"CRATER" at Vicksburg--Ignored/Why?

Speaking of Vicksburg, does any one have updates on the National Military Park ?

Erosion control, closed drives, general maintenance, ect. After the Park Service lost funding a few years ago ?
This is on the VNMP website this morning; Confederate Ave from Ft. Hill to Graveyard Road is closed due to soil erosion. The USS Cairo Museum and the majority of the Tour Road remain accessible. Call 601-636-0583 for more information.
The Park has reopened Louisiana and Navy Circle on Washington Street.
They have volunteers now who help with the upkeep of the Cemetery.

I’ve been watching South Fort where a new,correct carriage is being installed for the 10 inch Columbiad located there. The cement pad has been poured, but so far no carriage, and the cannon tube is laying on the ground.

During my brief visit there in April the road closing was unfortunate but not too serious: the driving tour followed the usual route along Union Avenue from the Visitor Center to Grant Circle but from there backtracked slightly to a park/historic road (Graveyard?) that connected with Confederate Avenue. From there you could complete the last part of the tour, but to get to Fort Hill, Cairo, and the National Cemetery you had to go through town and enter the northern entrance to the park. In reality, only short stretches of Union and Confederate Avenues were inaccessible. The National Cemetery looked awful - overgrown, unkempt, and un-mowed after months of rain, but even though we didn't enter it after leaving Cairo we could hear lawn mowers at work, likely for the first time in the year. From there, we drove back through town past South Fort, Louisiana, and Navy Circles, all of which were closed, though had we been on foot and felt like it, I don't think there was any reason we couldn't have simply walked into any of them. The "official" reason for the closure given at the Visitor Center was damage from the last hurricane. Of course, the most dramatic recend development at Vicksburg has been the ongoing deforestation program that has opened up many battlefield vistas like the one below; if you haven't visited for a few years, you're in for a surprise if not a shock!

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A little late I looked up this Coonskin tower an interesting story... even Grant visit it...

1 Coonskin's Tower, according to Brevet Brigadier-General William E. Strong, w as built under the direction of Second-Lieutenant Henry C. Foster, of Company B, 23d Indiana Volunteers. A newspaper slip sent to the editors by General Hickenloopercontains the following account of “Coonskin” (Lieutenant Foster), which W. P.Davis, who was Lieutenant-Colonel of the 23d Indiana, says is substantially correct:

he was an unerring shot, and wore a cap made of raccoon fur. From this he was called ‘Coonskin’ the Seventeenth Corps through, and wherever he was, woe to the Confederate head that appeared above a parapet. ‘Coonskin’ went out once in the night-time, crept up toward the Confederate defenses and built himself a burrow in the ground, with a peep-hole in it. There lie would frequently take provisions with him, and stay several days at a time, watching for Confederates. At length he built ‘ Coonskin's Tower.’ the Jackson and Vicksburg railway had been torn up for miles in the rear of Vicksburg, and railway iron and cross-ties lay all about. Taking advantage of the night hours, Coonskin built himself a Tower of the loose railroad ties. Learned in backwoods lore, he knew how to construct the genuine pioneer log-cabin. Working several nights, he at length built the Tower so high that by climbing toward its top he could actually look over the Confederateparapets. He could see the men inside the works. Then, taking aim through the chinks of the logs, he would pick off the enemy. The Tower was a terror to the Confederates. They could not use their artillery against it, that having been already quite silenced by the Union batteries. All they could do was to fire musket-balls at it, which whistled around its corners or buried themselves in its logs.

link to the picture... http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CoonskinToweratVicksburg.jpg

Here some war tales about the tower how true I do not know...

The last time the Maham type tower was used on the American continent was during the Siege of Vicksburg. Lt. Henry "Coonskin" Foster built his tower out of railroad ties and from it, hung mirrors so Union mortarmen could adjust their aim into Confederate trenches. Of course, the Corn-fed boys didn't appreciate being snooped upon and shot them out with regularity. Foster replaced them every night. Foster's tower was also used by him to sharpshoot at the Confederates. Foster used to also make money by charging soldiers money to get a look from the tower. Perhaps the biggest lost opportunity for the South was when Grant was observing the Confederate lines from it (presumably Foster didn't charge his commanding officer the customary fee). One Southern soldier yelled at Grant for exposing himself and was immediately chastised by a Confederate officer for speaking badly to an officer, albiet a Yankee officer. Had that soldier shot Grant, the war might just have ended differently.

Bumping this post as it could be of interest to members who read a article about the tower I posted.
 
Bumping this post as it could be of interest to members who read a article about the tower I posted.
And even today ... many tourists still ask if the tower was covered with the skins of little raccoons ?

:bounce:

But I really can't laugh at the tourists.

Most have no knowledge of the Vicksburg siege or the ACW.
If I didn't know the history, I'm sure I might have the same question.
 
Everyone wants to always talk about the "Crater" during the Petersburg siege but there was another "Crater" event that happen at Vicksburg, goes unnoticed.

On June 25, 1863, the union explored 2200 pounds of explosives under the Vicksburg line. The line was being guarded by the 3rd Louisiana Redan.

A crater was created by the explosion and the union infantry charge into the opening and into the crater and like at the future crater at Petersburg got trapped in the crater and were gunned down by the Confederates until a case-mate was built.

From what I have read the union explores another crater in the Vicksburg line but no infantry attack follow. It looks like union was expanding the first crater so a column of 4 wide infantry could pass setting up another assault try. It did not come to pass for Vicksburg surrendered.

What is a casemate the union pioneers built that protected the union troops??

Why does the Vicksburg "Crater" goes unnoticed in civil war history?

Why is always the union doing the mine digging and making craters?

Are there any other details of the event I missed?

Any thoughts members....
Maybe the Vicksburg Crater was not as big as the Petersburg crater (???) or maybe it's because Vicksburg was in the Western Theatre of operations which never gets the attention as the Eastern Theatre.
 
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