. King at the Lorraine Hotel

MLK shot at the Lorraine Hotel

James Earl Ray flew from Memphis to Toronto under an alias after the assassination of Dr. King

The legendary Sun Studio, Memphis

This is the microphone used by elvis to record his first vocals

Emily and a wall of hits 

Sun Studios

Memphis Redbirds, the Triple A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team

Charles Vergos' Rendezvous smoked ribs with pulled pork......delicious

Graceland

The Music Room

The King

The Jet

The Stax Museum