About a day's drive from Dallas I found myself in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Vicksburg and the battlefield of the same name is on a big hairpin turn of the Mississippi River, hence the strategic importance. Just to make it more ideal, right at the apex of the hairpin, on the outside of the hairpin, is a large hill, the perfect place for a fort. The Rebels held the fort and thus controlled the lower Mississippi. The Union had already taken most of the rest of the river and only had to break Vicksburg to cut of all supply to the Rebs via the Mississippi.
The siege took over a month but the Union finally beat the South. I went out for a quick dinner and roll around town, the hit the hey for an early start. The next morning I got up and headed for the battlefield. I pulled up and was informed by the Ranger that there was a short movie about the battle at the visitor center starting in 20 minutes. I decided to take a quick drive around the battlefield then go to the movie. Boy was I wrong. The battle field is huge. It took me two hours to drive around the perimeter. All I kept seeing for the first hour were Union encampments it was beginning to look like the Rebels weren't even there. Finally I came around to the western side and drove up the hill to the fort. This battle is a textbook scenario, a fort, on a hill, controlling a river. The attackers came in a line from the east with their cannons, the defenders were on the hill with their cannons protecting the fort, and between the two was a gulley. The attackers laid siege and tried to starve out the defenders. In any event the Union finally won.
Dreamland BBQ in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
After about three hours at the battle field I was already behind schedule and high tailed it back to my favorite camping spot in NC. Tsali.
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