ECW Weekender: Living History at Vicksburg
If you’re braving the summer heat in Mississippi to visit this siege and Union victory site, you’ll be pleased to know that this summer (2019), Vicksburg National Military Park is offering living history programs on the weekends! Here’s the scoop:
Both programs are available with park admission and at no extra charge through August 4th. They may be canceled due to inclement weather, and even on fair weather days, the park service recommends being prepared for the outdoor heat. Bring that extra water bottle!
Echoes of the Battlefield
Learn about the experience of gun crews and get a close up look at the firing process for a 12lb Napoleon Cannon. This program is hosted outside at the Visitor Center every Saturday and Sunday in July at 10am and 2pm.
The Soldiers’ Experience
Check out Civil War rifles and learn about the steps for loading and firing and more about the common solider who fought at Vicksburg. Hosted outside at the Visitor Center on Tuesdays and Thursdays in July at 10am to 1pm.
THIS WEEKEND
If you grab your knapsack and head for Vickburg National Military Park this weekend, you’ll find lots of artillery demonstrations happening on the battlefield. Tour Stop #1 Battery de Goyler will offer cannon firing at 10am, 12pm, 2pm and 3pm on July 5, 6, and 7, 2019 (weather permitting).
Here’s what the Park Service website says about this important artillery position:
Battery Degolyer was established on May 25, and contained the largest concentration of cannon (22) in the Union siege lines. This emplacement was representative of the Federal cannon that were positioned at important locations. The battery consisted of guns from the 8th Battery Michigan Light Artillery, Yost’s Independent Ohio Battery, Battery L, 2nd Illinois Light Artillery, and the 3rd Battery Ohio Light Artillery. It was named after its commander, Capt. Samuel De Golyer, who was mortally wounded during the siege, and faces the Great Redoubt, a Confederate fortification constructed to guard the Jackson Road entrance to the city.
For more details about Vicksburg’s upcoming living history programs, please visit their website: https://www.nps.gov/vick/planyourvisit/living-history.htm
I remember when Petersburg National Battlefield Park ran a summer program of Living History Civil War artillery. They got horses from the riding stable at the local state park and brought the gun in with full caisson! What a sight to see. And, the Living Historians were Confederates. I even think they flew a Stars and Bars flag as they rode in. I do not recall any of the spectators being triggered.