I have found that when visiting Battlefields, read as much as possible about the battle, and to study maps of the field. I have been visiting battlefields for over 30 years now. I have found that many of the fields in the south don't really have alot to guide the visitor. They are far from Gettysburg in that respect. When I went to Vicksburg, I spent a great deal of time getting maps and studying troop postions. Some great sources are "Blue and Gray", and North and South magazines. They are a great help when visiting a battlefield, and you can order back copies. There is one for Vicksburg. Also keep in mind that there are great battle areas around Vicksburg. And don't misunderstand me visitor guides to a wonderful job. However I have always liked doing it myself. And where permitted I like walking the battle areas, you get a better feel for what took place. One of my favored things to do is to take any old photo's I can find and carry them along to see how things have changed. And the visitor center can be great help also. In Sept I had a great trip. I followed Longstreet's route from Culpeper, VA to Gettysburg. Visiting all his camp sights, it was a great trip. What ever you do or how you do it, above all else do enjoy it. Ted Myers Susie Barkley <gedteach@charter.net> wrote: The best bet is to get the personal tour that the visitor center offers. When we were there the guide drove our vehicle in the direction of the NC troops and gave us wonderful insights into many wonderful stories of the troops, and the directions of the battle. He would stop any time I wanted to make pictures. The visitor center also has a video, a map and lots of info of the battlefield, My great great grandfather was a soldier with the Haywood, NC troops, and lived through that battle, but was killed a few days later trying to protect the Confederate ironworks at Yazoo City. SBarkley On Dec 10, 2007 7:58 PM, wrote: > I will be a first-time visitor to Vicksburg next month and will be > visiting the Military Park and Cemetery. I have read that,?in addition to > the river?shiifting, it's hard to get a sense of the various encounters > prior to the siege. Nothing, say, like the Peach Orchard at Shiloh. > > Any suggestions for getting the maximim value out of a 3-4 hour stay? > > Thanks for any suggestions. Ed Burke, Massachusetts > ________________________________________________________________________ > More new features than ever. Check out the new AOL Mail ! - > http://o.aolcdn.com/cdn.webmail.aol.com/mailtour/aol/en-us/text.htm?ncid=aolcmp00050000000003 > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > CIVIL-WAR-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to CIVIL-WAR-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message --------------------------------- Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now.