State of Mississippi

Vicksburg National Military Park

We left Texas and headed east through northern Louisiana, straight through to the state of Mississippi. On the way, we stopped at Vicksburg National Military Park, unhooked the fifth wheel at the park’s visitor’s center, and drove the truck around the park. The narrow roads almost prevented us from getting into the visitor’s center parking lot, but we were able to navigate the lot and park it in one of the longer spots made for RVs.

They offer a movie in the visitor’s center to understand the history that went on here. Vicksburg was vital to the success of the north’s military campaign against the south. The north employed the anaconda strategy in which they traveled by boat to the mouth of the Mississippi, traveled up the river and began taking the cities to the east and west, cutting off the supplies and troops that were helping to support the war.

After many attempts by Ulysses S. Grant to take Vicksburg, the north eventually succeeded and was able to claim victory. The battle ended up costing many lives, brother fighting against brother, in order to take the city.  

Many memorials line the route through the park, as well as many cannons, plaques, and statues. The open battlefield lies in between the display of cannons. 

This building sits up on a hill. Known as the White House, it served as a headquarters for troops. It is the only original structure in Vicksburg that remains intact from the time of the battle.

Below is the USS Cairo. This Union ship was sunk during the Yazoo Pass Expedition. While clearing mines from the river, the Cairo struck a “torpedo” that was detonated by confederates who were hidden behind the river bank.  It wasn’t until many years later that the ship was recovered, partially rebuilt, and put on display here at the museum.

The monument below designates the site where the General Pemberton of the confederate south surrendered to General Grant of the north. This monument replaced the original monument on display at the visitor’s center. 

Had the south won this battle, it is unlikely or at least would have been much more difficult, for the north to have won the war.

Mississippi Civil Rights Museum & Mississippi History Museum

The Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum are both located in the same building in Jackson, Mississippi. The museums are two  of the most well-done museums we have seen so far on this trip.

The Mississippi History Museum went back into the time of the Native Americans who once lived in the area, namely the Choctaw and the Natchez Indians. Many were moved from their land to make way for settlers. Among the evidence found for their existence are what is known as Native American mounds. These mounds were made of earth and were centers of daily and spiritual life.  

The mighty Mississippi River has been the route for commerce, battle, and travel since the time it was founded. Its banks have also significantly changed over the course of recorded history as depicted in the map below.

Arranged in the shape of petals on a flower, the Civil Rights Museum takes visitors on a journey into the past beginning with the shipment and sale of slaves into the south up to the civil rights leaders of the 1960’s that tore down the unjust barriers of separate but equal which reigned for over 100 years.

In the center of the museum was a room with gospel music that sang the songs of freedom, liberty, and shining your light in a world of darkness.

Eli Whitney and the invention of the cotton gin is depicted in the scene below. The gin was able to quickly and easily separate the cotton fibers from the seeds. The invention revolutionized the cotton industry, making plantations more profitable as they were able to plant more fields and purchase more slaves for production.

Books, cookie jars, piggy banks and other depictions of the black south were produced and sold at the time.

The Home of Medgar Evers

Just as Martin Luther King Jr., Medgar Evers was a prominent civil rights leader in the 1960s. And just like Martin Luther King Jr., Medgar Evers was assassinated for his beliefs in civil rights. 

Medgar had spoken out against separate but equal laws that were prevalent in the south. One night a man shot Medgar as he pulled into his driveway and was getting out of his vehicle. It wasn’t long before they caught up with a man named Byron De La Beckwith and put him on trial for the crime. Unfortunately, with racial segregation still so prevalent, the trial ended in a mistrial. It wasn’t until over 25 years later, when the case was reopened, that they were eventually able to get justice for Medgar’s murder and put Byron De La Beckwith behind bars.