Ironically, the surrender of Gettysburg and Vicksburg took place on the same day--July 4, 1863. Civil War historians have argued for years over which was the most important but they are both battlefields NOT to be missed. We bought the History Channel book/CD at home and listened and read it before we came to Vicksburg and that helped visualize what... more

Rent the GPS video guide before you drive through the Park. It costs $ 9.95 and gives you as much, or as liitle, information as you want about every aspect of the park. The person at the visitors centersaid that you could make your tour last between 2 and 6 hours depending on how much of the video you wanted... more

We spent four hours touring the battlefields, cemetary, and monuments. They also had a reenactment of a campsite and shot the cannon for us. My husband is a photographer so we spent alot of time so he could take photos but you could see the highlights in less than 3 hours. We also took a picnic lunch so we didn't... more

We drove the 16 mile self-guided tour around the Union and Confederate lines inside this national military park. During the tour, we found ourselves often stopping in order to take photos and read markers. There are ample statues and monuments for the photographer and numerous cannon are located around the park. It is an interesting and enjoyable way for one... more

I saw the entire park by bicycle in a half-day. It lends a much more "real" and human-scale experience than from a leather seat in an air-conditioned SUV. It's very do-able if you're in decent shape and traffic is light. more

Hire a guide. The drive around the park is great, but you need someone to explain how things are laid out and describe the events of the seige to you. We hired a local history teacher through the front desk at the park, and it was a memorable experience. It doesn't matter whether you side with the gray or the... more

We went to the Vicksburg Military park the end of March 2009 and it was one of the highlights of our trip. We did not hire a guide or buy the explanatory CD. However, we did stop at the visitors' center to look at the exhibits and, most importantly view the film. It is very informative and really helped us... more

My husband and 19 yr old son recently spent the afternoon touring the Vicksburg National Military Park. We're glad we went. This was a significant turning point in our country's history, and whether you're from the North or South, it was an important event. The monuments are beautiful (albeit numerous), and the cemetary is quite sobering. If you're lucky enough... more

Some of the monuments on the battlefield were alright, but this battlefield is littered with them. There are way too many here. Without a tour guide, it was also hard to take ourselves through and get a picture of what really happened here. The museum inside helped prior to visiting, but I can't say that this was the best battlefield... more