Then got up way to early to go to a Rotary meeting starting at 6:45 am!!!! They are called the sunrise club for a reason! They never get any visitors - so as someone said, " We don't get visitors - we don't know what to do with you!" But they did very well with us. They fed us breakfast. We gave them our club flag and received one of there's. And appropriately enough, the speaker was a local meteorologist! So he started out talking about the hurricane, then explained a lot of the back office stuff which sounds very complicated. And explained how difficult it was to make any weather predictions very far out. Too many variables, any one of which can change the outcome.
We had received a recommendation to go to Jackson MS from one of the volunteers at a museum yesterday. She was from Jackson and raved about it. On our way to Jackson we stopped at a Krogers grocery store, One of the workers there when she heard where we were headed said, "Where's your gun? You got to have a gun if you're going to Jackson"! Two totally different perspectives!
We both love history - and one suggestion was to go to the Vicksburg National Military Park. So we drove past Jackson up to Vicksburg to visit the battle field first. This battle along with the battle at Gettysburg were the turning point in the Civil War for the Union Army. There was no cost for this driving tour. For information beyond what was provided in the brochures, you could call a number on your phone and enter the number of the stop for more info. I tried to take pictures that showed the terrain and the difficulties that the Union Army faced. Here, the Confederates basically holed up in Vicksburg. There were a number of fortresses around the area that were very well protected by natural and man made elements. The Union soldiers tried many offences, but could not penetrate the Confederate defenses. The Union lost a lot of soldiers trying to penetrate - finally decided that the only way to win was to out last the Confederates. And so the siege went on until the Confederates ran out of provisions, were to sick or week to fight and finally surrounded. The photos do not really show the height and depth of the different areas.
The Shirley house was the only house that remained after the battle and it was badly damaged. The family was never able to live in it again. It is the only home to be restored and is still on the battlefield.
Most of the rest of the structures in the area were paid for by the different States to honor the dead from their area.
This was the front line of the Confederates.
After we finished the tour we headed back to Jackson, MS and our Airbnb home rental. The house is in the historical neighborhood of Belhaven. There is even a brochure for a driving or walking tour through the neighborhood. The house is quirky - the floors are uneven. The outlets are old. They are not flat, but indented. My computer plug will not stay plugged in. The bathroom outlets are modern (GFCI), so I can charge my computer there. We will see Jackson - Old Capitol, New Capitol, Civil Rights Museum, etc before we move on.
waiting out the opponent is a time-honored military tactic. Not as 'glorious' perhaps but effective.
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