Touring Civil War Vicksburg Part 2

Great Vid. Love the Shirley house info.
 
I have several of his books! One of them, written with Gordon, was the first book about the city I bought when I moved there in 2008. 😊 Another, An Illustrated Guide to the Vicksburg Campaign and National Military Park, is an amazing reference.
 
written with Gordon
Mr. Gordon Cotton was a treasure !

And while I can't say he was a friend of mine, that man went beyond the "call of duty" to help
me research my G G Grandfather's regiment at the the Snyder's Bluff fortifications on the Yazoo River
(above Vicksburg) during 1862.

Mr. Cotton will be forever missed.
 
I was pleased and lucky to know him. And... he's been a guest at my dinner table....just sayin'. 😊
Wow !

That's too cool !!

I'm also fortunate to have many good friends from Vicksburg.
Through my friends, I've met some VERY interesting folks.

Vicksburg has as many interesting people ( if not more) than Natchez.

:bounce:

If you knew Mr. Gordon, I'm betting you've may have heard of a gentleman named Leyland French.
He was one of the most Intriguing Vicksburg citizens I've ever encountered.

Long story short ... for many years he owned the 1700's Plantation home McRaven, which many say
is one of the most haunted places Mississippi.

Although reserved at first, Mr. French started to talk a little more after he had been around me for a while.
Some of the things he reluctantly mentioned would scare anyone.

But that's for the ghost forum, not the Siege of Vicksburg forum.
 
I tried to go to McRaven one time while I was living there. Gates were locked, the place was deserted, couldn't get in. I was disappointed. There were a number of old homes that were reputed to be haunted, of course, and a man whose name I've forgotten who gave "Haunted Vickburg" nighttime bus tours. I've been gone for almost seven years...I'd have to think a bit to recall all the names. Many of the bed and breakfast inns, one place down near the river ("Belle of the Bends" B&B?) where a tourist once snapped a photo and caught a "ghost" looking out the window.

One of my good friends in Vicksburg has long roots there, and she had some very bitter things to say about Natchez and why they still have all their beautiful antebellum homes. 😬😶 I visited Natchez several times while I lived in Vicksburg. Had some great barbeque, m first ever sweet potato fried, but most of all I loved the old building where a local photographer had decades of old photos of the city exhibited and on display. That was simply an amazing collection of photos. I have a bunch of things here in my house in New England that I bought in old junk and thrift shops there, including my tea kettle that I use every day to boil water for my tea. Many fine memories of both cities. I definitely hope to get back for a visit someday.
 
I tried to go to McRaven one time while I was living there. Gates were locked, the place was deserted, couldn't get in. I was disappointed.
Yeah, McRaven is always "hit or miss' if it's open or not.

I've spent many nights in some of the more popular homes ... Anchuca, Cedar Grove, ect.
(But never experienced anything out of the ordinary)

However, I have too many friends that swear they will never spend another night in the
Duff Green Mansion.
 
I spent one evening at Duff Green but happily did not observe anything other worldly. However, somewhere on this site I saw some photos and read comments about crazy stuff there -- balls going up the stairs, or something like that, a ghost on the front porch (or was it just the ghost's head?) I had a friend who ran at the military park after work, often when it was dark, and he said he "felt" lots of strange things in the fields around him. What a great place Vicksburg is!
 
One of my good friends in Vicksburg has long roots there, and she had some very bitter things to say about Natchez
Yeah .... even to this day, those two River towns are not on the best of terms.

Vicksburg put up one heck of a fight for over two years ... while most of the Natchez millionaire planters
"rolled over on their back" to protect their mansions.

( Not all ... but most )
 
Hey, we are promoting "Touring Civil War Vicksburg" and drumming up interest in visiting the town! :dance: Right on topic! (Sorry @Championhilz!)
Absoulutely !
My favorite quote from the very first days of the Vicksburg Campaign:

“Mississippians don’t know, and refuse to learn, how to surrender to an enemy.” :
Vicksburg Post Commander James Autry.

(when U.S. Naval ships first appeared at Vicksburg in May 1862) .

Although that didn't work out too well in the big picture ...
lt's still a cool quote.
 
Wow !

That's too cool !!

I'm also fortunate to have many good friends from Vicksburg.
Through my friends, I've met some VERY interesting folks.

Vicksburg has as many interesting people ( if not more) than Natchez.

:bounce:

If you knew Mr. Gordon, I'm betting you've may have heard of a gentleman named Leyland French.
He was one of the most Intriguing Vicksburg citizens I've ever encountered.

Long story short ... for many years he owned the 1700's Plantation home McRaven, which many say
is one of the most haunted places Mississippi.

Although reserved at first, Mr. French started to talk a little more after he had been around me for a while.
Some of the things he reluctantly mentioned would scare anyone.

But that's for the ghost forum, not the Siege of Vicksburg forum.
I have a DVD about Vicksburg and McRaven, entitled McRaven, from 1994 or so, by Walt Grayson. I had it made from an old VHS tape and I would put it on Youtube but the guy who transferred it made me promise not to do so. It really is good, and Leyland French is the main host. I learned so much about the time period from it. Have you ever seen it? Tompre is on it, also giving historical commentary.
 
Yeah .... even to this day, those two River towns are not on the best of terms.

Vicksburg put up one heck of a fight for over two years ... while most of the Natchez millionaire planters
"rolled over on their back" to protect their mansions.

( Not all ... but most )
Gordon Cotton once commented that Natchez should do a reenactment of the battle of Natchez, it would consist of the people standing on the bluffs and waving a white bedsheet.
Needless to say, the people of Natchez were not amused.
 
I have a DVD about Vicksburg and McRaven, entitled McRaven, from 1994 or so, by Walt Grayson. I had it made from an old VHS tape and I would put it on Youtube but the guy who transferred it made me promise not to do so. It really is good, and Leyland French is the main host. I learned so much about the time period from it. Have you ever seen it? Tompre is on it, also giving historical commentary.
I wish I could see that. I did a search and can't find anywhere that it's posted. :frown:
 
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