We spent two days in Hot Springs, AR but the weather turned foul.  What’s worse, freezing rain was forecast at our next intended destination in eastern Oklahoma.  We decided to change up our plans and head south toward warmer weather.  Randy picked Vicksburg and I readily agreed.

This is where Brenda, Josie, I and our two dogs stayed in Vicksburg – the Duff Green Mansion.  Built in 1856 by a prosperous cotton merchant, it is now both a BnB and museum.  More on this later.

The dogs needed to get out and about so we headed to the Vicksburg National Military Park.  This is the location where a 47-day siege took place in 1863.. The Union had surrounded the town, both by land and along the river.. The Confederate defenders held out for about a month-and-a-half before running out of food, water and supplies.  This battle is significant because it marked the turning point in the West – after Vicksburg, the Union owned the Mississippi at all points and cleaved the Confederate states in two.

The park is a combination of natural rolling hills and great man-made ramparts where both sides fought at close quarters in what would be known later as “trench warfare”, then a fairly unusual battle strategy.

“Surrender Tree” where Pemberton (CSA) formally agreed to U.S. Grant’s terms and yielded.

View from one of the bluffs in the park.

Riverboat casino on the Mississippi.