Rose Garden

Rose Garden. . In 1887 the State of Louisiana placed the first Confederate monument, here, in the middle of Monroe Street. The monument preceded the establishment of the National Military Park by 12 years. Later the City of Vicksburg dedicated this garden area to honor all veterans. The World War I Monument was placed here in 1923. Brothers William and Henry Allein are depicted on each side of the monument. They were two young men from Vicksburg who died 21 days apart in Europe during the First World War., Carnegie Library , In 1910 Vicksburg communicated with Andrew Carnegie about the need for a public library. In 1916 the Carnegie Library was completed with a majority of the funding donated by the Carnegie Foundation. This building served as Vicksburg's library for 63 years. , Failed Experiment , Jefferson Davis served as the U.S. Secretary of War from 1853 to 1857. During that time he was persuaded by several officers to conduct an experiment using camels for pack animals in desert regions. A total of 77 camels were acquired from Egypt and taken to Camp Verde, Texas where the U.S. Camel Corps was headquartered. The camels were used for different experimental tasks through the years. The experiment did not produce the desired results and the program was abandoned. The last of the camels were sold off in 1875. , Old Douglas , The 43rd Mississippi Infantry came to Vicksburg to help fight the Union forces. Arriving with them was their uncommon mascot, a camel, named Old Douglas. It's assumed that he was confiscated from the Camel Corps. There are reports that it was quite a sight to see a camel walking around town during the Siege of Vicksburg. Old Douglas was shot by a Union sharpshooter and died during the siege. A monument honoring Old Douglas was placed in Vicksburg's Cedar Hill Cemetery in the Confederate Soldiers Rest area.