When it comes to selecting Civil War battlefields to visit, you have to have Vicksburg, Mississippi, on your list. The Mississippi River ran through the heart of the South, and the Union wanted control of the river so that it could hack the Confederacy apart. This is why the battle for Vicksburg was so hard fought, and it is why so much attention has been made to making it was of the central memorials that remain to commemorate the Civil War.
There are 1,325 different historic markers and monuments in the park, and a 16-mile road allows cars to go through the whole site. There is also a 12-mile walking trail for those who want to take a slower path through the sights. There are 144 cannons that are still embedded in place, and the U.S.S. Cairo, a Union gunboat that the Confederacy sank in 1862, has been raised and restored (National Park Service). This was the first American ship ever to be sunk by a mine or torpedo. You can also see the Grant’s Canal site, where the Union tried to create a canal to get Union ships around the devastating artillery batteries of the confederacy (History.com Staff).
Inside the park one can tour the Vicksburg National Cemetery, which has 18,244 burial slots. Almost 13,000 of those graves contain remains that are still unidentified (National Park Service).
The park opened in 1899, 17 years earlier than the National Park Service that now administers its operations and has since 1933. The federal government now owns all but about seven of the 1,736.47 acres. The purpose of the park was to honor those who fought in the battle. More than 500,000 people visit the Vicksburg Battlefield Park each year (National Park Service).
The memorials themselves are fascinating, as each state that send troops has erected something to honor its dead that never left the battle. The Illinois state memorial is particularly gripping, as it features 47 steps – one for every day that the siege of Vicksburg lasted (National Park Service).
In addition to its scale, Vicksburg is an important place to visit because it gives those who come a sense of what it was actually like to be out on that battlefield. It is one thing to read about a battle or watch a video reenactment. It is another to walk the ground, to see the cannons, and to be where the fighting men were. The sheer number of memorials (and tombstones) is a somber reminder that war is something that should only be entered into as a last resort. The tragedy of a country fighting such a bloody conflict with itself adds even more irony to the conversation. By the time one is done traversing the grounds, even while riding in a car, one gets a sense of the awe of the grounds. The listening tour adds even more to the experience.
The Antietam National Battlefield also makes for a powerful experience. Located in Sharpsburg, Maryland, it commemorates the Battle of Antietam that took place there in September 1862. The park was opened in August, 1890, but it entered the National Park Service at the same time as Vicksburg, in 1933. The park is divided into three sections, each of which was the site of a distinct phase of the battle. One site reflects the morning phase, which started at dawn when Union artillery started bombarding Confederate positions, which were exposed in the center of a cornfield. The Union troops also moved forward to drive the Confederate troops out of those positions, but then the Confederates received reinforcements and pushed back. The second section reflects the midday phase, in which a second group of Union troops met a Confederate group that were at the Sunken Road. After four hours, the Union troops were able to take the road from the Confederates. The third section, the Union troops under General Burnside finally made it across Antietam Creek, using what would become Burnside’s Bridge and ended up taking the high ground. At the end of the day, the Union had control of three sides of the field, and so the Confederates abandoned the town of Sharpsburg and the field (History.com Staff).
In addition to the three sections, visitors to Antietam Battlefield can also tour Antietam National Cemetery, which holds almost 5,000 graves, almost 2,000 of which remain unidentified. Here one will only find Union soldiers, although other burials include veterans of the Spanish-American War, the two World Wars and the Korean War (National Park Service). There is also a visitor center that contains numerous exhibits about the battle and the wider Civil War. The Pry House Field Hospital Museum is also on the site, and it specializes in exhibits that portray how wounded during that period received medical care.
This was one of the most important battles in the Civil War, because what had been a steady northward movement by the Confederacy at last met some serious Northern resistance. With wins at Antietam and Gettysburg, the North was able to develop some momentum, and the Northern industrial superiority was able to start sending materiel to the Union forces, which had the advantage over the largely agrarian South, which lacked replacement ammunition and materiel once the war began to turn against them. While other Civil War battles were bloodier, the momentum shift that Antietam represented makes this an important stop on a tour of Civil War battle sites.
Perhaps the only more venerable Civil War battle memorial in the United States is Gettysburg National Military Park. This commemorates the Battle of Gettysburg, which took place in southern Pennsylvania in 1863. The property of the park includes the majority of the Gettysburg Battlefield, as well as the Gettysburg National Cemetery.
In addition to driving tours that allow visitors to tour the major sites of the battlefield, the park also includes a number of monuments that have been erected in memory of the battle. Most of these have been gathered into the Gettysburg Battlefield Historic District, and as of 2008, there were 1,320 markers and monuments, 410 cannons, 148 historic structures and 41 miles of roads in the entire complex (National Park Service). The driving tours are either self-guided or come with an audio tape or CD that is available for purchase at the Museum and Visitor Center. Bus tours and individual car tours accompanied by a licensed battlefield guide are also available for additional fees.
In addition to driving, people can also tour the park on bicycle or on a hike. If Boy Scout groups come to Gettysburg, there is a special Boy Scouts of America Gettysburg Heritage Trail Guide that leads the groups on a hike throughout the entire park. It is also possible to ride your horse through the park, using dedicated horse trails. For those who have traveled to see the park, there are third party companies that arrange horses for those who want to ride them.
One reason why the Gettysburg National Cemetery is so popular with visitors is that it is the site where President Abraham Lincoln gave the famed Gettysburg Address (History.com Staff). Soldiers who have died in all American wars since 1865 can be found in the cemetery as well. There are paved walkways through both the cemetery and the Cemetery Annex.
A related point of interest for tourists off site is the David Wills House, which was the focal point of the gargantuan process of cleaning up after the battle had ended. This was also where President Lincoln worked on his address before delivering it. This house opened as a public museum in the spring of 2009, featuring six different galleries. Two of these are rooms that have been restored to look like they did in 1863: the bedroom where President Lincoln stayed the night before the address, and Wills’ office. Main Street Gettysburg operates this exhibit in conjunction with Gettysburg National Military Park (National Park Service).
Taken together, these three memorials contain a significant amount of the history of the American Civil War. For those wanting a tour that will show them much of the history of that time period, these parks are definitely “must see” destinations.
Works Cited
History.com Staff. “Battle of Antietam.” History.com 2009. Web. 17 May 2016.
History.com Staff. “Battle of Gettysburg.” History.com 2009. Web. 17 May 2016.
History.com Staff. “Vicksburg Campaign.” History.com 2009. Web. 17 May
2016.
National Park Service. “Antietam National Battlefield.” n.d. Web. 17 May 2016.
National Park Service. “Gettysburg National Military Park.” n.d. Web. 17 May
2016.
National Park Service. “Vicksburg.” n.d. Web. 17 May 2016.
