vicksburg
April 2013
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Today in Mississippi
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15
national military park commemorates 150 years of civil war history
By Nancy Jo Maples Seven score and 10 years ago, the Vicksburg siege induced a turning point in the Civil War, an event richly stitched into the historical tapestry of this Mississippi River city. Descendants of both the blue and the gray will bow heads and join hands this year to memorialize lives sacrificed on these and on other war grounds. Sesquicentennial Civil War events are occurring nationally in states where battles took place. In Vicksburg those events are slated in April, May and July. The first one is set April 5-7, and is a heritage fair. It will be similar to the tent fairs that traveled the South and Midwest in the 1800s and offered musical entertainment, craft exhibits, dances and theatrical shows. Free concerts, the rededication of the Iowa state monument, and a parade are among the highlights of the Memorial Day weekend activities in May. Concert performances by the U.S. Navy Band, Mississippi Symphony Orchestra and Jackson Mass Community Choir are scheduled that weekend as well as a single song performance by celebrity guest Trace Adkins, actor and country music artist. A parade and wreath laying ceremony are planned for May 27, Memorial Day. The Vicksburg park features memorials from each of the states that suffered casualties during the war’s
The Mississippi State Memorial, left, was dedicated in 1909 in the Vicksburg National Military Park. The Union gunboat Cairo, above, fell victim to a Confederate mine in 1862, yet the crew survived the blast. Raised from the bottom of the Yazoo River in 1964, the boat was preserved for display as part of the park’s USS Cairo Museum. Photos courtesy of Vicksburg National Military Park/National Park Service.
Vicksburg Campaign. A few years ago, Iowa’s state legislature appropriated funds to restore the monument that had been commissioned in 1904 and had become worn through the years. The restored memorial will be rededicated in a ceremony with the governors of Iowa and Mississippi and a contingent of Iowa citizens on Saturday, May 25. Memorial Day events are expected to draw the largest crowd among Vicksburg’s three sesquicentennial happenings. That holiday has been designated as the commemoration of the siege. Rick Martin, chief of park operations,
Battery De Golyer, preserved at the Vicksburg National Military Park, contained 22 canon, making it the largest artillery concentration in the Federal seige line. The 62-foot Illinois State Memorial, background, has 47 steps, one for each day of the seige of Vicksburg.
said because Vicksburg sits halfway between Atlanta and Dallas, he expects travelers to make Vicksburg National Military Park a destination. “Ten thousand people a day during that time period is not unrealistic,” Martin said. The Shiloh Sesquicentennial last year drew 150,000 spectators to north Mississippi throughout an eight-day period. However, part of that draw included a re-enactment. Vicksburg’s July activities will involve the placement of approximately 20,000 luminarias throughout the park. Luminarias will be positioned at each state monument with one luminaria representing each casualty for that state. For example, Illinois lost 2,400 soldiers in the battle and 2,400 luminarias will be placed at the Illinois monument. That event will take place on the night of July 3.
AAA Traveler magazine named Vicksburg one of the top 13 places in the world to visit in 2013. Those who can’t attend the 150th anniversary events may want to explore it at other times. Park officials suggest viewing the park by automobile. The 16-mile driving tour takes about two hours and visitors can stop to walk closer to monuments for photographs. There are two designated picnic areas along the route. Admission to the park is $8 per vehicle. For more information about the park or sesquicentennial events contact the Vicksburg National Military Park at 601-636-0583 or visit its website at www.nps.gov/vick/index.htm. Writer Nancy Jo Maples can be reached at 188 Ernest Pipkins Road, Lucedale, MS 39452 or via email at nancyjomaples@aol.com.