Rememberance in the Rain
It was scheduled to rain the entire day I was at Vicksburg (and it pretty much did).  I started my day by crossing the footbridge to Maloney Circle (Battery Maloney), a Union position (as seen by the blue sign).  It reminded me so much of the Southwold earthworks and was a nifty way to start the day!
I then headed to the Vicksburg National Military Park to start the driving tour.  (I had paid my admission the previous day, and it is good for 7 days.)	The Vicksburg driving tour starts with a memorial arch, which reminded me of Point Park in Chattanooga (which I also visited in the rain).
The Vicksburg driving tour has lots of signs and memorials.  The start of the tour is along the Union lines (blue signs)--note the trenches.  That's the grand Illinois memorial in the background. (And here's an older version of the driving tour; neat to see how much it has changed over the years!)	At tour stop 6, there is a tunnel to walk through (reinforced with bricks since the war).  Another stop on the tour is at the top of the ridge to think about it from the opposite army's position. (For some reason, the tunnel reminded me of the lava tube I visited in Hawaii.)
The highlight of the Vicksburg driving tour, for me, was a visit to the U.S.S. Cairo Museum.	The U.S.S. Cairo was a Union Civil War ironclad that sank in the Yazoo River (near Vicksburg) and was raised in the 1960s, 100 years after it sank.  It is now on view outdoors under a giant tent. (It is sort of an outdoor, American Vasa.)  Of course it was pouring while I visited.
Inside the museum, they have the contents of the U.S.S. Cairo that were found when it was raised. (Just like the Vasa, they found a lice comb!) They also had a nice video to watch in the museum that described the sinking and recovery of the gunboat.	It rained and stormed when I reached tour stop 9--Fort Hill--which should have given me a nice view down to the river, but I just headed on.
My last stop before lunch was to drive by this, the site of the surrender interview between Grant and Pemberton.  Amazing that such a location is still known!	It was raining hard with lots of lightning, so I rushed by tour stops 11 and 12, crossed interstate 20, and ate lunch at Cracker Barrel.  Their $5.99 baked potato with grilled-chicken-topped salad lunch special is delicious!
	After lunch, I drove the rest of the driving tour (the stops south of the visitor center), still in the rain.  I stopped at the visitor center again around 2 pm, looked at the displays again, and tried this interactive map again.  It worked, and it was my favorite.  Hold the small button on the bottom until it starts.  It uses audio and moving lights to explain the entire Vicksburg campaign.  WOW!  I learned so much!
After that, I was sick of the rain, but it was only about 2:45 pm. so I decided that I would just drive back toward Natchez in the rain.