#siege of vicksburg

[nickysfacts]

Albert was dunking on Confederates and challenging Gender norms before it was cool!

🇺🇸🏳️‍⚧️🇺🇸

[macaron-n-cheese]

What a wonderful day, there are so many things to celebrate! (Surrender of Vicksburg, too!)

Most US Americans on the 4th of July: celebrating the independence of our country and the birth of our nation.

Me on the 4th of July: "happy birthday Horatio Hornblower!"

[todaysdocument]

Map of the Civil War Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi., August 20, 1863. 

Record Group 77: Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers

Series: Published Maps

Image description: Map of Vicksburg, Mississippi, and surrounding areas, including a loop of the Mississippi River and the terrain around the city. Cross-sections show the Federal and Rebel batteries, and colored lines show the locations of opposing forces. 

[weirdestbooks]

Shot From the Sky (Wattpad | Ao3)

For the amazing @lost-islands

Bonus Scene from A Civil Disagreement

General Grant had asked Michigan to fly up and figure out where the cannons should be aimed. They needed this siege to end. Once Vicksburg fell, they could finally cut the Confederacy in half and achieve the second goal of the Anaconda Plan. He was just as eager to end the siege as the others, and not firing blindly would help.

So now Michigan was about ten feet above the Mississippi, examining the city and debating whether he would be safe flying over it.

“On the bright side, it would give us an advantage. On the bad side, I would definitely get hurt flying directly over it. Maybe I can try flying around the outskirts?” Michigan muttered to himself, tilting his head to the side as he tried to figure out what to do.

Michigan heard another gunshot but didn’t take much notice of it until blinding pain erupted in his right wing. He screamed as he began to plummet like a stone.

Michigan quickly stretched out his wings, trying to slow the fall, ignoring how that made the pain worse. As his fall slowed, Michigan began to feel lightheaded and dizzy and was starting to have trouble moving his wings.

“Make it to shore, make it to shore,” he muttered as he tried to turn toward the shore of the Mississippi so he could land and get medical treatment.

Michigan was too far to make it, not with how high he was above the water. He flapped his wings once, trying to gain more height, but it just made the pain overwhelming. His muscles seized up, and Michigan fell as everything began fading away. He closed his eyes and fell into unconsciousness, not even feeling his body hit the water.

The next thing Michigan was aware of was a hand running through his hair. Michigan tried to peel his eyes open, but it took too much energy, energy he didn’t seem to have. His head was so fuzzy, and he wasn’t sure what was happening. Michigan thinks people were talking. 

Michigan then groaned as pain began to hit him, centered around his wing. The hand running through his hair stopped, and Michigan let out a little whine, not wanting to lose the comfort.

“…….” Had someone spoken? Michigan couldn’t tell. His awareness slowly faded, and Michigan felt like someone had tied weights to his limbs. They were so heavy and hard to move.

Not that he wanted to move. 

“…..ampu….”

The hand was beginning to run through his hair again, and Michigan let out a small sigh as he fell again into unconsciousness.

———————

Michigan had been going in and out of consciousness and never managed to stay awake for longer than what felt like a couple of seconds. This time, however, he was able to stay awake for much longer, although he hadn’t moved since waking up.

Michigan was just so lightheaded and hot, and his limbs felt so heavy. There were also voices talking around him, but he didn’t care enough to focus on what they were saying. 

Michigan finally opened his eyes and tried to focus them on the source of the voices. While his vision was initially fuzzy, he finally realized who it was.

“Mes..mis..” Michigan was cut off from his attempt at speaking as he began coughing, loud, grating coughs that hurt his throat. It didn’t help the lightheadedness.

“Hey hey hey, Michigan, don’t speak,” Missouri said, putting his hand on Michigan’s forehead. His hand was cold and felt so lovely, especially since Michigan was so hot. Against his will, Michigan’s eyes began slipping shut. 

“Michigan….?” Michigan heard Missouri ask, but everything was already fading away again, and he couldn’t make out the rest of the sentence. Michigan slowly opened his eyes and tried to focus his blurry vision on Missouri.

Michigan tried to respond, but his mouth seemed unable to cooperate, and Michigan thought he just ended up making random, incomprehensible muttered noises. Missouri moved his hand from Michigan’s forehead and began running it through Michigan’s hair.

“…st…e?” Michigan couldn't tell what Missouri was saying. Everything was too fuzzy and hot. Michigan whimpered, breathing heavily as the uncomfortableness mixed with the growing pain in his wing.

Michigan let out more incomprehensible noises, trying to convey that he was hot, and it hurt and burned, and he wanted to go away. Tears began to slide down Michigan’s face.

It hurt so badly.

Darkness began creeping into his vision as his head spun, and his lightheadedness grew. Michigan shut his eyes and felt the heaviness in his limbs grow as well.

The pain was fading, the sounds were fading, everything was fading. Michigan welcomed the darkness, as it was pain-free, and didn’t fight as it took him into unconsciousness. 

———————

Michigan groaned as consciousness and pain returned to him. He slowly opened his eyes, faintly noticing that his vision was less blurry than it had been. Looking around, he noticed he was in a church, most likely a makeshift hospital, if the pain in his wing and foggy memories were anything to go by.

“Michi?” Michigan heard Missouri’s familiar voice ask. He looked over to see his brother standing there, his face worried. And next to him, lying on a cot that had been pulled next to the one Michigan was lying on, was his wing, tightly bound in bandages, although smaller than Michigan remembered it being.

“‘Llo ‘Souri,” Michigan said, his tongue finally managing to get out some of the first words he had spoken in…in…how long had he been unconscious? Before Michigan could ask that question, Missouri practically leaped on top of him, pulling him into a tight hug.

“Thank god you’re awake! And talking! You’ve been half-conscious and barely speaking when you were, and I thought you had died! Mitch, I thought you were going to die!” Missouri said before he pulled away from the hug. He had small tears rolling down his face, which he quickly wiped away. 

Michigan was a bit stunned by that declaration. His condition was so bad that Missouri thought he was going to die. He could have died? Well, at least Michigan could take comfort in the fact that it wasn’t a country that caused the injury, so it’s not like it would have been a permanent death.

“What happened? I…I remember getting shot..and falling towards the river, but what happened after that?” Michigan asked, pressing a hand to his forehead as he tried to pull himself into more of a sitting position. Missouri sighed and began rubbing his arm.

“When you started falling, I got two soldiers who could swim to get into the river with me to help me rescue you. We got to you and pulled you to shore. You…you were so cold I feared you were already dead. You were also bleeding badly. We got you to the hospital tent, and the doctors clipped your feathers so they could see the injury and…and had to amputate part of your wing. You’ve been pretty much out since then.”

Michigan froze, and horror flooded through him.

“I…no…amputate?” Michigan asked, looking back at the bandaged wing and seeing now that part of it was gone.

“I’m sorry, Mitch,” Missouri said, his voice thick with emotion, “I tried to get them to hold off on the decision, but…even if you had been able to keep it, it was…bad…shredded almost. But you’re alive, and that’s what matters!”

“But I’ll never be able to fly again,” Michigan said, closing his eyes and biting back tears.

“Yeah…you won’t. Hopefully, Dad punishes Mississippi for this.” Missouri said. Mississippi? What did Mississippi have to do with this? Sure, the siege was in her state, but that doesn’t give her the blame. Missouri must have noticed Michigan’s confused expression because he clarified what he meant.

“Mississippi was the one that shot you.” He said. Michigan began to feel lightheaded again. Mississippi…she…he…he could have actually died! Mississippi shot me!

Mississippi took his wing from him.

“Why?” Michigan asked as Missouri put his hands on his shoulder. It’s then Michigan realized he was shaking. 

“I don’t know. This war has done so much damage. Maybe she just doesn’t care about her family anymore. I honestly have no clue as to what her motives were with shooting you.” Missouri said, pulling Michigan into a quick hug. Michigan returned it the best he could, but his limbs were weak.

“At least I have you. Thank you for saving me.” Michigan said. Missouri tightened the hug.

“You’re welcome. But don’t scare me like that again.”

[lboogie1906]

Private Joseph Clovese (January 30, 1844 - July 13, 1951) He was a soldier in the Union Army.

Born enslaved in Louisiana, he worked as a child in the plantation house in St. Bernard Parish. Considered a favorite, he was taught reading and writing. A friend convinced him to run away just before he turned 18.

He started his military career as a drummer for the Grand Army of the Republic. He was a private in two Union outfits: the Ninth Corps d’Afrique, and the 63rd USCI Volunteers. He served at the Siege of Vicksburg, among other battles during the American Civil War. After being honorably discharged in 1865, his post-war career included helping build the first telegraph line from New Orleans to Biloxi, working as a lumberman, and on Mississippi River boats.

He spent 20 years trying to locate his mother. He cared for her until she died at age 90. News reports said he outlived his wife, three children, and grandchildren. While living in Slidell, Louisiana, he became part of Valrie Daniels’ household. When her family moved to Pontiac, he did, too. The Black population in Pontiac exploded after WWII as the second wave of the Great Migration.

He called a Pontiac newspaper looking for a Civil War veterans’ group, only to learn Michigan’s last living Civil War veteran had recently died. The paper ran a story about him and the community organized big celebrations for his remaining birthdays. President Harry Truman sent him a congratulatory letter. He attended the 83rd and final convention of Civil War veterans in Indianapolis. Pontiac’s city council named Clovese Street for him in the housing project Lakeside Homes. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[southernprideyall2]

18 May 1863. The beginning of the siege of Vicksburg. Yankees indiscriminately bombarded the town, killing many civilians in the process. It ended 4 July which is why the town refused to celebrate the 4th for a long time.

[myhauntedsalem]

Duff Green Mansion

The Duff Green Mansion is a magnificent, civil war era Palladian mansion in the heart of Vicksburg, Mississippi, at 1114 First East Street in the beautiful historic district. A true piece of art and history all wrapped into one gorgeous homestead, the haunting of Duff Green Mansion has gone on for nearly as many years as it has stood.

Duff Green built the mansion in 1856, an elaborate wedding gift for his new wife Mary Lake Duff. It would be several years before the civil war took its toll on the Duff Green Mansion. Until that time, the lavish parties and extravagant ball room galas the Green’s hosted were known far and wide.

Then the siege of Vicksburg, MS changed all that. Duff Green Mansion was hit not once, not twice, but at least five times by cannonball fire from the Union army. There are still post beams in the home to this day where you can see where the cannons etched their path through the structure.

Seeing the terrible danger, and knowing that there was not nearly enough medical aid to assist the brave soldiers who risked their lives for both the Union and Confederate armies, the Green family chose to temporarily give their spacious mansion as a wartime hospital. Union soldiers got treated on the upper floor, Confederates on the ground level.

The terribly injured patients got taken to the basement. Those who went there either required a surgeon, many for the purpose of amputation, or simply weren’t expected to survive. In the one room where amputations were performed, the basement rose somewhat above ground, the Duff Green Mansion being built as it was upon a great hill. A window offered light into the basement, as well as a perfect means of disposing of the detached limbs.

For many years rumor was that these limbs got tossed out the window, then later, as the pile grew to several feet high, taken for burial. Those rumors were all but confirmed in the 1980’s when the current owners were remodeling and inadvertently dug up a small pile of arm and leg bones from the earth outside this very window.

In fact, visitors to the Duff Green Mansion Bed & Breakfast who have a background in the medical field have taken the tour of the home and, upon entering this room of the basement, backed out. They say they can smell ether and other medicinal odors, even though these items have not been used in the mansion’s basement since the mid 1800’s.

The Duff Green Mansion has changed hands multiple times over the generations. The Green family moved back in 1866 when the soldiers left Vicksburg. When Duff passed away in 1880, Mary Green sold the home to the Peatross family.

In 1910, the mansion sold to the great-granddaughter of Vicksburg’s founder (Rev. Newet Vick), Fannie Vick Willis Johnston. She lived there for 3 years while she completed her own mansion, Oak Hall (known as The Stained Glass Manor). Mrs. Johnston then donated the property for use as a boy’s orphanage. It later became a retirement home for aged widows. She died in 1931 and her entire estate, including the Duff Green Mansion, got sold to the Salvation Army for a grand total of $3,000.

The Duff Green Mansion became a true place of salvation, serving meals and providing beds to those in need. This continued for 54 years until the Sharp family purchased the property for an exorbitant amount that enabled the Salvation Army to upgrade to an even larger, more suitable site.

Mr. and Mrs. Harry Carter Sharp spent the next 2-1/2 years restoring the Duff Green Mansion to its former glory, adding many bathrooms in the process. The Mississippi Department of Archives and History involvement made sure the restorations were historically accurate. The Duff Green Mansion reopened as a Bed & Breakfast and offered tours, which are still active today.

The most widespread ghost story of Duff Green Mansion is that of a confederate soldier who seems to live in the Dixie Room. Guests have awoken to see the full-bodied (minus one leg) apparition of the spectral soldier standing by the mantel or rocking in the chair near the bed.

There are no stories of frightening ghosts or threatening paranormal activity. Nothing particularly terrible occurred at Duff Green Mansion. But the lingering memories of suffering and hardship continue to leave their mark on the structure. You can even still see some of the old bloodstains from over 150 years ago that still discolor the original wood floors.

[scotianostra]

John McArthur was born on November 17th 1826 in Erskine.

McArthur, learnt his fathers trade as a blacksmith. He emigrated to America at the age of twenty-three and settled in Chicago. There he became a manager and owner in a Chicago Iron Works and at the start of the American Civil War, became a Captain of a militia company who became known as Chicago Highland Guards due to the Highland Bunnet’s most of the soldiers wore.

In May of 1861, he became colonel of the 12th Illinois Infantry. He fought in engagements and battles in places including Fort Henry and Fort Donelson. Promoted to brigadier general on March 21, 1862; he took part in the Battle of Shiloh, in which he was wounded. As divisional commander, he led troops at Iuka, Corinth and in the Vicksburg Campaign and Siege.

He was brevetted a major general for his service in the Battle of Nashville, and was assigned to the Army of the Gulf for the rest of the war. I must admit I have seen the word brevet many times, and knew hit was a military term, so just looked it up for the first time, it means a warrant giving to a commissioned officer a higher rank title as a reward for gallantry or meritorious conduct but may not confer the authority, it often meant they didn’t get the pay rise that usually came with the job.

McArthur left the military in August 1865, and returned to his iron business. It did poorly, and his position as Chicago public works commissioner ended after the Chicago fire of 1871.

He may not be the most famous general but they thought enough of him to put a bust of him in Vicksburg National Military Park

He was postmaster of Chicago, but was found culpable for losing $73,000 of postal funds in a bank failure. After retiring, McArthur died in Chicago, on May 15th, 1906 aged 79, a good auld age!

[thesean]

Getting a lot of questions about my "Old Douglas, the Confederate Camel who was shot and killed by a Union sharpshooter during the siege of Vicksburg" shirt that my "Old Douglas, the Confederate Camel who was shot and killed by a Union sharpshooter during the siege of Vicksburg" shirt already answers

[origingenealogy]

Vicksburg Siege - Vicksburg National Military Park (U.S. National Park Service)

After this battle Vicksburg stopped celebrating the 4th of July for over 50 years.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 4.16 (before 1930)

1457 BC – Battle of Megido – the first battle to have been recorded in what is accepted as relatively reliable detail. 69 – Defeated by Vitellius' troops at Bedriacum, Roman emperor Otho commits suicide. 73 – Masada, a Jewish fortress, falls to the Romans after several months of siege, ending the First Jewish–Roman War. 1346 – Stefan Dušan, "the Mighty", is crowned Emperor of the Serbs at Skopje, his empire occupying much of the Balkans. 1520 – The Revolt of the Comuneros begins in Spain against the rule of Charles V. 1582 – Spanish conquistador Hernando de Lerma founds the settlement of Salta, Argentina. 1746 – The Battle of Culloden is fought between the French-supported Jacobites and the British Hanoverian forces commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, in Scotland. 1780 – Franz Friedrich Wilhelm von Fürstenberg founds the University of Münster. 1799 – French Revolutionary Wars: The Battle of Mount Tabor: Napoleon drives Ottoman Turks across the River Jordan near Acre. 1818 – The United States Senate ratifies the Rush–Bagot Treaty, limiting naval armaments on the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain. 1838 – The French Army captures Veracruz in the Pastry War. 1847 – Shooting of a Māori by an English sailor results in the opening of the Wanganui Campaign of the New Zealand Wars. 1853 – The Great Indian Peninsula Railway opens the first passenger rail in India, from Bori Bunder to Thane. 1858 – The Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, is dissolved. 1862 – American Civil War: Battle at Lee's Mills in Virginia. 1862 – American Civil War: The District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act, a bill ending slavery in the District of Columbia, becomes law. 1863 – American Civil War: During the Vicksburg Campaign, gunboats commanded by acting Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter run downriver past Confederate artillery batteries at Vicksburg. 1878 – The Senate of the Grand Duchy of Finland issues a declaration establishing a city of Kotka on the southern part islands from the old Kymi parish. 1881 – In Dodge City, Kansas, Bat Masterson fights his last gun battle. 1901–present 1908 – Natural Bridges National Monument is established in Utah. 1910 – The oldest existing indoor ice hockey arena still used for the sport in the 21st century, Boston Arena, opens for the first time. 1912 – Harriet Quimby becomes the first woman to fly an airplane across the English Channel. 1917 – Russian Revolution: Vladimir Lenin returns to Petrograd, Russia, from exile in Switzerland. 1919 – Mohandas Gandhi organizes a day of "prayer and fasting" in response to the killing of Indian protesters in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre by the British colonial troops three days earlier. 1919 – Polish–Lithuanian War: The Polish Army launches the Vilna offensive to capture Vilnius in modern Lithuania. 1922 – The Treaty of Rapallo, pursuant to which Germany and the Soviet Union re-establish diplomatic relations, is signed. 1925 – During the Communist St Nedelya Church assault in Sofia, Bulgaria, 150 are killed and 500 are wounded.

[classicgentlemanstyle]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Farragut US Naval Commander Officer's Coat, 42L - Collector's Item.

[dixiedrudge]

Port Hudson - Today In Southern History

8  July 1863   On this date in 1863… The last Confederate garrison on the Mississippi River at thestronghold of Port Hudson, Louisiana surrendered to federal troops after learning of the fall of Vicksburg, Mississippi and ending the longest siege on American soil. Other Years: 1795 – Kent County Free School in Maryland changed its name to Washington College and became the first college to be…

[almackey]

What if Robert E. Lee had Sent Troops to Vicksburg?

Confederates repeatedly turned back Federal attacks on their Vicksburg trenches in May 1863, prompting Grant to lay siege to the city. (Library of Congress) This article comes from the Fall 2021 issue of America’s Civil War magazine. “That question was certainly on the mind of Confederate Secretary of War James Seddon that season. By default, then, it was also on Lee’s. Anchored on bluffs lining…

[lboogie1906]

The Battle of Milliken’s Bend was fought on June 7, 1863, as part of the Vicksburg Campaign during the American Civil War. Major General Ulysses S. Grant of the Union Army had placed the city of Vicksburg, Mississippi, under siege in mid-1863. Confederate leadership believed that Grant’s supply line still ran through Milliken’s Bend in Louisiana, and Major General Richard Taylor was tasked with disrupting it to aid the defense of Vicksburg. Taylor sent Brigadier General Henry E. McCulloch with a brigade of Texans to attack Milliken’s Bend, which was held by a brigade of newly-recruited African American soldiers. McCulloch’s attack struck early on the morning of June 7 and was successful in close-quarters fighting. Fire from the Union gunboat USS Choctaw halted the Confederate attack, and McCulloch withdrew after the arrival of a second gunboat. The attempt to relieve Vicksburg was unsuccessful. One of the first actions in which African American soldiers fought, Milliken’s Bend demonstrated the value of African American soldiers as part of the Union Army.

Leaders on both sides noted the performance of the African American troops at Milliken’s Bend. Unionist Charles Dana reported that the action convinced many in the Union Army to support the enlistment of African American soldiers. Dennis stated, “It is impossible for men to show greater gallantry than the Negro troops in this fight.” Grant described the battle as the first significant engagement in which the Colored Troops had seen combat, described their conduct as “most gallant” and said that “with good officers, they will make good troops.”Confederate leader McCulloch reported that while the white Union troops had been routed, the Colored Troop had fought with “considerable obstinacy.” One modern historian wrote in 1960 that the fighting at Milliken’s Bend brought “the acceptance of the Negro as a soldier”, which was important to “his acceptance as a man.”

Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton praised the performance of African American soldiers in the battle. He stated that their competent performance in the battle proved wrong to those who had opposed their service. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[southernprideyall2]

Never forget.