re: My son is interested in history. What places do you recommend visiting in the south?

Port Hudson battlefield is close.

Emerald Mound - North of Natchez

Pretty much the entire Natchez Trace Parkway (lots of stops/pullovers)

Vicksburg

Dallas Museum of Art has a special exhibit that might fit the bill.

Spirit Lodge: Mississippian Art from Spiro
March 13, 2022 to August 7, 2022

quote:

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Over 1,000 years ago, Mississippian peoples comprised an exceptional society that spanned eastern North America, distinguished by the construction of large earthen mounds. One of their most important cultural and ceremonial centers was Spiro, located in present-day Oklahoma. The Spiro mounds are one of the United States’ most important ancient Native American sites, as well as an archaeological find unmatched in modern times. Yet, despite creating a sophisticated ancient culture, the Spiro people are nearly forgotten in the pages of history books.

Opening March 13, 2022, at the Dallas Museum of Art, Spirit Lodge: Mississippian Art from Spiro presents nearly 200 ancient and contemporary works created by the Mississippian peoples and their descendants. Organized by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, this groundbreaking exhibition marks the first and possibly last time these works of art and cultural significance will be reunited from various collections across the country.

The exhibition was previously presented in Oklahoma and Alabama to national acclaim; the DMA is the third and final venue and the exhibition can be seen for free in the Museum’s Hoffman Galleries.

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LINK

Pamplin Historical Park in Petersburg, VA. It's dedicated to the actual soldiers of the Civil War. You learn things there that you never see at battlefields or history books.

Example: They didn't fight in the Winter time. Both sides hunkered down thru the Winter.

One of the cool things is you get to pick a soldier for the museum tour narration, and you find out what happened to them at the end.

In addition to my previous post, I recommend the entire state of Virginia. Just loaded with history everywhere. Yorktown, Williamsburg, Jamestown, Lexington, Shenandoah Valley, Richmond (especially the capital), plus loads more. Nat Turners Rebellion was in the county I lived in. Multiple museums in the Norfolk/VA Beach area.

When I was 14 I went on a dig in Dallas county, Alabama. It was sponsored by the Red Mountain Museum.

WWII museum in Nola is Pretty cool!!

Fort Pickens in fla. actually Pensacola has a bunch of cool shite

The National WWII Museum (D Day Museum) in New Orleans

It may be outside of your area but Gettysburg is unlike any other place I’ve been. I love history and my family vacations are always to some place historic and involve museums and so on. .

Gettysburg takes the cake, hands down. The battlefield covers miles and there are monuments literally everywhere that tell what unit was where and when. You can clearly picture the battlefield and what happened. My son (who can be uninterested sometimes) really loved it. They also have a great museum. We spent a few days there then went to Philadelphia and saw the stuff there. It was a great trip.