Vicksburg

We crossed the stateline into Mississippi. Our destination was Vicksburg. We were turning our attention away from music and toward history, specifically American civil war history. Vicksburg, a vital stronghold on the Mississippi, was considered key to a victory against the south. The 1800-acre Vicksburg National Military Park preserves the site of the Battle of Vicksburg. We were given guides to follow the various points of interest along the way as we drove along the tour route. Of particular interest was the USS Cairo Museum. The USS Cairo was one of seven ironclad gunboats, designed specifically for battle on the shallow rivers. It was sunk, but then raised and restored. It took us about 1.5 hour to drive around the site.

Cracker Barrel, a surprise hit, with good food, as well as a lovely shop!

The food was so good we returned for dinner. It also helped that it was right next to the outlet 

No convincing needed. I took this photo just in case the actual dish disappeared as quickly as the banana pudding

A very satisfied Jonah who managed to get himself hot chocolate whilst his siblings only got plain milk

Obsessed with anything battle related, he was 'firing' those cannons as soon as he spotted them

The only surviving original building from the time of the war

One of the many monuments to honour those who served

One of the trenches dug as part of the battle

The restored USS Cairo

Wooden ship but iron clad

With steam engined powered paddles!

We headed to downtown Vicksburg for a quick drive around and to see the Mississippi River. This was where Coca Cola was first bottled in 1894! We then retired to our home for the night which just conveniently happen to be located right next to the Vicksburg Factory Outlet Mall...