The crew stood poised by its gun at Battery DeGolyer, silhouetted against the setting sun.

Following the commands of the gunner, the crew loaded the brass 12-pound Napoleon, inserted the lanyard, and prepared to fire.

At the command, “Fire” an eruption of flame came from the barrel, and a roar shook the ground near the gun.

The gun’s blast was the final exhibition for a group of 30 visitors, one of three groups at the Vicksburg National Military Park participating in Saturday night’s “Shadows of the Past,” a brief tour through a section of the park to bring the visitors closer to the events and people involved in the Siege of Vicksburg.

“It was pretty awesome,” said 9-year-old Wesley Cowan, who went on the tour with his mother, Jennifer Cowan. “It was pretty cool.”

Wesley was a participant in the demonstration at Battery DeGolyer, and got to wear a Union gunner’s jacket and cap. He described the jacket as heavy, but “cool.”

“We homeschool, so we used this as a special trip,” Jennifer Cowan said.

She said the tour was an opportunity to learn more about the siege than the books provided.

“We heard some stories we had not heard before. It was exciting.”

“We’ve been doing this for five years,” said ranger Tim Kavanaugh. “This gives us an opportunity to give people a better look at the siege.”

While the park has daytime interpretive programs, he said, “The people get distracted because you’ve got cars and buses coming in the parking lot, you’ve got the traffic on Clay Street, and sirens on I-20. This allows us to bring people deeper into the park, where you don’t have the distractions, and tell them the story. They enjoy it more.”

Saturday’s tour took visitors on a circuit that stopped at the Illinois Memorial and the Shirley House, ending at Battery DeGolyer and the artillery demonstration. Along the way, guide B.B. Lingle told stories about the siege and about the units and troops who fought.

As they moved along route, they met re-enactors like ranger David Slay and teenager Jacob Downing portraying Confederate soldiers David Alexander and his nephew Durwood of the 3rd Louisiana Infantry, and Pat Strange as Albert Cashier, a soldier with the 95th Illinois — a woman named Jennie Hodgers who took on the identity of a man to fight in the Civil War. The stop at the Illinois Monument included a visit inside the structure where the visitors saw the names of the Illinois soldiers who died during the siege as a duet of fiddle and flute played “When Johnny Comes Marching Home.”

At the Shirley House, retired dentist Dr. David Harris, portraying a regimental surgeon with the 45th Illinois, discussed the role of Civil War doctors and the practice of medicine during the war.

Slay, who has been a re-enactor since 2003, said he enjoys playing the role of a soldier. “It gives people a first person account of the events, and the story from the other side. It puts them in someone else’s shoes, he said.

“The use of first person re-enactors can be a powerful way to explain history to people,” Kavanaugh said. “It gives them a different, more personal view.”

He said the park has presented two “Shadows” programs a year, in the fall and spring, adding the future plan is to go to once a year.

Lingle, who is one of the park’s licensed guides, said he enjoys helping people understand the park and the significance of the siege.

“The biggest challenge is making sure I have enough stories to tell,” he said.

He said he enjoyed taking people on the Shadows tour. “I did the one last year in the military cemetery. It was wonderful. This park can be very beautiful at dusk.”