Vicksburg Things to Do

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This free museum is run by the US Army Corp of Engineers and highlites the natural system and history of the Mississippi River. The highlite is the M/V Mississippi, a boat that served as the working headquarters of the Mississippi River Commision until 1993.

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Built in 1858, this was where the Confederate president Jefferson Davis got his start, The courthouse served as confederate headquarters durign the siege. Today its a musuem with a wide range of historical items.

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During the siege of Vicksburg Confederate forces sank one of the Union Ironside ships, the USS Cario. In 1965 the ship was recovered from the bottom of the Yazoo river restored and place in the Vicksburd NMP for display.

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This preserves the key sites of one of the pivotal battles of the US Civil war, the Siege of Vicksburg. Sufferign from defeat after defeat in the east, the union forces in the west under Ulysses Grant were able to take control of the Mississippi River in this battle, opening up the waterway for northern agricultural goods and denying it to the South.

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My husband and I visited the McNutt House while on the walking tour and returned the next day for the house tour. Elvin, the owner, gave us one of the best tours we have ever taken. Very informative about the history of the house and its past owners. Beautiful period furnishings and several unusual vintage and antique curios to include a copy of a 1863 edition of Harper's Weekly. The tour also included the story of Confederate Lt. David Weeks Magill (burried on site) and the story of the "Little Girl in the Blue Dress" ghost. Best $5 I ever spent.

The house is also a B&B. The guest rooms in the main house include a private bath and a kitchen! The property also has very lovely gardens worth seeing.

located in the vicksburg national military park is the u.s.s. cairo museum. the u.s.s. cairo was a ironclad gunboat commissioned in 1861 and was named after the town of cairo illinois. in december 1862 the cairo was patroling the yazoo river and hit two mines and sank. the u.s.s. cairo was raised 102 years later in 1964. because the cairo sank in river mud it is in very good shape. a very interesting civil war relic to see at the park.

most visitors to vicksburg come to see the vicksburg national military park. you can take an auto tour on a 16 mile road that runs through the park. the seige of vicksburg was a decisive victory for the union in the civil war. for more information on this interesting park see my vicksburg national military park pages.

the christ episcopal church is one of several historic churches in downtown vicksburg. leonidas polk, the bishop of alabama and louisiana laid the corner stone of christ episcopal in 1830. leonidas polk was a cousin of president james k. polk and a friend of jefferson davis. during the civil war polk was a confederate general and was nicknamed "the fighting bishop". polk was killed in action during the atlanta campaign in 1864. christ episcopal church was completed in 1843 and survived the seige of vicksburg. a beautiful and historic church to visit in downtown vicksburg.