Illinois State Memorial © National Park Service
Vicksburg National Military Park
The Vicksburg National Military Park commemorates one of the
most decisive battles of the American Civil War: the campaign,
siege and defence of the city of Vicksburg, 44 miles (71km) west of
Jackson in Mississippi. Vicksburg was under siege for 47 days in
1863 as confederate forces vainly tried to defend the city high on
the bluff guarding the Mississippi River. The battlefield at
Vicksburg is in a good state of preservation and visitors can
explore 1,325 historic monuments and markers, 20 miles (32km) of
reconstructed trenches and earthworks, an antebellum home, 144
cannon emplacements, the restored Union gunboat, USS Cairo, and the
Vicksburg National Cemetery. While in Vicksburg don't miss a
riverboat ride on the mighty Mississippi and a visit to the River
City Blues Museum in Clay Street, with the largest blues collection
on public display in the world.
Telephone: (601) 636 0583 (Visitor centre);
Website: www.nps.gov/vick/index.htm;
Opening time: Visitor centre open daily 8am to 5pm;
Admission: $8 per vehicle (valid for 7 days), or $4 per person per day
Elvis © Mississippi Tourism
Elvis Presley Park
The King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley, was born in Tupelo,
northern Mississippi in 1935 in a humble home where he began his
meteoric rise to fame. The simple two-room house where Elvis drew
his first breath is now contained in a park, which has become a
place of pilgrimage for thousands of fans every day. The city of
Tupelo has other attractions too to make a trip north of Jackson
worthwhile. Elvis Presley Park includes not only the
period-furnished house, but also a museum, memorial chapel, gift
shop and a life-size statue of the legend, aged 13, as he was when
he moved from Tupelo to Memphis, Tennessee, with his family.
Address: 306 Elvis Presley Drive, Tupelo;
Telephone: (662) 841 1245;
E-mail: info@elvispresleybirthplace.com;
Website: www.elvispresleybirthplace.com;
Opening time: Monday to Saturday 9am to 5.30pm (until 5pm from October to April); Sunday 1pm to 5pm;
Admission: House and Museum: $7 (adults), $3.50 (children). Separate tickets are also available
