Mississippi Cruise - Vicksburg #6

 

 

More on our Mississippi  River Cruise on the #AmericanQueen .

From Natchez, we steamed on to Vicksburg, a city in western Mississippi. The place was the site of a key Civil War battle.  Vicksburg is situated on an elevated land above the Mississippi. Because it was strategically important during the Civil War, it was attacked by the Union Army. After a 47-day punishing seige (May 18-July 4, 1863) where residents had to resort to eating horses, Vicksburg surrendered.  

We visited the Vicksburg National Cemetery, which commemorates the battle of Vicksburg. The Union had 75,000 soldiers in the battle; while the Confederates had 34,000.  The estimated casualties were 37,273 (4,910 Union and 32,363 Confederates). 

We have visited other battle sites such as Gettysburg and Shiloh, and thinking of those who died always breaks my heart.

I'm sharing some pictures taken at the National Cemetery.  The exhibit included the USS Cairo, an iron-clad war ship that was raised from the river. 

Mississippi Cruise - Natchez 5

 

More on the Mississippi River Cruise I took recently:

From Pointe Coupee, we went to  the city of Natchez, which is famous for its antebellum mansions and the unfinished Longwood mansion. I found the place charming and beautiful.

Named after the Native Americans who lived there. Natchez sits on a bluff overlooking the river. The French settled there in 1716, and at first they got along with the Native Americans, but that relationship soured with both sides massacring each other. The territory went to the Spanish, and then to the Americans. Because it did not have strategic importance, it was relatively untouched during the American Civil War, which is why the mansions remain. 

Mississippi River Cruise - Pointe Coupee - 4

 

After Nottaway, our next stop of our Mississippi River Cruise was Pointe Coupee, Louisiana, which was surrounded by major rivers on three sides. It's a resort but pleasantly not crowded. We were told that when they have their Mardigras carnival, the place is packed. 

Mississippi River Cruise - New Orleans 3

 

Here are pictures taken at the French Quarter of New Orleans before we started our Mississippi River Cruise.

 

Mississippi River Cruise - Nottaway 2

 

I continue blogging about our recent Mississippi River Cruise.

Here are some facts about the Mississippi River. The Mississippi is 2,340 miles long, the longest river of North America; it starts at Lake Itasca in Minnesota and ends in the Gulf Stream. If the length of Missouri is added to the Mississippi's main stem, the river would be the fourth longest river, after the Amazon, and Yangtze.  If the Missouri and Ohio rivers are added, it would be the third longest in the world. 

Our cruise started in New Orleans, Louisiana and ended in Memphis Tennessee.

From New Orleans, we sailed to Nottaway, Louisiana where we visited the Nottaway antebellum mansion, said to be the largest extant antebellum plantation house in the South. This had been home to the Randoph and later the Landry families, and had witnessed Civil War days.

 

Mississippi River Cruise on the American Queen - 1

 

We took a Mississippi River Cruise recently with stops at New Orleans, Nottoway, Pointe Coupee, Natchez, Vicksburg, Greenville, and ending in Memphis.


Our ship, the American Queen, was a steam paddle boat patterned after the 19th century paddle ships. It had a Victorian feel throughout the ship. I especially loved the library and the sitting room for the men and women, with old books and decor. The ship moved at around 7 miles per hour, perhaps the same speed Mark Twain's ship did. I read his Life on the Mississippi River during the cruise.

Entertainment was good, although it seemed geared to a much older crowd. However, the blues, jazz, and string performances were terrific.

Here's the first set of photos showing the paddle boat, men's smoking room ( with the ignored sign of Men Only), Lincoln Theater, and the Engine room. (The boat was powered by diesel fuel, no longer coal as in Twain's days.)

And there's a shot of our pleasant dinner companions, and another of the Mississippi. 

Stay tuned!