Sound bite of the day: The Mississippi River was important in the Civil War because whoever controlled the river controlled the nation, and Vicksburg, Miss., built atop a 300-foot-high bluff overlooking a bend in the river, occupied perhaps the most strategic location. President Abraham Lincoln called Vicksburg "the key" and believed that "the war can never be brought to a close until that key is in our pocket." In 1862, at the height of the war, Lincoln ordered Ulysses S. Grant to seize Vicksburg from the Confederacy. After nine months of fighting and a 47-day siege on July 4, 1863, the Confederates surrendered Vicksburg.
We spend the morning touring the Vicksburg National Military Park, where over 1,340 monuments, a restored Union gunboat, and a National Cemetery commemorate the campaign, siege, and defense of Vicksburg. We watch a re-enactment of the firing of a Civil War cannon and talk to seasonal ranger Will Wilson.
Low point of the day: Tamales are a popular Southern dish so we seek some out for dinner at Fat Mama's Tamales in Natchez., Miss. The restaurant is cheerful with brightly colored Mexican oilcloth covering the tables but everyone is smoking. Coming from California where cigarettes are no longer allowed in restaurants, we're not used to dinning in a cloud of smoke. But we still enjoy the tamales (pictured above), small cakes of masa filled with spicy ground beef. We pay only $6 for a dozen.
Photo of the day: Old paddle wheel boats parked along the river are now occupied by casinos. This is a photo of one in Natchez.
High point of the day: In Natchez, fireworks are the night before the Fourth of July. We gather with the rest of the town along the riverfront and watch the glittery spectacle.Miles: 80
Total miles: 2339
Hours in the car: 2
Total hours in the car: 48
Weather: Approaching 100 degrees
Expenses
Hotel: $84.65 (Best Western Vicksburg; huge, heated indoor pool)
Breakfast: free at hotel
Admission: $8 (Vicksburg National Military Park)
Lunch: $30 (Rusty's in Vicksburg; we return for a second slice of pie at lunch)
Gas: $30.45
Dinner: $20 (Fat Mama's Tamales)
Total for the day: $173.10
Total for the trip: 2076.13
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