Hog Maw?!?

What the....???

Ok, before I move on to Vicksburg I want to back track and return to St. Francisville. Before leaving town, we stopped at the local grocery store to stock up for dinner that night. While Brian waited outside with Emma, I ran in and eventually ended up in the meat department. I know people probably thought I’d lost my mind as I snapped away but I couldn’t believe some of the meat they had all wrapped in clear packages offered up for sale. I was amazed to see pigs feet, pigs tails, chicken necks and something called hog maw. My first thought was this stuff must be used for voodoo, a witches brew or something of the sorts. Even the clerk had no idea what hog maw was when I asked. “I don’t know what it is but I see people buying it all the time. Hey Shirley! What’s hog maw?” As it turns out, not even Shirley knew what hog maw was. “I can call the butcher if you’d like.” “No thanks.” I figured I’d bypass the butcher and just Google hog maw. As it turns out, hog maw is the lining of a pig’s stomach used in soul food, and other ethnic dishes. YUCK! Don’t think we’ll be having any hog maw any time soon and as far as the other “meat” items I saw in the store, I’m sticking with the “brew.”

Vicksburg was… well, it was Vicksburg. I’d been to Vicksburg National Military Park back in the summer of ’73 (no Brandon and Shyla, that’s 1973, not 1873!) and then again in October of 1999 but Brian had never been to Vicksburg so we (I) decided he needed to see that part of Mississippi. The drive through the park is 16 miles long with numerous monuments located throughout the park. And even though this was my third trip, I was pleased to learn the national park service had added short movies about the siege of Vicksburg along with information on the various monuments. Volunteers were staged in an area outside the visitors center depicting how the Union Army maintained their firing positions during the siege. Two to three times a day, they would shoot their large cannon much to the dismay of the business owners nearby. I spoke with one young volunteer who had just graduated from high school and had been volunteering 40 hours a week of his summers for the last eight years. He must thoroughly love what he’s doing because he is required to wear full Union Army uniforms in the sweltering heat and humidity. The young volunteers along with the park rangers were well informed about the siege of Vicksburg and were eager to share their knowledge and answer any questions one might have.

Illinois Monument

Back inside the visitors center, we learned the monument erected by the state of Illinois was built at a cost of $194,423.92 in 1906. This cost was 24% of their entire state budget for that year! Above the entry of the Illinois monument there are three figures, the middle being a female figure of Clio, the muse of history who is recording the deeds of the two figures beside her representing the North and South reunited in peace. Nowhere on this monument you will find anything related to war. There are no fire arms, cannons, cannon balls, swords, bullets… nothing to remind anyone of the ugly war between the states. The Illinois monument is probably one of the most beautiful in the entire park but each monument has it’s own story to tell.

USS Cairo with damage from Confederate mine

We also had to make a stop at the U.S.S. Cairo, an ironclad gunboat constructed for the Union Navy. On Dec. 12, 1862, a Confederate torpedo tore open Cairo’s bow. The Cairo sank in 12 minutes and became the first armored warship sunk by an electrically detonated mine. The damage from the mine can be seen on the port bow. It wasn’t until 1960 when they discovered it’s exact whereabouts and finally brought her to surface in 1964. What’s amazing about this ship is like the Titanic, they were able to retrieve a lot of items from the ship which are housed in a small museum located next to the Cairo. The Cairo was powered by steam from boilers which were kept going 24/7, even when in port. Can you image working in the boiler room of the Cairo in the middle of summer in a uniform made of wool and cotton? And we think we’ve got it tough these days!

It’s really hard to imagine the destruction and the many lives lost at Vicksburg during the siege. Actually, it’s hard to imagine anyone living through the Civil War at all. There were over 600,000 casualties. More than the 6 wars combined which followed the War Between the States. Makes one wonder if we ever learned anything from this particular war.