The tale of two towns

Traveling down the road brought me to the historic towns of Vicksburg and Natchez; towns that were both impacted by the Civil War as so many of the towns on the Mississippi.  Vicksburg still shows the scars of the war with cannons left in their last-fired locations. What amazed me of this town was the rebirth that was happening as people find the need to learn more about the past through visiting these towns, and the desire to repurpose closed factories into living and retail space.  Vicksburg was home to the National Biscuit Company, later known as Nabisco. The factory still stands overlooking the River and the railroad - the two means of transportation for moving it's product.
The area was also a main town for blues musicians as they gathered alond the main streets and pass on their stories. Once again, the impact of the historic events that happened here hit me as I stood in town talking to locals who still carry scars from the 50s and 60s.
Steamboat work was a major economic piece to the area and when this era died, the economy of the area took a severe hit. But people here are resilient; they move on. This is their home and generations of one family have lived here.
If Vicksburg is home of th factory workers and laborers who fought hard for their land, Natchez is its opposite. Home of the beautiful antebellum estates and wealth, Natchez was left virtually untouched by the war. sitting high up on a bluff, the town was protected and only the "under the hill" part of the city felt the impact of the attack from the river. Owners of the factories upriver had their homes here and needed help to run these homes. Natchez was a major auction stop for the selling of slaves and still houses the scars of this time. Standing at the triangle, looking at the shackles embedded in the ground, will be a moment I will not be able to erase from my mind.