Greetings from Vicksburg, MS

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
We came here for the Civil War history, and stayed for the tamales.

Not sure why tamales are a thing in Vicksburg, but they are. The ones we had tonight came from The Tamale Place (because Solly's Hot Tamales was closed). The Tamale Place is a former gas station - like, a 1950s gas station. As in, "...are you sure that's it?" There is no eat-in; you get it to go and take it home or eat it in the parking lot. I should have taken a picture but I was unprepared for what it was and didn't realize I'd need to document the experience. Anyway, the tamales were served by a couple of wild southern boys, and hit the spot big time. I also got a chili dog - which was perfect, so clearly Mr. Tamale guy knows how to do things - and Monello got a Frito pie (served in a bowl, not in the bag - boo!). We took our bag of goodness back to the hotel with a couple of Modelos we got at the Kangaroo and ate in the breakfast room.

So...Vicksburg. You may or may not care about Civil War history. If you do care, put Vburg on your list because the siege of Vicksburg is a pivotal battle of the war and at the Vicksburg National Military Park they present it in an interesting manner with a lot of personal stories. If you don't care about history, go anyway because it's a seriously quaint town with a great downtown that's throwback, yet modern. We toured the battle site and saw the living history exhibit, which was the 3rd US Colored Cavalry encampment. You drive around this very long loop with a bunch of boring statues and monuments, and it's broken up by Tour points that are interesting.

The best part was the movie you see in the visitor's center which tells you all about the battle. The intestinal fortitude of the Confederates who were starving and sick, yet managed to keep fending off Grant's army is really something. And the 3rd Cav distinguished themselves at Vicksburg, impressing not only the Union Generals, but the Confederates as well. I can't remember Pemberton's exact quote, but it was something to the effect that they just kept coming, even when they should have been run off.

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We also saw the USS Cairo, which was one of the first American ironclad warships. It was torpedoed and sunk in 1863, and in the 1950s some guy whose name I don't recall found it and they salvaged it, and now it's an exhibit at Vicksburg.

After that we went downtown and found Catfish Row Children's Art Park, which was a great place for kids. It was a play park, but also featured artwork done by local school children, and it's right across from the flood wall. A trudge up the hill takes you to the downtown area of Washington St, with museums, restaurants and shops. We had a beer at 10 South, which is a rooftop bar/restaurant.

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Roman

Active Member
Very nice pictures. I envy you!
We came here for the Civil War history, and stayed for the tamales.

Not sure why tamales are a thing in Vicksburg, but they are. The ones we had tonight came from The Tamale Place (because Solly's Hot Tamales was closed). The Tamale Place is a former gas station - like, a 1950s gas station. As in, "...are you sure that's it?" There is no eat-in; you get it to go and take it home or eat it in the parking lot. I should have taken a picture but I was unprepared for what it was and didn't realize I'd need to document the experience. Anyway, the tamales were served by a couple of wild southern boys, and hit the spot big time. I also got a chili dog - which was perfect, so clearly Mr. Tamale guy knows how to do things - and Monello got a Frito pie (served in a bowl, not in the bag - boo!). We took our bag of goodness back to the hotel with a couple of Modelos we got at the Kangaroo and ate in the breakfast room.

So...Vicksburg. You may or may not care about Civil War history. If you do care, put Vburg on your list because the siege of Vicksburg is a pivotal battle of the war and at the Vicksburg National Military Park they present it in an interesting manner with a lot of personal stories. If you don't care about history, go anyway because it's a seriously quaint town with a great downtown that's throwback, yet modern. We toured the battle site and saw the living history exhibit, which was the 3rd US Colored Cavalry encampment. You drive around this very long loop with a bunch of boring statues and monuments, and it's broken up by Tour points that are interesting.

The best part was the movie you see in the visitor's center which tells you all about the battle. The intestinal fortitude of the Confederates who were starving and sick, yet managed to keep fending off Grant's army is really something. And the 3rd Cav distinguished themselves at Vicksburg, impressing not only the Union Generals, but the Confederates as well. I can't remember Pemberton's exact quote, but it was something to the effect that they just kept coming, even when they should have been run off.

View attachment 113305

We also saw the USS Cairo, which was one of the first American ironclad warships. It was torpedoed and sunk in 1863, and in the 1950s some guy whose name I don't recall found it and they salvaged it, and now it's an exhibit at Vicksburg.

After that we went downtown and found Catfish Row Children's Art Park, which was a great place for kids. It was a play park, but also featured artwork done by local school children, and it's right across from the flood wall. A trudge up the hill takes you to the downtown area of Washington St, with museums, restaurants and shops. We had a beer at 10 South, which is a rooftop bar/restaurant.

View attachment 113306

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You should visit Holly Springs, MS. That's my grandmother's home town. Lots of cool old houses, lots of Civil War history.
 
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