To coincide with the anniversary of the first day of the Siege of Vicksburg, Tully’s Cave was officially opened to locals, Sunday, May 18 with many turning out to view Vicksburg’s newest tourist attraction.

“This is the missing layer of Vicksburg’s history that hasn’t been here,” David Hosemann said, in reference to the significance of Tully’s Cave. With this addition, visitors and locals, alike, he said, now have the opportunity to see how the townspeople lived while the city was under attack.

Prior to the tour of Tully’s Cave, attendees watched a short video that was shown inside a replicated home from the era that sits in front of the cave. In the video, Bertram Hayes-Davis describes what cave life was like for the thousands of people who were trapped inside the River City — how they had to forage for food, endure the summer heat inside the tunneled walls built along Vicksburg’s bluffs and the hazards one could face if they dared step foot outside.

Melanie Bowman, who attended the Sunday open house, said she has always been amazed at how the townspeople adapted to their situation.

“I am just so taken with the fact that people left their beautiful homes and went and brought their silver with them and all their finery and just moved into the caves,” she said.    “And when people hear about the caves, they are just fascinated with them.”

Tully’s Cave has been available for tours for the past year for those who arrived on cruise lines that dock at the river front through Vicksburg Old Town Tours, but now from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday May 24, 31, June 7, 14, 21, 28 and July 1 Tully’s Cave will be open for tour. Admission to the cave is free, but donations are welcome. Additional information, photos, memorabilia and books will also be available to view inside the replicated home at 716 Main St.