Weapons & Equipment of the Vicksburg Campaign

Civil War Weapons & Equipment of the Vicksburg Campaign 

In this posting I will cover the weapons and equipment that were used by both sides during the Vicksburg Campaign. This is by no means a listing of every firearm and every piece of equipment that would have been carried by the typical Yank or Reb. I have simply tried to describe the types of muskets and various pieces of equipment that would have been in widespread use during the campaign.

Background on Civil War Firearms

Prior to the Civil War, most military firearms used in the United States were smoothbore muskets. They fired a round ball, were most commonly of .69 caliber, had an effective range of 50 yards, and a maximum range of 100 yards. A well-trained soldier could fire 3 – 4 rounds per minute with this type of weapon.

U.S. Model 1842 Musket – This was the last smoothbore musket produced by the United States, and it was widely used by both sides during the Civil War. It fired a .69 caliber round ball.

Rifled firearms were not widely used by the military before the Civil War. They fired a patched, round ball, and were accurate out to several hundred yards. The tradeoff was rate of fire: the best that could be expected was one round per minute.

Widespread use of the rifle by the military came after the invention of the Minie ball by

Claude Etienne Minie, inventor of the Minie Ball

French Captain Claude Minie. He created an elongated lead bullet with a hollow base that was smaller than the bore of the rifle. When fired, the propellant gasses expanded the hollow base of the bullet, expanding it into the rifling of the barrel. With the Minie Ball, firearms could be built with the accuracy of a rifle but with a rate of fire of 3 – 4 rounds per minute. The smoothbore musket was suddenly obsolete.

The United States army adopted the rifle as its primary shoulder weapon in 1855. The changeover to the new technology was slow, however, and when the Civil War began in 1861, both the North and the South had arsenals full of old smoothbore weapons. All of the muskets each side had on hand were not enough, however, to arm the thousands of young men flocking to recruiting stations to join the military. Both North and South were forced to rely on imported weapons from Europe to help equip their men.

Loading and firing a musket, whether it was smoothbore or rifled, was a complex task requiring nine separate steps. A well-trained soldier was expected to take three aimed shots per minute. The cartridges for muzzleloading firearms were made out of paper, and each contained one lead bullet and the blackpowder for the round. In rifled weapons the most commonly used round was the minie ball, and the most common calibers were .58 and .69. Union-made minie balls typically had three rings, while Confederate made minie balls had two rings or no rings. In smoothbore weapons most commonly used were a .69 roundball or a .69 caliber buck and ball round.

U.S. – Made Three Ring Minie Ball

Confederate Enfield Bullet

Firearms used by the Union army during the Vicksburg Campaign

By the time of the Vicksburg Campaign the North was able to supply three-quarters of its regiments with state-of-the-art first-class muzzleloading muskets. About one-quarter of the army were armed with second-class muskets of both European and American design. Many of the American-made weapons were older smoothbores that had had their barrels rifled to increase their accuracy and range. While they were serviceable weapons, they were not considered as accurate or reliable as first-class weapons. Only one unlucky regiment in the Union army at Vicksburg was armed with third-class arms: the 101^st Illinois Infantry had smoothbore muskets.

After the siege of Vicksburg ended, General Ulysses S. Grant allowed his regiments that were armed with second-class or third-class weapons to pick through the captured Confederate stockpile of muskets and take their pick of the many first-class rifles that were available.

U.S. Model 1861 Springfield Rifle-Musket

The Springfield Model 1861 Rifle-Musket was the most widely used Union firearm of the war, and was very well regarded for its accuracy and reliability. The United States Armory at Springfield, Massachusetts, produced over 250,000 of these weapons during the first two years of the war. The government also allowed private manufacturers to build the weapon, as the Springfield Armory could not keep up with the demand. Over 20 different contractors made the Springfield, turning out a total of 450,000 rifles. The Springfield Model 1861 was 56 inches long, weighed nine pounds, and used a .58 caliber minie ball.

U.S. Model 1861 Springfield Rifle-Musket

British Pattern 1853 Enfield Rifle-Musket

The Pattern 1853 Enfield was the standard shoulder weapon of the British army from 1853 – 1867. It was a very well made firearm that was the equal of the Springfield Model 1861 in terms of performance. It was the Union army’s second-most widely used musket, with over 500,000 imported during the war. The rifles brought to the United States were made by a number of civilian contractors in Great Britain. The Enfield was 55.3 inches long, weighed nine pounds, and used a .577 caliber minie ball.

British Pattern 1853 Enfield Rifle-Musket

Sharps Carbine

The Sharps Carbine was one of the most popular weapons used by Union cavalry during the Civil War. It was a breechloading weapon that was highly thought of for its reliability, accuracy, and high rate of fire. Unlike a musket that had to be loaded from the muzzle with a ramrod, the Sharps loaded from the breech. By lowering a lever, the breechblock of the gun dropped down, allowing the user to insert a cartridge directly into the breech of the gun. When the lever was raised, the gun was ready to fire. A well trained trooper with a Sharps could fire 10 aimed shots per minute, in comparison to a musket’s three shots per minute. The tradeoff was range: the carbine’s barrel was not as long as the musket’s, so it had a much shorter effective range. The Sharps was 39 inches long, weighed seven pounds, and used a .52 caliber bullet.

U.S. – Made Sharps Carbine

Colt Model 1851 Navy Revolver

A six-shot, single action revolver (single action means the hammer has to be pulled back before the trigger is pulled), the Colt Navy was one of the most widely used handguns of the war. Issued primarily to cavalry, they provided multiple shots at close range, which were very useful as troopers often fought at close range. These weapons were also used as personal side-arms by many Union officers. The Colt Navy was 13 inches long, weighed 2 pounds, 10 ounces, and used a .36 caliber conical or round ball.

Colt Model 1851 Navy Revolver

Colt Model 1860 Army Revolver

A six-shot, single action revolver, the Colt Army was one of the most popular handguns used during the Civil War. They were widely issued to the cavalry, where the multiple shots and heavy firepower they provided for close-range engagements made them a formidable weapon to be reckoned with. Like the Colt Navy, officers often used these revolvers as their personal side-arms. The Colt Army was 14 inches long, weighed 2 pounds, 11 ounces, and used a .44 caliber conical or round ball.

Colt Model 1860 Army Revolver

Remington Model 1861 Army Revolver

A six-shot, single action revolver, the Remington Army was the most widely used handgun of the war. The United States government purchased 125,314 Remington Army Revolvers. The Remington had an advantage over the Colt Army, in that it was much less expensive.  The Remington was 13.75 inches long, weighed 2 pounds, 14 ounces, and used a .44 caliber conical or round ball.

Remington Model 1861 Army Revolver

Firearms used by the Confederacy during the Vicksburg Campaign

The Rebel soldiers who fought in the Vicksburg Campaign were armed with a variety of firearms of Confederate, European, and United States manufacture. Whereas the Union infantry at Vicksburg almost exclusively carried rifle-muskets, their Southern counterparts had a large number of smoothbore muskets in addition to their rifles. Many of the smoothbores were stacked in the trenches during the siege to give the infantry increased firepower during Union assaults.

When the Vicksburg garrison surrendered on July 4, 1863, a huge amount of ordnance fell into Union hands: 50,000 firearms, and 600,000 rounds of ammunition were among the windfall. A reporter for the Chicago Tribune viewed the captured stockpile and wrote: “The number of muskets and rifles taken will far exceed the number of prisoners. Each man in the trenches kept two, three or four double loaded for use in case of assault. The men used ordinarily English rifles. The extra guns were mostly Springfield and Harper’s Ferry muskets.”

British Pattern 1853 Enfield Rifle-Musket

The British Pattern 1853 Enfield Rifle-Musket was the most widely used firearm of the Confederates during the Vicksburg Campaign. Enfield rifles were smuggled into the South though the Union navy’s blockade, and they were very well liked by the troops lucky enough to be issued them. The 3^rd Louisiana Infantry was issued the Enfield during the Siege of Vicksburg, and William Tunnard, a sergeant in the regiment, wrote that they “Began a brisk fire in their eagerness to test their quality.” The Union soldiers receiving this fire noticed the improved accuracy of the Rebels and “Wished to know where the devil the men procured these guns, and were by no means choice in the language which they used against England and English manufacturers.” The Enfield was 55.3 inches long, weighed nine pounds, and used a .577 caliber minie ball.

British Pattern 1853 Enfield Rifle-Musket

U.S. Model 1841 Mississippi Rifle

This rifle was named for the 1^stMississippi Regiment that was led by Colonel Jefferson Davis and used the weapons to good effect during the Mexican War. They were originally designed in .54 caliber, but many were modified during the Civil War to .58 caliber. As originally designed they were not intended to use a bayonet, but many had a bayonet lug added during the Civil War so that a sword bayonet could be utilized. The Mississippi Rifle was 48 inches long, weighed nine pounds, and used either a .54 or .58 minie ball.

U.S. Model 1841 Mississippi Rifle

U. S. Model 1842 Musket

The Confederates had many different models of smoothbore musket that they used at Vicksburg, and one of the most common was the U. S. Model 1842 Musket. The last smoothbore musket adopted for use by the United States, many were in Southern arsenals at the beginning of the war. The musket could fire a single .69 caliber ball, or it could fire what was known as a “buck and ball” load. This consisted of a .69 caliber ball with three buckshot stacked on top of it. Each time the gun was fired, four projectiles were sent downrange, increasing the chances of hitting the enemy. It was a very useful round for close range fighting, and many were used at Vicksburg during the Union assaults on the Rebel earthworks. The Model 1842 was 57 inches long, weighed nine pounds, and used a .69 caliber ball or buck and ball load.

U.S. Model 1842 Musket

Maynard Carbine

One of the most popular Confederate cavalry weapons of the war was the Maynard Carbine, a breechloading single-shot rifle. Unlike most Southern carbines that used paper or linen cartridges, the Maynard used a metallic cartridge with a small hole in the base that was ignited by a standard musket percussion cap. A rugged weapon, the Maynard was known for its reliability and ease of use in combat. Before trade was cut off with the North, the states of Georgia, Florida, and Mississippi purchased 2,369 of these weapons from their manufacturer, the Maynard Arms Company. A columnist for the Oxford Intelligencer in Mississippi wrote that there was “Nothing to do with [the] Maynard rifle but load her up, turn her North, and pull trigger; if twenty of them don’t clean out all Yankeedom, then I’m a liar, that’s all.” The Maynard was 36 inches long, weighed six pounds, and used a .50 caliber metallic cartridge.

Maynard Carbine

Griswold & Gunnison Revolver

Confederate cavalrymen loved the Colt Model 1851 and 1860 revolvers and used them whenever possible. But there were never enough of them to go around, and the Southerners resorted to producing copies of the Colt pistols. One of the most widely used was the Griswold & Gunnison revolver that was made in Griswoldsville, Georgia. From 1862 – 1864, 3,606 of these pistols were produced. They were a close copy of the Colt Model 1851 Navy, the major difference being that the Confederates had to substitute brass for the frame instead of steel. The Griswold & Gunnison was 13 inches long, weighed 2 pounds, 6 ounces, and used a .36 caliber round ball.

Griswold & Gunnison Revolver

Equipment used by Union and Confederate soldiers during the Vicksburg Campaign

Union and Confederate soldiers in the midst of an active campaign had to carry all of their equipment and personal belongings on their backs. They quickly learned to pare down the weight and carry only those items that were absolutely essential. Even with a light marching load, the typical soldier was still carrying 40 – 50 pounds of equipment. This was as much as most soldiers could carry on a daily basis without placing too great a burden on themselves. The typical items carried by Union and Confederate soldiers were:

Knapsack

Used like a modern backpack, the knapsack held rations, extra clothing, blankets, and any other odds and ends that the soldier wanted to carry with him. They were not widely used by Confederates during the Vicksburg Campaign, who preferred to carry their extra gear in a blanket roll. The most common Union knapsack was the Model 1855 double bag cloth variety, painted black to make it somewhat resistant to water. Many Union soldiers also preferred the blanket roll, and threw away their knapsacks at the first opportunity.

U.S. Model 1855 Double-Bag Knapsack

Blanket

Army issued blankets were typically made of wool and were either carried in the knapsack or rolled up, the ends tied together, and worn over the shoulder as a blanket roll. For Confederates, army blankets were often in short supply, so it was common for them to use civilian blankets or captured Union blankets. Federal soldiers were commonly issued gray wool blankets with “U.S.” stitched in the center and dark stripes on either end.

Confederate Blanket Roll

U.S. Blanket Roll, including rubber ground cloth

Haversack

The haversack was a cloth bag with a strap so that it could be worn over the right shoulder with the bag resting on the left hip. The Confederate model was usually of unpainted white cotton, while the Union version was generally painted black to give it some resistance to water. The haversack held the soldier’s rations and eating utensils.

Confederate Haversack

U.S. Made Haversack

Canteen

Confederates were often issued round, drum-shaped canteens made of tin or wood. They also used captured Union canteens whenever they could acquire them. Union soldiers were issued tin canteens with an oblate shape. There were two versions, one with smooth sides, and the other with a bull’s eye pattern of rings impressed on both sides. Some were issued with a woolen cover that was brown or various shades of blue.

Confederate Wooden Drum Canteen

U.S. Made “Bullseye” Canteen

Cartridge Box

Confederate cartridge boxes were made from leather or painted cloth, and some held 40 rounds of ammunition. Others imported from Great Britain held 50 rounds. They could be worn either from a sling over the shoulder, with the box on the right hip, or attached to a belt and worn around the waist. Union cartridge boxes were made out of leather, held 40 rounds, and typically had a “U. S.” boxplate on the front cover to keep the flap closed. They were usually worn from a sling that had an eagle breastplate attached.

Confederate Cartridge Box

U.S. Cartridge Box

Equipment Belt

During the Civil War soldiers did not use belts to hold up their pants – they had suspenders for that. Belts were used to hold an infantryman’s cap box, bayonet, and sometimes the cartridge box as well. Officers and non-commissioned officers might also have a sword suspended from their belt. Confederate belts were made from leather or painted cloth. The most common buckle was a simple frame style, but beltplates with “C.S.,” or “C.S.A.” were also used. Union belts were leather with an oval “U.S.” buckle. Officers and non-commissioned officers wore rectangular sword belt plates with an American eagle inside a wreath on the front.

Confederate Equipment Belt

U.S. Equipment Belt

Cap Box

The cap box was worn on the belt and used to hold the copper percussion caps needed to fire the musket. Confederate models were leather or painted cloth. Union models were made of leather.

Confederate Cap Box

U.S. Cap Box

Bayonet

Worn on the equipment belt, the scabbard for the bayonet was typically made of leather with a brass finial on the end. Some Confederates did not carry bayonets, but those that did used a wide variety of triangular socket bayonets and sword bayonets. Union infantry typically used a triangular socket bayonet, but some units did have rifles that needed a sword bayonet.

Confederate Sword Bayonet

U.S. Socket Bayonet

Soldier Spotlight: T. Otis Baker, 10th Mississippi Infantry

One of the most complete surviving collections of Civil War artifacts belonging to an individual Mississippi soldier is the T. Otis Baker Collection at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. It includes several uniforms, accoutrements, pistol and holster, haversack, and utensils. In addition, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History has a large collection of manuscripts and photos related to Baker’s service. Baker’s uniform and equipment was on display at the Old Capitol Museum in Jackson, Mississippi, but unfortunately they are in storage now. Some of them can be seen in Echoes of Glory: Arms and Equipment of the Confederacy by Time-Life Books.

Thomas Otis Baker was born on March 14, 1844, in Natchez, Mississippi, the son of Edwin Bliss Baker and Elizabeth Baker. Both of his parents were born in Connecticut, and the date they moved to Natchez is not known, but by 1858 Edwin Baker was listed in the city directory as a merchant selling plantation goods from his store on the corner of Main and Broadway streets.

Edwin Baker became very wealthy in Natchez, reporting in the 1860 Census that he owned real estate valued at $16,000, and a personal estate worth $25,000. He also owned ten slaves, ranging in age from one year old to fifty years old. In that same census T. Otis Baker was listed as a 16-year-old clerk; he was probably working in his father’s store.

T. Otis Baker received his early education from the Natchez Institute, a free public school established in 1845 when Alvarez Fisk gave a plot of ground and a building “to be used solely as a public free school forever…at public expense all free white children residing in the city of Natchez, without distinction as to sex, shall be taught the usual branches of learning.”

This photo of the Natchez Institute was taken about 1900. Mississippi Department of Archives and History

When the Civil War started in 1861, Baker was only 17, and he did not immediately join the Confederate army. His parents may have made him wait, for he was apparently a very patriotic young man. He joined the Natchez Cadets, a group of boys too young for service who acted as a home guard for the city. Baker must have shown leadership potential, for on May 18, 1861, he was listed as Captain commanding the Natchez Cadets. The youthful company was presented a flag in an impressive ceremony, and a local newspaper said of the event: “Yesterday evening at the parade ground on the bluff, a very beautiful and costly banner was presented to this company – the gift of the ladies of Adams County. The cadets are a company of youth, commanded by Captain T. Otis Baker, and certainly, in point of drill, discipline, care and quickness of movement, and gentlemanly and soldierly bearing, cannot be excelled in the state. Their appearance, marching, and discipline yesterday, elicited unbounded admiration.”

Notice in the Natchez Courier, May 23, 1861, from Captain T. Otis Baker, calling on the Natchez Cadets to meet for a flag presentation ceremony for the Adams Light Guard.

T. Otis Baker officially joined the Confederate army on March 8, 1862, at Natchez, six

This Lieutenant's Frock Coat was worn by T. Otis Baker. It is in the collections of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.

days before his 18th birthday. His time as captain of the Natchez Cadets must have been noticed for he enlisted in Company B, 10th Mississippi Infantry, as a second lieutenant for the period of three years or the war. When Baker left Natchez he took with him Fred Lee, one of the family slaves. When Baker died in 1910, his obituary stated: “Fred Lee, the negro servant, who attended Captain Baker from his childhood, having been a slave in the family before the war, and who served Captain Baker throughout the war, nursing him when he was wounded and who was faithful to him until the last moment, is taking the death of his former master and friend very hard.”

By the time Baker joined the 10th Mississippi Infantry in March 1862, the unit had already been in service for over a year. The men making up the 10th were among the first from Mississippi to leave the state, responding to a call on March 1, 1861, for troops to serve 12 months at Pensacola, Florida. The 10th, along with her sister regiment the 9th Mississippi Infantry, were accepted into Confederate service in April 1861, becoming the first units from the state to do so.

In late February 1862, the 10th Mississippi was ordered to Corinth, Mississippi, where it

General James R. Chalmers - Library of Congress

joined the army that soon came to be known as the Army of Mississippi. The 10th was assigned to the brigade of Brigadier General James R. Chalmers, made up of the 5th, 7th, 9th, and 10th Regiments of Mississippi Infantry. This brigade was known as “Chalmer’s High Pressure Brigade” during the war because of their excellent fighting abilities.

T. Otis Baker joined the 10th Mississippi just in time for the Confederate advance on Ulysses S. Grant’s army at Pittsburg Landing in Tennessee, about twenty miles north of Corinth, Mississippi. In the battle of Shiloh, Tennessee, fought on April 6-7, 1862, the 10th Mississippi, 360 men strong, was heavily engaged. Chalmer’s brigade was involved in six major assaults during the fighting, and had 82 men killed and another 343 wounded. In the process the brigade took over 1,600 Union soldiers prisoner.

Baker was wounded at Shiloh, but the wound must have been minor as he remained with the regiment after he was injured, and his service record barely makes mention of the incident. A few days after the battle Edwin Baker wrote to his son and told him: “I drop you this line by your brother, to say that the news of your victory and especially of your personal safety, after such a horrendous conflict of arms, has caused my head to overflow with gratitude to God for having enabled our brave men to vanquish the enemy on that eventful day, and for his goodness in shielding so many of our personal friends from harm.”

Although many Southerners considered Shiloh a victory, the battle was, in fact, a serious defeat, and the Confederate army was forced to retire back to Corinth, Mississippi. The Federals slowly advanced on the city, and Rebel skirmishers were sent out to slow their march. One of the unit’s selected for this duty was the 10th Mississippi, and in a skirmish at Michie’s Ridge on April 24, 1862, Baker was wounded. The injury must have been significant, as the young officer was given a furlough to return home to Natchez to heal. The May 1, 1862, edition of the Natchez Courier made note of his return saying: “We learn that Lieut. Baker and private Eustis, wounded in a skirmish at Corinth…returned home yesterday morning. It is gratifying for us to say to their many friends in the city & county, that they are doing as well as could be expected. All honor to the glorious “Natchez Southrons” who bravely fought the good fight at Shiloh!”

While Baker was recuperating in Natchez, the Confederate army abandoned Corinth on May 29, 1862, and retreated to Tupelo, Mississippi. The Federals promptly occupied Corinth and then split their army, sending 55,000 men east to take Chattanooga, Tennessee, while the rest remained in the north Mississippi area. The Confederates at Tupelo responded in kind, splitting their forces and sending 35,000 men under General Braxton Bragg to divert the Federals from Chattanooga by launching an offensive into

General Braxton Bragg, commander of the Army of Tennessee - Library of Congress

Kentucky that would force the Yankee army to follow. The 10th Mississippi was one of the regiments that went with Bragg, and Baker rejoined the unit in time for the advance into Kentucky.

Bragg began his movement from Chattanooga on August 28, 1862, and the first heavy fighting in the campaign came on September 14, 1862, when Chalmer’s Mississippi Brigade, including the 10th Mississippi, made an unsuccessful attack on the fortified town of Munfordville, Kentucky. During the  attack the 10th Mississippi had the greatest loss of any unit in the battle; 13 killed and 95 wounded. Included among the dead were both the colonel and lieutenant colonel of the regiment.

Illustration depicting the battle of Munfordville - HARPER'S HISTORY OF THE GREAT REBELLION.

The fight at Munfordville made a big impression on Baker: one year after the battle he noted in his diary, “Sept. 14th – One year today since the bloody affair at Munfordville.” After the war Baker collected a number of artifacts from the battlefield, many of which still survive and are in the Baker Collection at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.

Bragg’s invasion of Kentucky culminated in the battle of Perryville on October 8, 1862. The 10th Mississippi was on the field but was not engaged in the fighting. The Confederates lost the battle, and afterwards Bragg withdrew into Tennessee.

In November 1862, the Confederate Army of Tennessee was formed from two smaller armies. It was with this organization that Baker and the 10th Mississippi would fight for the remainder of the war. That same month,  0n November 28, 1862, T. Otis Baker was promoted from 2nd Lieutenant to 1st Lieutenant.

After the failed Kentucky campaign, Bragg retreated to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, about twenty miles from Nashville. The 10th Mississippi next saw action when Federal forces advanced on the city, prompting the battle of Murfreesboro on December 31, 1862 – January 2, 1863. In the fighting the 10th was involved in the assault on an area known as the “Round Forest,” later renamed “Mississippi’s Half-Acre” because so many men from the Magnolia State died trying to take the position. In the battle the 10th had 8 men killed, 70 wounded, and 6 missing. The Confederates lost the battle and fell back to the area around Tullahoma, Tennessee, and remained there until July 1863.

The Confederate army went into winter quarters after the battle of Murfreesboro, and Baker spent part of this quiet time back home in Natchez on recruiting duty. On February 7, 1863, Baker ran the following ad in the Natchez Courier: “Volunteers wanted for Bragg’s Army – Persons who are liable to conscription under the several acts of Congress, having now an opportunity of offering their services to their country and receiving all the benefits hitherto extended to volunteers…The undersigned are authorized to receive recruits and furnish them transportation to the army. It is presumed that the patriotic societies of Adams County will supply the necessary clothing. T. Otis Baker, J.J.G. Beau, Lieuts. and Recruiting Officers.”

Recruiting Ad placed in the Natchez Courier on February 7, 1863, by T. Otis Baker

The 10th Mississippi along with the rest of the Army of Tennessee was inactive until mid-June, 1863, when a Union army under Major General William S. Rosecrans advanced on Chattanooga. On September 9, 1863, the Confederates were forced to give up the town and retreat into the mountains to the south. The Federals quickly pursued, but the Rebels, aided by reinforcements from Virginia, turned on them and attacked at Chickamauga, Georgia, on September 19-20, 1863. The 10th was not engaged on the first day of the battle and slept that night on ground that had been occupied by the enemy that morning. Baker wrote in his diary that the 10th “Had for our couches, ground which had resounded to the tread of the hostile forces during the day & for protection from the cold dew, trees that had humanely obstructed missiles which were intended to deprive fellow human beings & brothers of the precious boon – life.”

On the second day of the battle, the 10th Mississippi was in the thick of the action, breaking through a fortified line of the enemy and capturing three cannon. In fighting later in the day the regiment was thrown against a second fortified position and made repeated charges against it, but were unable to break through. The combat went on so long that the regiment ran low on ammunition, and their rifles were so choked with black powder that the men had to hammer the ends of their ramrods against trees to force home the bullets.

In his diary Baker wrote a vivid account of the fighting at Chickamauga on the second day: “Moved forward to the charge. In one hour we had driven the enemy three miles. Our brigade (Anderson’s) captured twelve pieces of artillery & our regiment three pieces. The brigade was engaged during the remainder of the day with a reserve division of the enemy. They charged us once but were repulsed with heavy slaughter. They occupied a hight which we stormed three times but were unsuccessful, not being well supported on the flanks…Providence in its goodness seems to turn aside the deadly missiles.”

Although the assault along the 10th’s section of the line failed, the Confederates broke the Union line in another area, forcing the Yankees to retreat back to Chattanooga. In the fighting at Chickamauga, individual casualties were not listed for the 10th, but the brigade to which they belonged suffered 80 men killed, 464 wounded, and 24 missing. I his official report on the battle, Colonel James Barr Jr. of the 10th Mississippi cited T. Otis Baker from his gallant conduct in the fight.

The Confederate Army of Tennessee besieged the Union army at Chattanooga, and the 10th Mississippi next saw action on November 25, 1863, when the Yankees attacked the Rebel position on Missionary Ridge. In the assault the Rebel line on the ridge broke, and the Confederates had to retreat south into Georgia where they went into winter quarters. No losses were officially reported for the regiment or brigade in the battle, but the casualties were probably light.

While in winter quarters in March 1864, Baker recorded in his diary an account of a snowball fight among the men that was so intense it sounds like he was talking about an actual battle: “About the latter hour 9 A.M. two lines of battle were formed by the 10 & 44 Regts. which charged the [camp] of the 41st Miss. The result of the battle was the dispersion of the 41 who for a short time fought stubbornly, the capture of their Colonel and several other officers and the occupation of their Regimental Parade.”

The 10th Mississippi was not engaged in any serious fighting until May 1864, when the Union armies under Major General William T. Sherman began advancing into Georgia with the goal of capturing Atlanta. In sharp fighting the 10th saw action at Rocky Face Ridge in early May, at Resaca on May 14-15, skirmished at Cassville on May 19, fought in the battle of New Hope Church on May 26-28, and fought at Kennesaw Mountain in June.

The Confederate army was slowly pushed back on Atlanta in these grinding battles, and the near constant marching and fighting left the men of the 10th Mississippi exhausted. On May 24, 1864, a clearly worn-out Baker scribbled on a scrap of paper, “Day was very warm & sultry. Began to rain soon after dark and continued to do so until near day light. Lay down under a tree with a blanket thrown over three of us but slept very little. This is about the most unpleasant part of a life which has no pleasures to say the best of it. Tis hard for a soldier to have his rest interrupted, but it is especially disagreeable to be awakened at night by the pattering rain on the face.”

By mid July the Federals had reached the outskirts of Atlanta, and beginning on July 20, the Confederates launched a series of attacks to try and drive them back. In an assault on July 28, T. Otis Baker was struck twice by bullets and badly wounded. He was not the only member of the regiment to be struck down: the 10th Mississippi had 16 men killed, 67 wounded, and 4 missing in the fighting. In addition, the regiment had five color bearers shot down during the battle.

Baker was sent to Newsome Military Hospital in Thomaston, Georgia, where he was treated for gunshot wounds to the right thigh. On October 15, 1864, he was granted a medical furlough to Meadville, Mississippi, to continue recovering from his wounds; he couldn’t go back to his home in Natchez, as the city was occupied by the Yankees.

While Baker was on furlough, the 10th Mississippi took part in the Army of Tennessee’s invasion of the state of Tennessee in November and December 1864. In the battle of Franklin, Tennessee, on November 30, the regiment was heavily engaged, suffering 13 killed, 35 wounded, and 14 missing. In fighting at Nashville on December 15-16, the Army of Tennessee was decisively routed and forced to make a retreat back to Mississippi through terrible winter storms.

In 1865 the survivors of the 10th Mississippi were sent east for one final campaign in the Carolinas. Baker returned to the regiment at this time and was promoted to the rank of captain on April 10, 1865. The 10th marched through South Carolina and North Carolina, but missed participating in the last major battle in the east, Bentonville, North Carolina, on March 19, 1865.

On April 26, 1865, the Confederate army in North Carolina surrendered and were paroled at Greensboro. There were 64 men present from the 10th Mississippi, including T. Otis Baker. On May 2, 1865, the men of the 10th were officially paroled and allowed to travel back to their homes in Mississippi. When Baker arrived in Natchez he took the amnesty oath on July 21, 1865, swearing that he would “Faithfully support, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the Union of States thereunder.”

Amnesty Oath taken by T. Otis Baker at Natchez on July 21, 1865 - T. Otis Baker Collection, Mississippi Department of Archives and History

During the course of the war, Baker’s Company, the “Natchez Southrons,” had 127 men serve in its ranks from 1861-1865. Of that number, 18 were killed in action or died of their wounds, 1 died accidentally, 15 died of disease, and 11 were permanently disabled by wounds. Sergeant John C. Rietti of the 10th Mississippi kept a daily record while in the service, and he later calculated that the regiment marched 3,500 miles on foot and was transported by rail or boat 5,000 miles.

Post-war photograph of T. Otis Baker and his wife - T. Otis Baker Collection, Mississippi Department of Archives and History

T. Otis Baker married Sarah Seaman on August 14, 1865, at Natchez, but she died less

Postwar picture of T. Otis Baker - CONFEDERATE VETERAN MAGAZINE, Volume 18

than a year later. Afterwards Baker enrolled in law school at the University of Virginia, and after graduating began practicing law in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1871 he married Olivia J. Saunders, and the couple had eight children.

In the 1870s Baker moved back to Natchez, where he was a very prominent citizen. For many years he was the city solicitor, and he was especially lauded for his work in charge of the quarantine of Natchez during the Yellow Fever epidemic of 1878. T. Otis Baker died in Natchez on June 14, 1910, and was buried in the city cemetery.

Sources

     Boatner, Mark Mayo III. The Civil War Dictionary. New York: David McKay Company, 1959.

     Bubbles. 1921 Yearbook of Natchez High School.

     Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served In Organizations from the State of Mississippi: 10th Infantry. Record Group 9, Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson, MS.

     The Daily Democrat (Natchez), June 15, 1910.

     Moneyhon, Carl and Bobby Roberts. Portraits of Conflict: A Photographic History of Mississippi In The Civil War. Fayetteville, AK: University of Arkansas Press, 1993.

     Natchez Courier, May 18, 1861, May 1, 1862, February 7, 1863

     Rietti, John C. Military Annals of Mississippi: Confederate. Spartanburg, SC: The Reprint Company, 1978.

     Rowland, Dunbar. Military History of Mississippi 1803-1898. Spartanburg, SC: The Reprint Company, 1978.

     T. Otis Baker Diary, Z/0072.001, Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson, MS

     T. Otis Baker Papers, Z/0734, Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson, MS.

     United States War Department, Compiler. War of the Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. 73 volumes, 128 parts; Washington, DC: 1880-1902.

     Wiley, Bell Irvin. The Life of Johnny Reb. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1990.

A Terrible Storm Will Overwhelm Us: Secession Sentiment in Vicksburg, Mississippi

This post is based on a talk I gave at the Old Court House Museum in Vicksburg on January 8, 2011. The Vicksburg National Military Park and the Old Court House Museum hosted the event, which was in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the secession of Mississippi.

A Terrible Storm Will Overwhelm Us: Secession Sentiment in Vicksburg, Mississippi

Vicksburg was incorporated in 1825 with a population of about 180. From these modest beginnings, the city prospered and grew, and by 1860 Vicksburg had become the leading commercial center in Mississippi. It was also the second largest city in the state, with a free white population of 4,580. Only Natchez was larger, and at the rate Vicksburg was growing, city officials were hopeful it might take the top spot by the time of the next census in 1870.

This Illustration depicts Antebellum Vicksburg in all her glory.

Vicksburg’s rise had been fueled by the development of the cotton industry in Mississippi, and by the advances in steam engine technology that offered farmers an economical means of getting their crops to market using railroads and steamboats. By the 1830s, steamers were making regular stops at Vicksburg, and in 1840 the Vicksburg and Jackson Railroad linked the Hill City to the state capitol. The line proved to be an immediate success, reducing the cost of transporting cotton from Jackson to Vicksburg from 4.00 per bale to 1.00 per bale. By 1853, 98,000 bales of cotton were being shipped to the city annually.

In 1860 the Magnolia State produced 1,202,507 bales, making it the leading cotton grower in the nation. What made this cotton empire possible were thousands upon thousands of African American slaves, toiling in the fields year after year. Vicksburg itself had a large population of slaves, 1,176 according to the 1850 U.S. Census.

The United States had had slavery since its founding, and the growing debate over the future of the “peculiar institution” in the first half of the 19^th century was to impact the lives of the citizens of Vicksburg. One of the first major national disagreements over slavery came in 1820, just one year after Newit Vick laid out the initial lots of what would become the city of Vicksburg.

Missouri Compromise

In 1820 the United States Congress passed a piece of legislation that came to be known as the Missouri Compromise. It was an effort to preserve the balance of power between free states and slave states by admitting the Missouri Territory to the Union as a slave state, and the Maine Territory as a free state, thus keeping the number of free and slave states equal at 12 each.

It was hoped that the Missouri Compromise would settle the debate over slavery in the United States, but American statesman Thomas Jefferson wrote that the Missouri Compromise had “like a fire bell in the night, awakened and filled me with terror. I considered it at once the knell of the Union – it is hushed indeed for the moment, but this is a reprieve only.”  His words proved to be prophetic, as the Missouri Compromise was simply the opening skirmish in what would become an increasingly bitter debate between North & South over the future of slavery in the years leading up to the Civil War.

In the wake of the Missouri Compromise, the furor over slavery died down for a time, only to be reignited when the acquisition of territory in the War with Mexico brought the issue to the forefront of American politics once again.

Eventually a compromise was worked out that came to be known as the Compromise of 1850. Some of the major provisions were: 1. California would enter the Union as a free state, and the rest of the lands obtained from Mexico would be organized without any restrictions on slavery. 2. Slave trading was outlawed in Washington, D.C., but slavery itself was still legal there. 3. Congress passed a tough new fugitive slave law to help slave-owners get back runaway slaves who had fled to the North.

Jefferson Davis, who lived just south of Vicksburg at Davis Bend, was serving in the

Pre-war photograph of Jefferson Davis - Library of Congress

United States Senate at the time, and he forcefully denounced the Compromise of 1850 stating: “I here assert that never will I take less than the Missouri compromise line extended to the Pacific Ocean, with the specific recognition of the right to hold slaves in the territory below that line; and that before such territories are admitted into the Union of states, slaves may be taken there from any of the United States at the option of their owners. I can never consent to give additional power to a majority to commit further aggressions upon the minority in this Union…”

Photograph of Mississippi Governor John A. Quitman - Library of Congress

Many Mississippians agreed with Davis and were angered by the passage of the Compromise of 1850, believing that it would upset the balance between free and slave states. Mississippi Governor John Quitman, a strong supporter of the right to secession, asked the legislature to call for a convention in Jackson, hoping it would take the state out of the Union. There was still strong support for staying in the Union among a majority of Mississippians, however, and nowhere was this support stronger than in Vicksburg. Local citizens realized that secession was a serious threat to the commerce that was the city’s lifeblood, and acted accordingly. They sent two pro-Union delegates to the convention, William H. Johnson and William A. Lake.

In November 1851 the Special Convention met in Jackson, and the delegates voted to remain in the Union and comply with the Compromise of 1850. They passed a resolution stating: “That, in the opinion of this Convention, the people of Mississippi, in a spirit of conciliation and compromise, have maturely considered the action of Congress…and whilst they do not entirely approve, will abide by it as a permanent adjustment of this sectional controversy, so long as the same in all its features shall be faithfully adhered to and enforced.”

Rather than settle anything, the rancor over slavery grew in the 1850s as the issue of slavery refused to go away. The Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854, the Dred Scott Decision in 1857, and John Brown’s Raid in 1859 all kept the issue of slavery at the forefront of national politics, and widened the division between North and South.

John Brown made his raid on Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, in October 1859, hoping to start a slave rebellion. The raid failed, and Brown was captured, tried, and hung by the state of Virginia for treason. John Brown’s raid confirmed the worst fears of many Mississippians about Northern determination to end slavery, particularly after some Northerners applauded Brown’s efforts. In the wake of the raid the Mississippi legislature appropriated $150,000 to arm the volunteer militia in the state, and enacted legislation to reorganize the organization to make it more effective.

Illustration from Harper's Weekly depicting the fighting at Harper's Ferry

In Vicksburg, the city already had two well-organized militia companies, the Volunteer Southrons and the Vicksburg Sharpshooters. On October 19, 1859, one day after John Brown’s raid had ended, Captain L.C. Moore, commander of the Volunteer Southrons, met with his men and “impressed upon the Company the importance of keeping up a military organization and that every member should use his influence to induce new men to join.”

It was apparent to many that the state was moving ever closer to secession, and the final straw that pushed Mississippi over the edge was the election of Republican Abraham Lincoln in 1860. The Republican Party advocated no expansion of slavery into the territories, and this was enough to make most Mississippians hate Lincoln with a passion.

Article from the Trinity Advocate (Palestine, Texas) December 12, 1860, telling of Mississippi's reaction to the election of Abraham Lincoln.

One of the key factors in Lincoln’s election was the split in the Democratic Party. In April 1860 the Democratic National Convention met in Charleston, South Carolina, but when the convention voted to deny the Southern demand for a slavery guarantee, the southern delegates, including Mississippi, withdrew from the convention. In the end, Northern and Southern Democrats had separate conventions and nominated separate candidates for president. The Southern wing nominated John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky, and the northern wing nominated Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois. There was also a third candidate, John Bell of Tennessee, who was nominated by the Constitutional Union Party, a group made up of moderates who hoped to avoid war by making no mention of the slavery issue and electing a compromise candidate that both Northerners and Southerners could agree on.

Jefferson Davis publicly supported Southern Democrat John C. Breckinridge for

Image of John C. Breckinridge taken about the time he was running for President - Library of Congress

president, stating “Our party alone, of those now seeking popular support, recognizes the equality of the right of the south to the common territories, and pledges there to give Federal protection to the property of our citizens by all the constitutional powers of the Federal arm. Can a Southern man hesitate under such circumstances as to which of the tickets he will adopt?”

Breckinridge did indeed go on to win Mississippi in a convincing fashion, with 40,464 votes to 25,335 for Constitutional Union Party candidate John Bell, and 3,636 for Northern Democrat Stephen A. Douglas.

In Warren County, however, the result was different. Reflecting the conservative, pro-Union views of the majority, John Bell won with 816 votes, to only 580 for John C. Breckinridge, and 85 for Stephen A. Douglas.  Abraham Lincoln received no votes in Warren County, or anywhere else in Mississippi for that matter. His name was not on the ballot.

In the wake of Lincoln’s election, the majority of Vicksburg’s citizens remained staunchly in favor of staying in the Union. Historian Michael Ballard wrote: “Many residents refused to budge on the question of separation until they no longer has a choice. They had a much more realistic view of what war would mean than did the fire-eating secessionists that increasingly dominated Mississippi. The town’s ties with the North – especially the river connection with the Midwest – fear of war stemming from property and personal hazard, genuine love for the Union, and strong partisan political feelings which made the conservatives distrust the demagogic, secession-inclined Democrats were the forces which worked to hold the city apart from most of the state.”

One voice calling for calm in the wake of Lincoln’s election was that of Marmaduke Shannon, editor of the Vicksburg Daily Whig. In an editorial he wrote, “We call upon the people…now that the issue is made, to choose under which banner they will serve – disunion, with all its attendant horrors of rapine, murder and civil war, or Union with the guarantees of the Constitution to protect us, and one-half of the people of the North to sympathize and aid us in maintaining our rights.”

Another staunch Union supporter was James Shirley, a northern-born businessman who had lived in Warren County for decades. In a letter to his brother in New Hampshire Shirley wrote: “I believe we in the county of Warren and city of Vicksburg are twenty to one in favor of the Union. Our Governor, who is not unlike Don Quixote, and fully as brave, with a few Sancho Pansas, is ready and willing to tear this little, no-account, dirty Union to tatters, yet I think the sober second thought of the people, when the naked question of secession is submitted to them, will set at rest this ranting, ruinous disunion question.

Shirley went on to explain how fears of secession were affecting Vicksburg’s business community: “In view of an impending crisis, banks are curtailing their discounts – drawing in their circulation; merchants refuse to accept; commerce has experienced a sensible change; money has become scarce; capitalists have withdrawn their funds; all kinds of property has depreciated in value and [unless] the present dark and gloomy clouds which now hang over the South so portentous, pass away soon, a terrible storm will overwhelm us.”

Secession Sentiment in Vicksburg

 

It was clear in the wake of Lincoln’s election that the majority of Vicksburg/Warren residents were opposed to immediate secession, and favored working out the slavery issue from within the Union. They felt secession should be reserved as a measure of last resort, to be forced on them only if the North refused to compromise, and even then it was best done in conjunction with the other Southern states.

There was, however, a vocal minority in Vicksburg that favored immediate secession, and they were prone to quick and at times violent action. On December 8 the Vicksburg Sun reported, “Our city is getting to be a rather hot place for those who are prone to side with the North against the South. It has been but a very short time since a man was tarred and feathered here on account of his expressing too much confidence in Abe Lincoln.”

Many Vicksburg citizens saw Lincoln as the root of all their troubles, and vented their

Reward for the head of Abraham Lincoln, placed in the Vicksburg Evening Citizen by Dr. Richard Pryor.

anger at the new president. In April 1861 Dr. Richard Pryor put an ad in the Vicksburg Evening Citizen, offering a $100,000 reward. He stated, “I will give the above reward for the head of Abraham Lincoln. If taken alive, or 50,000 if taken dead and delivered to me at Vicksburg in time for me to hand it over to President Davis, by the 4^th of July, next.”

Not to be outdone, Vicksburg merchants Edmund McGarr and William Fairchild clipped out Pryor’s reward ad and sent it to President Lincoln, along with the following note: “Enclosed you will find $100,000 for your miserable traitorous head. The amount is for alive you mental and moral wretch, but nevertheless, the undersigned will readily increase the amount to $1,000,000.”

Letter sent to Abraham Lincoln by Vicksburg businessmen William Fairchild and Edmund McGarr. Abraham Lincoln Papers, Library of Congress

Vicksburg’s Pro-Union sentiments left it increasingly isolated in the state, as the majority of Mississippians clearly favored immediate secession. On December 8, 1860, William C. Smedes, one of Vicksburg’s most successful attorneys and a member of the state legislature, wrote to Henry J. Raymond, editor of the New York Times that, “This state is in a blaze of passion & is determined on instant & separate secession. Nothing earthly in my opinion can stop it, unless South Carolina fails to take that fatal step, or, & this is a mere possibility, unless the present Congress passes satisfactory amendments by a 2/3 vote before the action of the convention. I was a member of the state legislature, and there were not ten men in it who did not favor immediate state secession; & I was the only one I believe who looked to the possibility of a settlement in the Union.”

Mississippi Secedes from the Union

 

In November 1860, the Mississippi legislature called for the election of delegates to a convention to be held in Jackson on January 7, 1861, to decide if the state would secede from the Union.

Vicksburgers could see the handwriting on the wall, but influential leaders in the city made one last attempt to try and persuade their fellow Mississippians that secession was not in the best interests of the state. 66 prominent citizens of Vicksburg called for a Union Mass Meeting, saying that “The Union men of Mississippi ought to meet together, not as partisans, and not because they voted for one or the other candidates, but as citizens of the same country. Bound to a common destiny…If we must be involved in a common ruin, let us meet it manfully. But a bright destiny awaits the country if the People will assemble and take wise and prudent counsel together.” The meeting was held on November 29, 1860, and was very well attended, but in the end it had no impact on those Mississippians who were hell-bent on secession from the Union.

On December 20, 1860, Mississippi held the election for delegates to the state secession convention. True to its majority, Warren County elected two Pro-Union men, Walker Brooke and Thomas A. Marshall, to be its delegates to the convention. They garnered 561 votes to only 173 for the candidates advocating secession.

At the convention, Brooke introduced several measures to try and stall a vote on secession, but when these efforts failed, he reluctantly voted in favor of secession. Thomas A. Marshall, however, voted against secession, but did sign the secession ordinance once secession was an accomplished fact.

The convention passed the ordinance of secession on January 9, 1861, by a vote of 84 – 15 in favor of the motion.

Vicksburg’s Reaction to Secession

Once secession was an accomplished fact, most Vicksburgers quickly reconciled themselves to the fact, and their strong sense of duty to their state asserted itself. Marmaduke Shannon, who had argued so forcefully for staying in the Union on the pages of his newspaper, probably summed up what many felt when he wrote: “It is enough for us to know that Mississippi, our state, our government has taken its position. We, too take our position by its side.”

With a grim certainty that war with the North was inevitable, the people of Vicksburg began preparing for the conflict. The city council appropriated $5,000 for local defense, and within a short amount of time four new companies of volunteer soldiers had been raised to join the two that already existed.

While the majority of Vicksburgers made their peace with the idea of secession, some were not able to let go of their allegiance to the Union. Northern-born James Shirley and his family remained staunch supporters of the Union, regardless of the consequences. Shortly after his death in 1863, his hometown New Hampshire newspaper reported, “There was no necessity for him to make himself obnoxious by openly denouncing his seceding neighbors, and while he was known to be a Union man, he was never molested by the enemies of the Union. His age, his proverbial prudence, and courteous bearing were his self defense.”

While Shirley himself may not have been molested for his pro-Union views, the family did have to hustle the oldest son, Frederick Shirley, North to Indiana because he “declared his opinions too boldly and defiantly to remain long in Vicksburg in safety.”

Another vocal supporter of the Union was Vicksburg lawyer Armistead Burwell, who had

Business Card of Armistead Burwell - Briscoe Center for American History

campaigned for John Bell and the Constitutional Union Party during the 1860 elections. Burwell remained such a staunch Unionist after secession that he was arrested in September 1861. When finally released, he fled North, not to return to Vicksburg until the town was in Union hands after the siege.

There was one other group in Vicksburg that certainly had members with pro-Union views, Vicksburg’s African-American slave community. Matilda Anderson wrote: “all the colored people, myself included, wanted the Union cause to win, because in that event we all would be free.” Vicksburg hack driver Henry Banks stated that he “knew the Yankees would whip” the South, and longed for the day when “We could go where, when, and how we pleased, and our children would no longer be sold and that negro trading would be played out. I was a slave and had no vote, [nonetheless] I was for the Union cause all the time.”

Slaves in Vicksburg had to be very careful about voicing such pro-Union sentiments, for if the wrong person overheard them, the consequences could be severe. Laborer Joseph McFields was whipped for making the mistake of telling a fellow slave that he would “eat with the Yankees yet,” in the presence of his owner.

After Mississippi seceded, the white citizens of Vicksburg formed “vigilance committees” to root out and punish the disloyal, including slaves. As another slave noted, “it wouldn’t do” to say anything favorable about the Yankees when local whites were around.

Patriotic badges were advertised in the Vicksburg Evening Citizen in the spring of 1861. Editor James Swords produced the badges with the state seal of each Southern state in the center. Shown is the version with the palmetto tree, representing South Carolina.

Soon after Mississippi seceded, Vicksburg newspapers began to fill with ads for patriotic badges and pins so that the people could proudly display their allegiance to the South. James Swords, editor of the Vicksburg Evening Citizen, created a badge with the slogan “Southern Rights – For This We Fight,” and advised in his paper “It would be well if all of our citizens were provided with one of these badges, wearing it on the lapel of the coat. We would then know when we met a friend, and it would be well to furnish strangers with one of these badges, on taking the oath of allegiance to the Southern Confederacy.”

James’ declaration that badges were needed to prove one’s loyalty pointed to a growing paranoia that Union forces might make an attack on the city. Such paranoia was fed by newspaper reports, such as the one that said a boatload of abolitionists were headed down the Mississippi River in the steamboat Silver Wave to attack Southern cities.

In response to such alarmist articles, Mississippi Governor John J. Pettus ordered an artillery company from Jackson to take two pieces of artillery to Vicksburg. The artillery was placed on a hill overlooking the Mississippi River, while local militia companies began digging fortifications nearby. Their job was to challenge all steamboats passing Vicksburg and force them to put into the landing and be inspected to make sure they were not full of abolitionists bent on destruction.

On January 12, 1861, the guns were fired for the first time at the steamboat A.O. Tyler, whose Captain, John Collier, had not received the word that he needed to submit to an inspection. After a shot was fired across his bow, he put into the landing, and after being searched, was allowed to go on his way. This was quite possibly the first shot fired in the Western half of the Confederacy.

A few weeks later James Swords wrote this warning in the Vicksburg Evening Citizen to any Northerners who traveled the Mississippi: “Steamboatmen who follow a legitimate business, and who have manhood enough to attend to their own business, without carrying into our midst the weapons of destruction, wherewith to murder our citizens and destroy our young Confederacy, will ever be allowed, without let or hindrance, to navigate the free waters of the Mississippi.”

Mississippi did not remain an independent state for long – on February 8, 1861, she joined the Confederate States of America. The next day the provisional Confederate Congress elected Jefferson Davis the first president of the Confederacy. On February 9, 1861, he arrived at Vicksburg by steamboat from his home at Davis Bend, south of the city. Before leaving by train to take up his new office, he gave a brief speech to the assembled crowd that came to see him off. He told them, “Attached to the Union of our fathers, by every sentiment and feeling of my heart, I have ever struggled earnestly to maintain it…For the last ten years particularly I have devoted my efforts to that grand and patriotic purpose. We have failed. You and I have resolved that our safety and honor required us to dissolve our connection with the United States. I hope that our separation may be peaceful. But, whether it be so or not, I am ready, as I have always been, to redeem my pledges to you and the South by shedding every drop of my blood in your cause.”

Vicksburgers would pay a heavy price in blood and treasure because of secession – over 2,500 of her sons would fight in the Confederate armies, many of whom were killed or wounded. The citizens themselves would suffer through Union bombardment in 1862, a 47-day siege in 1863, and then remain occupied by the enemy for the remainder of the war after the city fell on July 4, 1863.

The majority of townspeople had done all they could to avoid secession; but in the end they were swept up by events beyond their control, and the best they could do was try to survive the whirlwind of war and violence that engulfed them all.

The Memoir of Simeon R. Martin, Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Going Home on Parole

Having received my parole, I in company with some half dozen others left Vicksburg one afternoon about two o’clock, and started on my long tramp for home. I was a good walker at that time and could hold my own with the best, and as the others of the party were also swift on foot, we made good time and crossed the Big Black River about 4 o’clock.

Vicksburg parole of Simeon R. Martin, taken from his compiled service record at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.

Here we overtook Captain Watts who had left the previous day. The Captain was at this

The grave of Captain Jubal Watts at Harperville Memorial Park in Scott County, Mississippi.

time suffering from a form of rheumatism, which rendered his walking very slow and painful, and as he was alone and likely to remain so on account of his slow gait, I decided to remain with him. This was quite a trial to me, as I was anxious to get home and relieve the anxiety that they were feeling about me there, but I smothered my disappointment and jogged along with the Captain as cheerfully as I could.

We made about two miles during the remainder of the evening and camped on the side of a large cornfield. The corn was in the roasting-ear stage, but the field had been stripped by the returning soldiers; however, by going away down to the back of it I found plenty of corn and brought all I could carry to the camp. The Captain had conscientious scruples against taking anything in this way, and when I returned gave me a lecture on the subject. I listened to him without taken the trouble to reply, being all the time engaged in shucking my corn and standing it up round the fire to roast. As soon as it began to get done, I began to eat, inviting the Captain to partake with me, which he declined to do. After a time however my solicitations, coupled with the delightful odor of the roasting corn and the cravings of his stomach, overcame his scruples and he allowed me to hand him a well cooked ear.

After this there was no further trouble, I continued to cook and he to eat, and he ate and ate and kept on eating until I became alarmed for him, and had to counsel moderation. I don’t remember exactly how much he ate, but have the idea that it was about ten ears, at any rate I know there was nothing left of the arm-full I brought up when we were through. The Captain’s scruples never reappeared after this, and whenever a cornfield appeared in sight, he would always get very tired and suggest that it was time to go into camp.

We plodded along slowly from day to day making not more than five or six miles each [day]. We were constantly looking for transportation of some kind, but there was none to be had, everything of the kind had been grabbed by those preceding us. We finally reached Byram in Hinds County, where we caught up with our regimental baggage wagon, one of which was allowed by the Federals for the baggage of each regiment. I at once

Brigadier General Claudius W. Sears commanded the brigade to which the 46th Mississippi Infantry belonged during the Vicksburg Campaign.

looked up Colonel Sears, and on stating Watts’ condition to him, he allowed him to take a place in the wagon. This relieved me of great responsibility, and I felt like a prisoner out of jail.

It was now late in the evening and I crossed over Pearl River and camped for the night on the east side. The next morning I struck out about sunup, and by one o’clock walked into the Brandon depot, twenty-one miles from Byram. When walking through Brandon on that day, dirty, foot-sore and weary, I little thought that I was to get my dear wife and spend the best years of my life there.

At the depot, I met up with Lieutenant Lampley of Company “A,” a splendid fellow and warm personal friend of mine. Lampley told me he had been at the depot for sometime, waiting for a freight train which was then standing on the track headed east, to pull out. We continued to wait with the intention of boarding this train when it did finally move, which it did not do till nearly night.

My uncle Robert Willis was then living in Brandon, and had I known the wait would be so long, I should have gone uptown to see him, and would no doubt have gotten home easier than I did. The train was loaded with fixed ammunition, that is cartridges and shells ready for loading and firing, and as the road was entirely under military jurisdiction, could only run as orders were given. It pulled out about six o’clock in the evening with Lampley and myself on it, although the guard tried hard to keep us off. It ran up as far as Morton and there stopped, where we stayed all night hoping to go on again in the morning. When morning came the conductor told us he had no orders to proceed further and so we concluded to foot it again and struck out for Hillsboro, where we arrived about twelve o’clock.

We stopped at a house on the outskirts of the village to get some dinner, and while waiting for it to be prepared, a cavalryman rode up to the gate and called to me. I went out to see what he wanted, and found him to be Adolphus Wallace, a near neighbor of ours who belonged to a cavalry company commanded by my father. This company had been operating in Sherman’s front during his advance, and having nothing to do just then, many of them had been allowed to go home. Dolphus had a companion Billy Thames, and they proposed that I should go with them, agreeing that they would take turns in walking and allow me to ride all the way.

I tried to get them to take Lampley too, but they were anxious to get home on the following day, and did not think they could do so, if both had to walk all the way, as the distance was about forty miles; so I reluctantly left him, and we started out, going near twenty miles that evening. During the night one of the horses got loose and left, so the next morning both the boys had to walk after all, but being fresh and healthy they did not mind it and made as good time almost as the horse could.

We made it home about one o’clock; I found all well and delighted to see me. The news had already reached them that I was safe, some of the boys having gotten there nearly a week in advance of me. I don’t think I ever saw anyone more completely happy than dear mother was. She would keep round me and near me all the time, as if she feared for me to get out of her sight, and said she felt almost as if I had been given back to her from the grave, having given up hope of ever seeing me again.

It was Sunday when we arrived and quite a number of the neighbors coming in we had a very merry and enjoyable day. Although I had been away from home now for about eight months, my dog “Nigger,” knew me perfectly and was glad to see me as any of the family.

Postscript

Martin remained at home for about two months, enjoying as he called it, “a delightful season of rest and recreation,” but all too soon the 46th Mississippi was declared exchanged and had to go to war once again.

During the next two years, Martin fought in some of the bloodiest battles of the Civil war; places with names like New Hope Church, Kennesaw Mountain, Jonesboro, Franklin, and Nashville. He survived these killing fields to return home in 1865 after, as he put it, “the star of the Confederacy which risen proud, bright, and full of hope, had set in blood.”

In his memoir Martin professed to having had a great longing for home during his time in service, writing: “The name of home touches every fiber of the human heart.” He returned to Newton County at the end of the war only to find “a picture of desolation met the eye at every turn.” Martin set to work rebuilding what he had lost, and on Christmas Eve in 1868 he took a wife, Ella, and the couple filled their home with one son and four daughters.

About the time he began work on his memoir, Martin moved his family to Vicksburg where he took a job as a bookkeeper. He stayed in the city until his death on Christmas Day in 1917, just one day after his 49th wedding anniversary.

Martin closed his memoir by speculating on how the Confederate soldier would be remembered in the South, and it is a fitting end to this story. Hewas confident that the legacy of the Confederate soldier would be preserved for future generations: “There is no fear that this will not be done; our Southland is inhabited by a brave, generous, and chivalrous race, proud of their traditions and past achievements, which no changes of political condition or modernizing influences will ever cause them to forget.”

Martin, a good judge of character, was right.

The Memoir of Simeon R. Martin, Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Starvation & Surrender

After the events above narrated, the enemy settled down to steady siege work. Whenever possible, they would advance their sharpshooters nearer our lines, and they were continually adding new cannon to their already formidable array. They established a battery of six mortars on a float just beyond the bend of the river, and also a number of siege guns in the same vicinity, with all of which they shelled the city continuously day and night. Shells were dropping unceasingly in every part of the beleaguered space; we were literally girt about with a circle of fire, and there was no absolutely safe spot to be found. Our bomb proof came about as near as any, and we had one man killed in it.

During the siege of Vicksburg, mortar scows such as the one pictured here were anchored in the Mississippi River and fired into the city of Vicksburg. These were 13-inch mortars that fired a shell weighing over 200 pounds - The Federals fired over 7,000 of these shells into Vicksburg during the siege. Illustration from FAMOUS LEADERS AND BATTLE SCENES OF THE CIVIL WAR (1896) by Frank Leslie

About the middle of June, our rations began to run short First our meat gave out, and then the bread, reducing us to a diet of boiled peas and sugar. We tried grinding peas and making bread of them, but it didn’t work well, the peas would cook and form a crust on the outside, but would be raw on the inside of the loaf and would make the men sick.

During the last few days of the siege, we had nothing but cakes of sugar with once or twice a little mule meat. Mule meat from a good fat mule is very good; the flavor is exactly similar to that of beef and it cannot be told from the latter by the taste, the only difference being that it has a much coarser fiber than beef. We could have gotten on well enough on a diet of mule, it there had been a sufficiency of it, but there was not; all we got was from mules killed by the fire of the enemy; they were not slaughtered for food, and it was only occasionally that any of it came to our share.

For the last several days, we had nothing but a cake of sugar for our daily ration. This cake weighed perhaps a half-pound, and was made by putting sugar and water in a frying pan, warming it till it dissolved and then allowing it to cool and harden. This kept us from feeling the pangs of hunger acutely, but was not a diet to sustain strength and we grew very weak. When men get hungry they grow desperate and are ready for anything that promises a change. We were willing to make an assault on the enemy at any part of the line, or if that could not be done, then we were ready to surrender or do anything else that would get food for us.

The second day of July 1863, was ushered in by the enemy with the most furious cannonade of the siege, beginning early in the morning before it was light. They seemed to be firing from every gun they had in position, and the spectacle was grand and terrible beyond description. The detonations of the guns and bursting shells were so continuous, that we could scarce hear each other talk, and the burning fuses on the shells, looked like flaming stars crossing each other in every conceivable direction.

We naturally supposed that such a furious bombardment was preliminary to an assault, and we made every preparation for a desperate struggle. No assault was made however, and after it had been kept up for some two hours, slacked off till it was no heavier than the ordinary daily bombardment. If there was any particular reason for this remarkable cannonade, we never learned what it was. Perhaps it was intended as a kind of preliminary celebration of the glorious fourth, and a warning as to what we might expect on that day, provided we did not surrender in the meantime.

On the next morning, the 3rd day of July 1863, an armistice was asked by General Pemberton and the firing ceased all along the line. This was a great relief to us, as we could walk about, stretch our limbs and breathe the fresh air, without being herded up together like cattle; we had one day of perfect rest, the most of which we spent in walking about, or rolling on the grass under the shade of trees.

Illustration depicting the meeting between Generals Grant and Pemberton to discuss terms for the surrender of Vicksburg. Image from HARPER'S PICTORIAL HISTORY OF THE CIVIL WAR

The armistice continued all day, and toward evening it began to be rumored that a surrender had been agreed on, but nothing definite was known. At night there was still no firing, and everything was so unusually quiet and calm, that it was impossible for me to sleep, except in short naps.

The next morning we were formed in line, marched over the works in line of battle and stacked arms on the outside. Then we knew that we had indeed surrendered; and notwithstanding the desperate straits to which we were reduced, and the raging desire for food, there was not a man who did not feel the humility of the act, or who would not have preferred to charge the enemy’s works instead. The Federals had a great respect for this army of surrendered Rebels. This was shown by the fact, that when the capitulation was made, not a cheer was heard or the slightest demonstration made.

Illustration depicting the surrender of Confederate troops at Vicksburg on July 4, 1863. Image From HARPER'S WEEKLY, August 1, 1863

Very shortly after the surrender, many of the Yankee boys began coming over to our lines to see us, and to observe us meet each other with cordial hand-shakes, it could hardly be realized that we had for days and weeks been engaged in killing each other without mercy. Here again, was shown the respect, thoughtfulness and consideration which the Federals had for us. Not a word was said which could have wounded the feelings of the most sensitive person; on the contrary, they gave us praise for the gallant defense we had made, and seemed desirous only of cultivating feelings of friendship and good will.

Confederates at Vicksburg lounging outside of their entrenchments after the surrender of the city. Image from HARPER'S WEEKLY, August 1, 1863.

During our stay of something like a week in the city after the surrender, I never heard but one Yankee say anything that was in the least degree harsh or insulting, and he was a quartermaster who had not been within reach of our bullets. He was reproved by his own men, who suggested to him, that his opinion of the Rebs might undergo a change if he would get out and attempt to whip some of them, which he seemed to have no desire to do.

The Federals had just drawn rations that morning, and when they would come over to our lines, each one would empty out his haversack, and divide the contents with our hungry boys, who devoured them more like Hyenas than human beings. It took some time for the Federals to get up their commissary wagons and get in position to issue us rations, and it was late in the evening before we got any, but when we did get them they were good. They gave us plenty of everything they had, bacon, hardtack, flour, meal, and best of all coffee, something we had not tasted for many a long day.

While were were waiting to get our paroles, we camped on the bayou at the cemetery, where our wagon yards were during the siege. Our camp was full of Yankee visitors every day, and we had all sorts of fun. Our visitors were mostly boys from Indiana, great big strapping, fine looking good natured fellows, and the greatest lot for playing the fiddle and dancing that I ever saw in my life. Out of all that came, I don’t think there was a single one who was not a fiddler. Some of our boys offered a reward for a man from Indiana who could not play the fiddle.

While were were in camp, the boys having nothing to do, got into the ordnance stores of our army and had a great time with the powder. They would lay trains a hundred yards in length, with a big pile of powder every thirty feet or so, over which they would place a barrel or box. They would then fire the train and when the piles were reached, PLUFF and up would go the box or barrel into the air.. They also made a kind of crude Roman candles, by filling canes with powder, in alternate layers of wet and dry. There were thousands of these, and at night they were flying in every direction; I never saw a civic display of fire-works to equal it. We were all the time expecting an order from the Federal officers to stop this waste of powder, but none came, and our visitors enjoyed it as much as we did. Altogether we must have destroyed thousands of pounds of powder.

After the Federals had occupied the city, they enrolled some Negro troops, and the drill ground from one of the companies, was a level space right in the midst of our camp. Every evening when drill time came, the boys would go out and lie down on the grass to watch the drill. The instructor was an Irish captain, and the way he would put the niggers through would tickle the boys nearly to death. Instead of a sword, he carried a heavy walking stick, and when any of his recruits went wrong, he would lay it on them in good fashion. When they were marching to the front in line of battle, he would, contrary to custom, walk behind them, and if anyone of them allowed his gun to get out of position, he would yell out “hold up that gun you damd black scoundrel,” at the same time giving him a welt across the most prominent part of his rearward anatomy that would almost lift the nig off his feet; he would look at us and wink, whereupon the Rebel yell would burst out with great spontaneity.

The niggers did not enjoy these drills; it was evident that soldiering was not altogether the good thing they had supposed it to be, and my private opinion is, that if an opportunity had presented itself, the last one of them would have taken to the woods and let the Republic go to the devil.

It takes a long time to parole an army of twenty thousand men, as a separate paper has to be issued to each one, and our turn came near the last, but we were finally reached, provided the necessary billet-doux (as the boys called them) and having received three days rations, departed on our several ways home.

End of Chapter 4

The Memoir of Simeon R. Martin, Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Mining & Assaulting

For some two weeks after the investment, the Federals were engaged in making a complete system of fortifications, planting batteries, and making their position secure from possible attack; after which they turned their attention to making gradual approaches to our works. This was done on regular military lines, that is, by ditches run in a zig-zag manner, so as to afford as much shelter as possible from our fire.

They would select some point in a ravine out of our view to begin, and would then carry their trench forward over the ridge as far as practicable in face of the fire encountered, when the direction would be changed. These changes were necessarily frequent, and the reaches of greater or less length according to the conformation of the ground over which they extended.

The enemy would if possible, select a point on which we could not bring our artillery to bear, and when it became necessary for them to drive the trench across a space covered by our rifle fire, they would roll ahead of the trench. These were called fascines, and though the Mauser, Krag-Jorgensen, or Lee-Metford of today would shoot through two or three of them together, one of them was a perfect protection against the guns of those days.

The first approach was made against the position held by the 3rd Louisiana Regiment, situated just to the left of what is known as the Jackson Road, and about four hundred yards east of our position. This approach was begun some ten days after the investment, and though the enemy encountered many difficulties, met many checks and lost many men, it was steadily pursued till they reached our works about June 1st. They then tunneled under the works and formed a mine, with the intention of creating a breach, through which they hoped to enter by a charge made immediately after the explosion.

Explosion of the Union mine under the 3rd Louisiana Redan.

Our men of the 3rd Louisiana knew perfectly well what they were doing, and had made a new line of works just in rear of the old ones, but the explosion came before they expected, while they were still in the old works, and many were killed and wounded. This was a piece of inexcusable carelessness on the part of somebody, and it was well known to officers and men alike, that the works were mined and likely to be blown up at any moment. the responsibility should have been located by court-martial, and the responsible party punished.

The Federals had calculated that the explosion would create considerable confusion in

On June 25, 1863, the mine under the 3rd Louisiana Redan was exploded, and the 45th Illinois Infantry poured into the crater left by the blast. They were met with a thunderstorm of fire from the surviving Confederates, and were unable to move out of the crater. The fighting went on for over 20 hours, and the federals had 34 men killed and 209 wounded. The Confederate defenders had 21 men killed and 209 wounded. Image from FAMOUS LEADERS AND BATTLE SCENES OF THE CIVIL WAR (1896) by Frank Leslie

the Confederate ranks, and having massed thousands of their finest troops opposite this point, expected to carry it with a rush before the Rebs could recover. But they reckoned without their host; the smoke of the explosion had scarcely cleared away before every southerner was again in his proper place, the muzzle of his gun pointing grimly in the direction of the foe; and when the lines of blue which had moved promptly forward at the sound of the explosion came within range, they were met with a shower of lead that prostrated them by hundreds.

These Federals were as brave Americans as the country ever produced, seasoned veterans of many hard-fought campaigns, and they were not to be stopped by one volley, however withering it might be. They continued to advance steadily in the face of the leaden storm, brave forms dropping at every step, the line gradually thinning, wavering and quivering like the folds of a stricken monster, but pressing ever forward till it struck our works, when like a wave striking the beach, it went to pieces and disappeared. Few of those who reached our line lived to return; some saved their lives by prostrating themselves on the outside at the foot of the parapet, and then calling out that they surrendered.

One brave color bearer scaled the works of the 3rd Louisiana, and planted his standard on top, only to fall dead beside it a moment afterwards. This charge extended from the position of the 3rd Louisiana, to Fort Lee just south of the A. & V. R. R., and the fighting raged furiously all along the line. A part of the enemy actually effected a lodgment in Fort Lee, but after the failure of the general assault, were easily driven or captured without loss to us.

Editor’s Note: Martin seems to have confused the fighting at the 3rd Louisiana Redan that took place on June 25, 1863, with the May 22, assault on the Vicksburg defenses. The fighting on June 25 was confined to the immediate vicinity of the 3rd Louisiana Redan. It was during the May 22 assault that the Union forces were able to effect a lodgment in the Railroad Redoubt (which Martin calls Fort Lee).

Some of them remained in the trench on the outside of the fort, refusing all overtures, till our men began to throw hand-grenades on them, when some of them came over, while others scampered down the hill and either escaped or were killed in their flight. This was as gallant a charge, and as heroic defense as can be found in the annals of warfare. The Spartans at Thermopylae showed no greater devotion than did the sons of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, who on this awful day stood at bay and rolled back the furious assaults of Grant’s veteran and hitherto invincible army. Had their military career begun and ended here, the historian would have awarded them imperishable renown.

On this day, an assault was also made on our position, but it was disconnected from that made on the points before mentioned, and as it was easily repulsed and was not persisted in, the supposition was, that it was merely a demonstration, to prevent us from reinforcing the points seriously assailed. The enemy’s loss was however quite severe, the heaviest being in front of our regiment, in the hollow at the point marked H, and was begun just at the foot of the ridge running toward our lines, as shown by the dotted line J on the diagram.

We had no artillery which could be brought to bear on this point, and being protected by their fascines and the lay of the ground from our rifle fire, they made rapid progress. It became imperative that something should be done to check them, and a sortie was being discussed, when Captain Wofford came to the rescue with a suggestion that settled the matter.

Fascines were bundles of tightly bound sticks that were filled with earth to provide protection from small arms fire. This picture shows a large group of fascines being used at Petersburg, Virginia - the ones made at Vicksburg would have looked just the same. Image from the Library of Congress

That night, the two embrasures in Redoubt D, were closed by a solid bank of dirt many feet thick, and a new embrasure opened just at the left of our company at the point K, in which was planted a 12-pound “Napoleon” Gun, bearing directly on the head of the

Invented in France and named for the French emperor Napoleon III, the 12-pounder Napoleon was one of the most popular smoothbore cannons used during the Civil War. It was a versatile weapon that could fire solid shot, explosive shell, explosive case shot, and canister. The tube alone weighed 1,227 pounds, and with a service charge of 2.5 pounds of blackpowder it had a maximum range of 1,619 yards. Image from the Library of Congress

Federal trench. As soon as it was light enough to see, this gun opened fire. The first shot was too high, passing away above the trench and exploding some distance beyond it, but the second struck the fascines, scattering them in every direction, and exploding as it entered the trench, killing twelve or fifteen men.

The working detail at once bolted for their works, but as they were exposed to both shell and rifle fire from the start, not many of them lived to reach shelter. This ended the approach business at this point, not attempt being made to enter the trench again. The Federals could not see the gun we used from any of their batteries, but they located it by the smoke and fresh bank of dirt, and on this latter they opened fire with about thirty pieces of cannon, and only ceased firing when they had reduced it to the general level of the ground.

This was the most terrific cannonade I ever saw concentrated on one particular point, but it did us no harm, as after accomplishing its work, our gun was rolled down the hill out of harm’s way, and we retired to our bomb proof under the hill. This was the last attempt to approach on our part of the line, or indeed on any other part, so far as we then knew or believed.

The Federals claimed after the siege that they had us mined at seven different points and were ready to explode the mines, but it does not seem likely to me that so many approaches could have been made, without our men having knowledge of some of them. The assault above described, was also the last attempt to take the city by storm. Grant had tested our mettle, had needlessly sacrificed some thousands of his best troops, and had learned what he should have known to begin with, that such fortifications as those at Vicksburg, manned by veteran southern soldiers, were not to be successfully assaulted.

The Federal dead, killed in the above described assaults, were permitted to lie on the field for three days without burial, until the stench from the decaying bodies became insupportable to our men, and General Pemberton in the name of humanity, demanded a truce in order that burial should be given them. This cost Grant the respect of our entire army, both officers and men. To think that he would allow the bodies of these brave soldiers, whose lives were sacrificed through his incompetence or ignorance, to lie festering and rotting in the southern sun, was enough to shock humanity. It did undoubtedly cast a cloud over his hitherto spotless reputation, and it should have earned for him the disgust and detestation of all decent people both north and south.

If Grant ever gave any excuse for this unqualified piece of brutality, I have not seen it; but I imagine he wished to keep the northern people in ignorance of the terrible check he had met with, and failed to ask a truce because it would have [been] construed as an acknowledgment of defeat. War had horrors enough without adding such unnecessary and brutal chapters as this.

Grant was in many respects a good man, and he earned the good will of the southern people, when he told the government that the surrender at Appomattox was made to him as General of the Army, that he had full and complete power to arrange the terms, and that they should be observed to the letter; but, the foregoing incident shows him to have been utterly lacking in the finer feelings of human nature.

End of Chapter 3