RED BAY, ALABAMA

Monday, May 3 – We pulled out of Vicksburg at 8:00 am. Boy, is I-20 between Vicksburg and Jackson bumpy....at one point I slowed down to 45 mph and put on my emergency flashers for about 5 miles......Kawabunga !

We fueled up at Pilot in Winona, MS – just north of Jackson- paying the most we've ever paid, $3.22/gal for diesel. Luckily we average over 10 mpg today.

We drove about 50 miles on the Natchez Trace Parkway between Mathison, MS and Tupelo, MS. The 444-mile Natchez Trace Parkway commemorates an ancient trail used by animals and people that connected southern portions of the Mississippi River, through Alabama, to salt licks in today's central Tennessee.

In the 1800’s, it was the main return route for Ohio Valley traders who, rather than fight the Mississippi currents, sold their flatboats for the value of their timber in Natchez and walked home via the Old Trace. By mid-century, steamboats made the dangerous track unnecessary, and the Old Trace disappeared and was replaced by the New Trace. There are campgrounds, wayside exhibits, almost 400 types of wildlife and over 2,100 types of plants.

It was a great day for a ride.

The last 20 miles into Red Bay, AL, was on a two lane road, US 23,  that twisted and turned through the Alabama countryside. I can't believe they don't have a better road into this city. Granted it is a small city of about 3,000 population, but Tiffin Motor Homes is a one of the leading producers of motor homes in the country. They're building twelve motor homes per day and that means dozens of semi trucks bringing tons of parts. That doesn't include the over 170 MH in their campground waiting on service.....Jeesh!

Anyway....end of rant.....

In retrospect....Marsha & I took a ride today (Thursday, May 6) and we see they are building a new divided highway into Red Bay. They must have heard me ranting...lol !!!!

We were sitting in the “over-flow” camping area of Camp Allegro, the Tiffin Motors campground. The Tiffin campground, adjacent to the service facility, has full hookups and is available for owners awaiting service. Depending on the nature of the service or repairs, owners can stay in their coaches in the service bays while work is in progress. We have to boondock until a site is available. The camp host said we should get a full-hook-up site tomorrow or by Wednesday at the latest.

When checking into the campground, they give you a service number if you're there for repairs. We turned in our work order, so now we wait our turn. Appointments are not available. They are completely booked for the entire year! We are on a first come, first served basis at the Express Bays. These bays are set aside for people unable to get appointments. They have over 45 service bays in this huge building.

The campground is built at an old airstrip, so it is all gravel, except for the main campground road which is the old asphalt runway. You can still see the runway numbers painted on the asphalt....ha ha!

Runway number.

 

I'm sure they hate to risk hiring and training more service techs and adding additional service bays in this very slow RV economy, but they need to do something to keep their customers happy!

Tuesday, May 4 - About 2:30, the phone call came.....we were moving from our temporary boondocking site to a full hook-up site. Ahhh.....electricity.... which means air conditioning....that's nice in Alabama! We're hanging around the MH the rest of the afternoon because the service writer may stop by to write up our order. They said not to worry, if he doesn't see us this afternoon he'll catch us tomorrow....crazy. Being two former teachers, we are not accustomed to this southern laid-back style!

Our site….not much to write home about.

Can you guess where Red Bay got its name?  Here are two hints…

That’s right….from the red clay dirt and the Bay tree. Good Job!

Some sites around the city…

City Hall

The park

We did some shopping at a place called McKinney RV. McKinney RV is a full-service RV Dealership and RV Service Provider. It is right across the street from the campground. We were looking for several items at a good price. We bought a sun shade for the driver side for $75. We found it at anther RV dealer for $200. I’d say…that is a pretty good buy.

Tons of tables and chairs and booths.

Need new stairs?

How about new wheels?

New couch?

Warehouse

Thanks for stopping by. Next post….Tiffin plant tour.

VICKSBURG NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

Sunday, May 2 –Noticing the weather seemed to be clearing up, we decided to head back to Vicksburg and visit the Vicksburg National Military Park.

Vicksburg National Military Park was established by an act of Congress on February 21, 1899. The Veterans who fought in the Vicksburg campaign worked tirelessly to see that the park was created.

The Union siege lines and Confederate defensive lines were marked during the first decade of the 20th century by many of the veterans who fought at Vicksburg, thus making Vicksburg National Military Park one of the most accurately marked military parks in the world.

At the gate, I asked for and purchased my America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands SENIOR Pass. This grants a 50% discount for Marsha and I to all National Parks....One good result of being 62...LOL Not a bad $10 investment, especially since they then did not charge us the $8 to get into the Park....WOW!

We followed the 16-mile tour where exhibits and a cell phone audio program explained the campaign and siege of Vicksburg during the Civil War. There are hundreds of markers honoring the soldiers who gave their lives from various states during the civil war. We were surprised to see the numerous markers honoring Ohio soldiers. They made quite a contribution to the North's siege of Vicksburg.

A couple of more neat Ohio statues.

All the other Union and Confederate States had at least one statue. The state of Missouri contributed 27 Union units and 15 Confederate units to the Vicksburg campaign.

Here are just a few examples.

Missouri

Wisconsin

There are still trenches that can be seen. They usually were 7 ft. wide and 8 ft. deep.

The Shirley House was owned by James and Adeline Shirley and is the only wartime structure remaining inside Vicksburg National Military Park, and was referred to as the 'white house' by Federal soldiers during the siege.  It was near the Shirley House that mining operations against the Confederate forts guarding Jackson road were initiated.

Through out the park are markers – Red for confederate and Blue for Union forces – showing the artillery and infantry positions for both forces.

Did you know…President Abraham Lincoln, in speaking of Vicksburg's importance, is reputed to have stated early during the Civil War, "See what a lot of land these fellows hold, of which Vicksburg is the key, the war can never be brought to a close until that key is in our pocket."

They have CS for Confederate State and US for Union State. Really nice idea.

Marsha picked up on this one. She asks, “See anything interesting about this sign?” I say, “No.” She says, “Thanks a lot. It is my birthday, June 2.” So silly of me.

Marsha and I were amazed how close these forces ended up in some situations – often within 50 feet!

Looking up from the Union side, you can see how close sharp shooters were to the cannons. I’d never do that!

From the Confederate side, a cannon’s eye view of how close the sharp shooters would stand. This is crazy!

The National Cemetery is in the park also. Embracing 116 acres it is the final resting place of 17,000 Union Soldiers, largest Civil War burial ground in the Nation. The cemetery was established in 1866 and burials began in early 1867.

Upright headstones with rounded tops mark the graves of known soldiers. Small, square blocks, incised with a grave number only, designate the unknown veterans, and a few graves are marked by other than government-issued headstones.

Confederate dead from the Vicksburg campaign were originally buried behind Confederate lines throughout the city. They were later re-interred in the Vicksburg City Cemetery (Cedar Hill Cemetery), in a section specially set aside and called "Soldiers' Rest." There are approximately 5,000 Confederates interred there, of which 1,600 are identified.

Entrance

Fort Hill was the anchor of the left flank of the rear Confederate defense line. The fort's position was so strong that the Union Army did not even attempt an attack during the assaults of May 19 and 22. Overlooking the Mississippi River and the water battery located on the bank below, Fort Hill commanded the bend in the river north of the city.

The cannons were very interesting. They are placed throughout the park in direction they were aimed during the War.

The U.S.S. Cairo (pronounced K-row) was one of seven ironclad gunboats named in honor of towns along the upper Mississippi and Ohio rivers. These powerful ironclads were formidable vessels, each mounting thirteen big guns (cannon). On them rested in large part, Northern hopes to regain control of the lower Mississippi River and split the Confederacy in two.

The USS Cairo was only in service for 11 months before making history as the first U.S. marine vessel to be sunk by an electronically denotated mine.

Over the years the gunboat was soon forgotten and her watery grave was slowly covered by a shroud of silt and sand.

Don Jacks and Warren Grabau, set out to discover the grave of the Cairo in 1956. Local enthusiasm and interest began to grow in 1960. A decision was made to cut the Cairo into three sections. By the end of December the battered remains were put on barges and towed to Vicksburg. In the summer of 1965 the barges carrying the Cairo were towed to Ingalls Shipyard on the Gulf Coast in Pascagula, Mississippi. There the armor was removed, cleaned and stored. The two engines were taken apart, cleaned and reassembled.

Piston for the paddles.

One of the cannons.

Boilers. Paul is in the background.

Ironclad side

See more pictures of the Cairo here.

If you enjoy reading and looking at pictures of the Civil War like Marsha does, check out these links.

Commanders.

Troops in the Campaign, Siege, and Defense of Vicksburg.

Order of Battle – Confederate

 Order of Battle - Union

Thanks for reading the blog. See you again soon.

JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI

Sunday, May 2 – Big day for us!

Part I---Due to rain this morning we decided to drive to Jackson, MS – the state capital. The City of Jackson was founded in 1821 at the site of a trading post situated on a bluff on the west bank of the Pearl River. Legend tells that the trading post was operated by a French-Canadian trader named Louis LeFleur, and the town originally was called LeFleur's Bluff. A legislative act dated November 28, 1821, authorized the location to be the permanent seat of government for the state and ordered that it be named Jackson in honor of Major General Andrew Jackson who would later become the seventh President of the United States.

During the Civil War, the town was ravaged and burned three times by Union troops under the command of General William Tecumseh Sherman. Surprisingly, the City Hall, which was built in 1846 for less than $8,000, was spared the torch. It was rumored that Sherman bypassed the building, which is still the working seat of municipal government, because it housed a Masonic Lodge and that the Union leader was a Mason. More likely, its use as a hospital was the reason the building was not burned.

We visited the Capitol building…Unfortunately, all the buildings were locked up tight (probably a Homeland Security Issue), but we drove around downtown and enjoyed seeing things.

Here are some pictures of the Capitol building. It was really pretty neat.

It had stained glass windows.

The city had many beautiful churches. We took a few pictures of them.

Saint Andrews Episcopal Cathedral.

Catholic Church

Mississippi College School of Law had some very interesting architecture.

 

The Governor’s Mansion is a block down from the Capitol.

Jackson doesn’t have skyscrapers, and it isn’t a huge downtown area. To see a few more pictures of the Capitol and other sites, click here.

This is only the first part of our day. Stay turned tomorrow for Part II.