Vicksburg National Military Park

I was only able to spend two hours in the Park and that was not nearly long enough. Only driving a small portion of the sixteen mile drive through the huge site, I was only able to see Union positions/monuments; it would take many days to drive/walk the Park and visit/read all of the monuments/statues/markers. I recall reading that the battle-line was three miles long.

I was able to visit the USS Cairo, an iron-clad gunboat which was sunk by a Confederate mine in the Yazoo River in December, 1862. This vessel was located in 1956 and recovery/restoration continued into the 1960's. This was a substantial warship, crewed by 158 sailors and 17 officers, and having a armament of thirteen heavy cannons. The Cairo was a coal-fired vessel (normal burn was a ton/hour) with a top speed of nine MPH.