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