Today we rode over to Walmart to pick up a few supplies and
then left to go through the National Military Park here in Vicksburg. The skies
were cloudy and the forecast indicated possible rain showers in the p.m. We made it half way through the park when it
started a lit drizzle around 1:30. From then on it continued on and off for the
rest of the tour. We ended up getting damp but it could have been a lot worse.
So we made the best of the rain by wiping down the bike and giving it a cleaning.
It still reached 21C with the sun returning again around 5.
A brief History Lesson.
To have control of the Mississippi River during the Civil
war was crucial for the movement of supplies and troops. Vicksburg was held by 50,000
Confederates and President Abraham Lincoln knew it was critical for them to
overtake it to win the war and ordered Maj. General Ulysses S. Grant to do so.
After a couple of failed attempts and afraid of losing his command he tried a
gutsy plan of having gunboats come down the river and lay cannon fire on the
city adding to his cannon fire from the land. Being cut off completely from
supplies and food the Confederates were getting sick and weak. After 46 days of
siege Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton discussed the terms of surrender with Grant on
July 4, 1863. This victory along with Gettysburg was the turning point of the
war.
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| Looks all clear to me. |
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| This ship weighed 512 tons was 175 ft. long, 51 feet wide and had a draught of 6 feet and carried 158 sailors and 17 officers. |
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| We had this unit park beside us today. On the side it says - Wake up "LiL Snoozy". |
All for now...
