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We got off the Natchez Trace Parkway and went into the city of Jackson, the capital of Mississippi, named after Andrew Jackson who was a general at the time of the naming but later became president of the United States.
During the American Civil War, Union forces completely burned the city after its capture in 1863 so there are few antebellum structures left standing. One surviving structure is the Governor's Mansion built in 1842, which served as Sherman's headquarters. Another is the Old Capitol building, which served as the home of the Mississippi state legislature from 1839 to 1903.
We took a look around the "New" State Capitol building which was completed in 1903 (at a cost of almost $1.1 million) and looks like the Capitol building in Washington D.C. It was renovated from 1979 to 1982 at a cost of $19 million. We had the chance to speak to one of the full time computer experts there who explained the Senate and Congress system to us.
The Senate in Washington has two senators per state and the number of Congress representatives in Washington depends on the population size of each State. But there are also State senators and congress people who are elected every 4 years here in Mississippi and are part time workers. They are in session for 90 days from January to March or for 120 days from January until April/May after an election.
The building is grandiose with all of its marble, brass and stained glass domes and has an abundance of classical detail. We went into all the public areas including the Supreme Court Chamber, and the Senate and House Chambers. Then we walked over to the Old Capitol building (1839 to 1903) which was first abandoned, then turned into state offices before being restored as a museum in 1961. The building was damaged during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and reopened in 2009 after being fully repaired and restored.
The audio visual presentation is very impressive with original speeches, debates and court arguments set up in authentically restored rooms with the title "History Comes Alive". Well worth a visit.
The next day we went on a free tour of the Governor's Mansion which is the second oldest continuously occupied governor's residence in the US. (The oldest is in Richmond, Virginia). Built in 1841 in Greek Revival style, it served as Sherman's headquarters during the Civil War. A major restoration took place in 1972 where historical records were studied to reconstruct the building authentically and museum quality antiques were acquired to furnish the house. As a result we were not allowed to take photos or to touch anything. But our tour guide, Peggy, gave us an extra long tour as there were only the two of us and we kept asking questions!!
Our next stop was at the Vicksburg National Military Park where we watched a very good 20 minute film about the strategic battle for Vicksburg during the American Civil War in 1863 where 20,000 people died. General Ulysses Grant attacked the city several times but failed to take possession. So they lay in siege. After 47 days the Confederate General Pemberton surrendered on the 4th July. Vicksburg didn't celebrate Independence day (4th July) for a very long time.
The surrender of Vicksburg together with the defeat of General Robert E. Lee at Gettysburg the day before, marked the turning point in the Civil War. Nearly two years later the Unionists defeated the Confederates but 100 years later, Martin Luther King Junior was still fighting for equal rights for the blacks and no segregation.
We took a look at the murals along the banks of the Mississippi River depicting the history of Vicksburg and the surrounding area and also saw the huge flood gates where the various high water and flood levels are marked. There is also the Biedenharn Coca-Cola Museum where the first bottles of the famous drink were bottled in 1894.
We drove almost 800 miles over the next four days heading West through Louisiana and almost across Texas and stopped at Borger where we knew there was a campground where you can get a full hook up for three days absolutely free. After the long drive we needed a bit of a rest but on the next day our weather radio was already forecasting a storm for tomorrow with ping-pong ball sized hail.
The next morning we turned on the weather radio again for an update. Now the storm would be hitting that afternoon with Baseball-sized hail and a Tornado warning!! Sometimes the reports aren't quite right and the warnings were for Borger and points east but we weren't going to hang around to find out! We packed up in record time and drove 225 miles through the rest of Texas and into Colorado.
It was hot and sunny on the drive out and at first no sign of any storm. Later, however, we did see large clouds building and found out on the internet the next day that Borger had "only" been hit by very heavy rainfall but tornadoes and hail caused damage and destruction further east. We were glad we had our weather radio and that we'd decided to leave.
