Vicksburg, MS (October 18)

We docked about 6:00 A.M. It was partly cloudy and in the high 50's at 9:00 A.M. when we went ashore.

Duff Green Mansion

This was an interesting antebellum mansion, but it was hard to hear the guide so I didn't get much out of the presentation.

There does seem to be some anecdotal evidence that Duff Green at times played two ends against the middle. He may have sold cotton to the Union. Closer to home, literally, he made his home a hospital with Union soldiers allegedly on the top floor, then let Union gunboats know it. The generous interpretation was that he did it to protect his neighborhood, not just his home.

Factoid: The last heir to the mansion died from an infection caused by accidentally sticking a hat pin in her scalp. 

We walked up the street a block to our other destination on the tour.

Christ Episcopal Church

During the siege of Vicksburg, the Rev. W.W. Lord, led daily services in the church in spite of the windows being blown out, insects swarming inside and the smell of the hospital in the basement wafting up in the sweltering heat.

Factoid: Vicksburg surrendered on the 4th of July and therefore refused to celebrate it until 1948 when General Eisenhower came to town.

The bus dropped us at Washington Street. We hiked back up to the Old Court House, back down on another street, up and down Washington Street, then returned to AMERICA after an aborted attempt to eat lunch ashore. (Rooftop restaurant had cloudy acrylic rather than clear glass windows and was hot.)

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AMERICA next to American Queen Steamboat Co. AMERICAN EMPRESS

AMERICAN EMPRESS departing

After lunch we headed out again, wandering around for a couple of hours before working our way back down to the boat. [NOTE:  We would have gone to the famous battlefield, and did strongly encourage onboard friends who had not been there to do so, but we had visited it just a few years ago.]

In 1967, I had a rag-top like this one, but blue. 

murals on the Vicksburg flood wall (Teddy Roosevelt in the upper left-hand one)

top mark at 62.2-feet is where the water
would have risen on the wall with the caveat
"IF LEVEES HAD HELD"

rustic coffee shop with two guys in the back
playing chess against to clock

Back aboard, we watched as a go-fast was launched next to us, then roared up and down the channel.

Soon after 5:00 PM, "Wilson" came aboard and we were underway for Natchez. The fading blue sky failed to transition to a captivating sunset.

It was interesting that we arrived in Natchez about 10:00 PM.  I found myself wondering why we left Vicksburg so early. Maybe we'll find out tomorrow.