#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. 

[kemetic-dreams]

Joseph “Uncle Joe” Clovese was the last known surviving African soldier of the Union Army in the American Civil War, and lived in Pontiac at the time of his death in 1951. Clovese, who lived to be 107 years old, was born into slavery on a plantation in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, and escaped slavery in his teens to join the Union Army during the Siege of Vicksburg. He stayed with the Northern Army, first as a drummer, later as an infantryman. He was a private in Co. "C", 63rd Colored Infantry Regiment.

Following the war he worked on Mississippi river steamboats, and he later worked on the crew stringing the first telegraph wires between New Orleans and Biloxi, Mississippi. At the age of 104, Clovese moved from Louisiana to Pontiac, Michigan to be near family. Once the community learned about “Uncle Joe,” the citizens of Pontiac embraced him. Large gatherings were organized for his 105th, 106th and 107th birthdays on January 30th.

For his funeral, more than 300 people were packed into Newman A.M.E. Church in Pontiac (their former location, in downtown) for the service. Hundreds more gathered at the gravesite in Pontiac’s Perry Mount Park Cemetery. Veterans from the Oakland County Council of Veterans served as pall bearers. A firing party from Selfridge Air Force Base fired the final salute and taps was sounded over the cemetery. Pontiac even named a road in his honor, that ran through the Lakeside Homes complex.

[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.

[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.”

[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.

[classicgentlemanstyle]

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

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 7.9 (before 1870)

118 – Hadrian, who became emperor a year previously on Trajan's death, makes his entry into Rome. 381 – The end of the First Council of Christian bishops convened in Constantinople by the Roman Emperor Theodosius I. 491 – Odoacer makes a night assault with his Heruli guardsmen, engaging Theoderic the Great in Ad Pinetam. Both sides suffer heavy losses, but in the end Theodoric forces Odoacer back into Ravenna. 551 – A major earthquake strikes Beirut, triggering a devastating tsunami that affected the coastal towns of Byzantine Phoenicia, causing thousands of deaths. 660 – Korean forces under general Kim Yu-sin of Silla defeat the army of Baekje in the Battle of Hwangsanbeol. 869 – The 8.4–9.0 Mw Sanriku earthquake strikes the area around Sendai in northern Honshu, Japan. Inundation from the tsunami extended several kilometers inland. 969 – The Fatimid general Jawhar leads the Friday prayer in Fustat in the name of Caliph al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah, thereby symbolically completing the Fatimid conquest of Egypt. 1357 – Emperor Charles IV assists in laying the foundation stone of Charles Bridge in Prague. 1386 – The Old Swiss Confederacy makes great strides in establishing control over its territory by soundly defeating the Duchy of Austria in the Battle of Sempach. 1401 – Timur attacks the Jalairid Sultanate and destroys Baghdad. 1540 – King Henry VIII of England annuls his marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves. 1572 – Nineteen Catholics suffer martyrdom for their beliefs in the Dutch town of Gorkum. 1609 – Bohemia is granted freedom of religion through the Letter of Majesty by the Holy Roman Emperor, Rudolf II. 1701 – A Bourbon force under Nicolas Catinat withdraws from a smaller Habsburg force under Prince Eugene of Savoy in the Battle of Carpi. 1745 – French victory in the Battle of Melle allows them to capture Ghent in the days after. 1755 – The Braddock Expedition is soundly defeated by a smaller French and Native American force in its attempt to capture Fort Duquesne in what is now downtown Pittsburgh. 1762 – Catherine the Great becomes Empress of Russia following the coup against her husband, Peter III. 1763 – The Mozart family grand tour of Europe began, lifting the profile of son Wolfgang Amadeus. 1776 – George Washington orders the Declaration of Independence to be read out to members of the Continental Army in Manhattan, while thousands of British troops on Staten Island prepare for the Battle of Long Island. 1789 – In Versailles, the National Assembly reconstitutes itself as the National Constituent Assembly and begins preparations for a French constitution. 1790 – The Swedish Navy captures one third of the Russian Baltic fleet. 1793 – The Act Against Slavery in Upper Canada bans the importation of slaves and will free those who are born into slavery after the passage of the Act at 25 years of age. 1795 – Financier James Swan pays off the $2,024,899 US national debt that had been accrued during the American Revolution. 1807 – The second Treaty of Tilsit is signed between France and Prussia, ending the War of the Fourth Coalition. 1810 – Napoleon annexes the Kingdom of Holland as part of the First French Empire. 1811 – Explorer David Thompson posts a sign near what is now Sacajawea State Park in Washington state, claiming the Columbia District for the United Kingdom. 1815 – Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord becomes the first Prime Minister of France. 1816 – Argentina declares independence from Spain. 1850 – U.S. President Zachary Taylor dies after eating raw fruit and iced milk; he is succeeded in office by Vice President Millard Fillmore. 1850 – Persian prophet Báb is executed in Tabriz, Persia. 1863 – American Civil War: The Siege of Port Hudson ends in a Union victory and, along with the fall of Vicksburg five days earlier, gives the Union complete control of the Mississippi River. 1868 – The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, guaranteeing African Americans full citizenship and all persons in the United States due process of law.

[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…

[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.

[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.