Our afternoon ride was shortened at the last minute — just 10 hilly miles from Port Gibson (no longer a port city because the river shifted) to Windsor Ruins, once a grand antebellum mansion with 23 rooms in rural western Mississippi and about 40 miles south of Vicksburg.
It survived the Civil War (occupied by Union troops instead) only to be burned down by a stray cigarette (either during a party or by a workman, depending on what story you believe. Or a mix? Wikipedia says a guest dropped a cigarette onto construction materials.) Now it’s one of the most photographed spots in Mississippi.
To help give the photo some scale, the base of the columns are taller than me. They were for the above-ground basement. Imagine such a thing! Not surprisingly, this was on a huge plantation, so just guess at the number of slaves. I’m thinking it easily outdid Tara.
A Yankee soldier was shot in the front doorway? Now that sounds like something Scarlett did.
Fun fact: We biked on Rodney Road (also where the house is) — going in the opposite direction of General Grant on his way to Vicksburg.
Exploring by bicycle 