Unvexed to the Sea

Friends,

Today marks the 150th Anniversary of the surrender of Vicksburg.  I'm sure that will be overshadowed by all of the attention focused on Gettysburg this week.  The Western Theater battles often get overlooked by folks who prefer to focus their attention on the Eastern Theater.  However, it is my firm belief that the South lost the war in the Western Theater (or the North won it there, depending on your viewpoint).  I had hoped that the western campaigns would get equal coverage during the 150th, but that may not be the case.

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, my wife and I spent a lovely week in Vicksburg two and a half years ago.  I really enjoy the town and the people.  My goal is to one day go back and hike the battlefield, but I fear that my back will not allow that now.  Vicksburg happens to be the closest National Battlefield Park to my house...though it is a 7 hour drive.  Pea Ridge is second and it comes in around 8 hours or so.  That is the problem with being a Civil War Addict in Southeast Texas.  It is hard to get your Civil War "fix" by visiting battlefields.

So here are my questions for the day.  1.  Is there an Eastern bias in mainstream Civil War history/students. 2.  If there is, why might that be?  This is what I will be reflecting on today.  Along with the gratitude that I don't have to live in a town under siege.

I will leave you with a quote from this Lincoln fellow who said that "Vicksburg is the key."  The next update may not be until Saturday evening or Sunday.  I have to work 3-12 tonight followed by 730(am) to 4:30 tomorrow.  So if you leave or post a comment and I don't get back to you right away, be not offended!  I will as soon as I can.

My name is Lee Hutch and I am a Civil War Addict.

Texas Monument at Vicksburg

Photo by N.E.H.

May be used with attribution to this page

Vicksburg.........Without Reverse

In March of 2011, my wife and I visited Vicksburg for a few days.  It is technically the closest National Battlefield Park to where we live, but it is still a 7-8 hour drive.  We stayed at a very nice plantation home where General Grant slept following the surrender.  In fact, you can even book the room he slept in AND sleep in the same bed that he did.  (I would assume that it isn't the original mattress!)

We drove out to the battlefield to begin our tour.  My wife's car is a standard and somewhere around tour stop Number 3, she said that it wasn't going into reverse.  We decided to drive back to Cedar Grove and take a look. Sure enough, it was missing a bolt.  The people were nice enough to recommend a mechanic on the outside of town.  He took a look at it and was able to order the part.  Naturally, someone had to drive over to Jackson to pick it up!

Since the part wouldn't be there until later that afternoon, we were faced with a bit of a dilemma.  We had to leave the next day to head home.  Our whole point in going in the first place was to visit the battlefield.  So we did what any Civil War Addict would do.  I said "Damn the reverse gear!  Full steam ahead!"  Luckily given the terrain, we were able to tour the entire battlefield without reverse.  We just had to be careful where and how we parked.  Generally speaking, we could just roll out of the space if we parked on an incline.  The part arrived that afternoon and they fixed it for us.

I must say that everyone was a big help.  From the staff at Cedar Grove who helped diagnose the problem to the person who drove over to Jackson to pick up the part we needed.  I've been to Vicksburg several times and the citizens go out of their way to make you feel welcome.

My name is Lee Hutch and I am a Civil War Addict.