The Civil War, Bottling Coca-Cola and Teddy Bears

Vicksburg, MS

It was a warm (23-ish) , sunny and interesting day in Vicksburg, Mississippi. It was sure nice to have some warmth again. The last warm day was a fleeting one, back in Baton Rouge. Since then while it has been mostly sunny, it’s been around 15 degrees as a high and going down to near zero over night.

All things Civil War receive a huge amount of attention here in the South as they do in other parts of the United States and so with the claim being made that the battle and siege of Vicksburg was the beginning of the end for the Confederacy, I came specifically to Vicksburg to visit the Vicksburg National Military Park. I have previously visited Gettysburg and I was interested in learning about this battle as well. I’m by no means a war or specifically Civil War buff, but you can’t help but be interested in the human side of this particular war when neighbours fought against each other and even brothers fought against each other.

The National Park at Vicksburg is really well done. The visitor centre has an excellent video shown in their auditorium every 30 minutes that really helps to put this battle and siege in context and to give enough specifics that it all makes some kind of sense. The battle ground is large and there is a 16 mile drive around the site with markers and maps. In addition you can hire a personal guide to join you in your car for the tour or you can buy a CD that talks you through the park and you can go at whatever speed you like. Given that I was sure to be wanting to stop to take pictures, I decided the CD version made the most sense. It was really well done. It covered the basic facts as well as giving some first hand account information that I always find the most interesting.

Throughout the park are monuments put up by the various states involved in both sides of the battle at Vicksburg with each State deciding the timing and appropriate kind of monument. Some are single monuments and are large and imposing, like the Illinois one, and others are smaller and more artistic like Rhode Island. Some states decided to put small markers at each site where their troops fought throughout the battleground. You’ll see that Kansas’ monument is the most modern of all, and is one of the more recent ones. In addition there are many busts and monuments and plaques to various players in the battle.

Major General Ulysses S. Grant was the Commander on the Union side, was tasked with clearing any resistance from the South along the Mississippi. Vicksburg, high on a bluff along the river was a major impediment to that task. The Union thought that if they took the Mississippi they would have control of the major transportation route and they would divide the Confederates. In the end it took 46 days of siege after 2 major battles before the Confederates, commanded by Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton, agreed to capitulate to ensure the ability to get the best possible terms for his soldiers. The Confederates surrendered on the morning of July 4th, 1863.

There is a Union Cemetery on the grounds, with the graves of 17,000 Union soldiers, 13,000 of which are unknown and are marked by simple small stones with just a number on them. The Confederates lost over 5,000 men and they are buried on a cemetery elsewhere in Vicksburg.

So after that heavy morning, I stopped for lunch at a nice restaurant overlooking the Mississippi and in a 1890’s former biscuit making plant.

Near it, on the main road through historic downtown there is another important piece of history.
The location they claim was the first location to start bottling Coca-Cola anywhere in the world in 1894! Before this time you could only get Coke at a soda fountain. Joe and Herman Beidenharn apparently started the venture in their confectionary factory. I haven’t verified the claim with the Coke folks. The restored 1890 building holds a museum, store and gift shop. It’s a little cheesy and junky, but only costs $3.50 to get in and really such an important part of history! And of course I stopped to have a coke float, which I hadn’t had since my youth, sitting at a table outside in the sun. It was lovely.

Then for the final interesting part of my day, I drove up Highway 61 north to the town of Onward. “Town” is really pushing it. It is one building with a store and gas pump on the highway. The point of interest in Onward is that it is here that the claim is made that the term “Teddy Bear” got started. Something about Teddy Roosevelt going hunting and coming across a bear tied to a tree, and being kind hearted he didn’t want to kill a captive bear. So they started referring to bears as Teddy bears. Seriously, I’m not making this stuff up.

I had a look at the casino whose RV Park I’m using to see what it was like. Typical casino, and surprisingly still smokey. Amazing that they still allow smoking here. It reinforced that I’m not a big fan of casinos and have no need to visit again.