Diary of Major Joseph Stockton, July 6, 1863

Had a terrible storm of wind and rain. Moved our camp to a bluff overlooking the Mississippi river.

SOURCE: Joseph Stockton, War Diary (1862-5) of Brevet Brigadier General Joseph Stockton, p. 20

Diary of Major Joseph Stockton, July 7, 1863

Weather very hot. Our men and Rebs mingle fairly together; they frequent our camps, eat with our boys.

SOURCE: Joseph Stockton, War Diary (1862-5) of Brevet Brigadier General Joseph Stockton, p. 20

Diary of Major Joseph Stockton, July 8-11, 1863

McPherson's army corps guard this place (Vicksburg) while Sherman has gone after the rebel General Joe Johnston who is reported as being in the neighborhood of Jackson, Mississippi, with an army. The prisoners here are to be paroled and sent into the Confederacy. My time is taken up with visiting points of interest, particularly the caves in the sides of the hills where the citizens took refuge when they had a bombardment and where many of them slept at night. Many houses show the marks of shells, some being completely riddled, yet I am surprised to see so little damage is done. Some of the caves were made very comfortable, people living in them almost altogether during the whole siege.

SOURCE: Joseph Stockton, War Diary (1862-5) of Brevet Brigadier General Joseph Stockton, p. 20

Diary of Major Joseph Stockton, July 12, 1863

Received orders today to embark for Natchez. Ransom's brigade is ordered there. March to levee and embark on board steamer "Lancaster No. 4."

SOURCE: Joseph Stockton, War Diary (1862-5) of Brevet Brigadier General Joseph Stockton, p. 20

Diary of Major Joseph Stockton, July 13, 1863

Left for Natchez at 4 a. m. Quite a fleet of boats. I understand our object is to capture large droves of cattle that the Confederates have been moving across the country from Texas and crossing Natchez. Arrived about 4 o'clock p. m. Our trip down was a pleasant one, the plantations along the river not being destroyed like those above Vicksburg. We disembarked immediately upon our arrival and marched on to the bluff were we bivouacked for the night. The good people of this place were very much surprised and disgusted at the idea of their city being occupied by the Federals. It is a beautiful place and as yet there has been no distructions of property. I received orders to take four companies of the regiment and cross the river at midnight.

SOURCE: Joseph Stockton, War Diary (1862-5) of Brevet Brigadier General Joseph Stockton, p. 20

Diary of Major Joseph Stockton, July 14, 1863

This has certainly been one of the most exciting days I have spent in the service. We crossed the river on a transport to the Louisana shore and commenced our march at 4 a. m. My orders were to capture all the horses, mules and cattle I could, together with all arms and amunition. The country is a beautiful one, splendid plantations just blooming with cotton, the first I have ever seen in such an early stage. I mounted my men as fast as I could. The march was a perfect ovation from the darkies who first time in their lives saw Yankee soldiers and knew they were free; they rushed to the road, fell on their knees praying with all the fervor and feeling of their race. "Glory be to God, freedom's come at last," etc., etc. They brought us fruits of the finest kind, butter, milk, eggs, chickens, in fact all they could get so happy to know they were now free. Captain Whittle with a few men pushed in advance of the main body and captured a large lot of guns and ammunition, pressed a number of teams into service, brought back what he could and destroyed the balance. Lieutenant Mason was sent off on another road and captured an old planter who was just starting for Texas with all his slaves, mules, horses and wagons; in fact would have gone in five minutes more but those five minutes were fatal to him. He had to turn his face the other way; his negroes were nearly crazy, so glad were they to escape. We marched about fifteen miles into the country and then, as ordered, started back on our march toward the river. Such a sight as met my gaze. All along the road were the negroes with their families, household goods, everything they could gather in the short time, piled up in their immense cotton wagons as high as they could get them. There must have been thousands, no end to the children; such a happy set of beings I never saw before. They were to use their own words, "Going to freedom." They knew nothing else, cared for nothing else, they were now free, what they had looked forward for, for years, had come upon them in a moment, nothing could induce them to stay on their plantations. I told them our provisions were short; they cared not, they could find something to eat, they cared not if they died, they were now free; they sang and danced, kissed each other and all the extravagant demonstrations of joy you can imagine were carried on. We marched to within five miles of the river at dusk when we encamped for the night. We took supper in the house of an overseer of Colonel Davis' plantation, who was boasting that his darkies would not leave him, when all at once one of the men came and whispered something; he jumped out of his chair and exclaimed "Good God, you don't say so, are they all going?" "Yes," says the darky "All going, Massa, and so is I," and he darted out of the room. Our officers could not but help laughing, and the oaths of the overseer were frightful. At night all was quiet but the singing of the darkies, which music was certainly remarkable for the joyous tunes and remarkable words.

SOURCE: Joseph Stockton, War Diary (1862-5) of Brevet Brigadier General Joseph Stockton, pp. 20-1

Diary of Major Joseph Stockton, July 15, 1863

Returned to Natchez and reported to General Ransom, who was delighted with the result of our expedition.

SOURCE: Joseph Stockton, War Diary (1862-5) of Brevet Brigadier General Joseph Stockton, p. 21

Diary of Major Joseph Stockton, July 16, 1863

General Ransom ordered me to keep a small number of soldiers at Vidalia, the town opposite Natchez, and to oversee them for the present. There is every probability of our remaining here for some time.

SOURCE: Joseph Stockton, War Diary (1862-5) of Brevet Brigadier General Joseph Stockton, p. 21

Diary of Major Joseph Stockton, July 17, 1863

Visited some relatives I knew were living here in Natchez. Some met me kindly and some coldly. We could not find a more delightful place to be encamped. All are delighted with our quarters; vegetables, fruits and such things as a soldier longs for can be found here and the people are ready to exchange for our army rations.

SOURCE: Joseph Stockton, War Diary (1862-5) of Brevet Brigadier General Joseph Stockton, p. 21

Diary of Major Joseph Stockton, July 18, 1863

Nothing of importance occurred. Visit Vidalia daily to look after the negroes encamped there.

SOURCE: Joseph Stockton, War Diary (1862-5) of Brevet Brigadier General Joseph Stockton, p. 20

Diary of Major Joseph Stockton, Monday, June 1, 1863

Weather very warm. Men engaged in building roads through the ravines to connect the different camps. Our rations are now all right, getting them by steamer from the North to Yazoo River, and then teaming them across Chickasaw Bayou to our camps. Men in good spirits and prefer the spade and pick to charging breastworks.

SOURCE: Joseph Stockton, War Diary (1862-5) of Brevet Brigadier General Joseph Stockton, p. 17

Diary of Major Joseph Stockton, June 2, 1863

A large fire in Vicksburg last night. An attack was made on our left, but easily repulsed.

SOURCE: Joseph Stockton, War Diary (1862-5) of Brevet Brigadier General Joseph Stockton, p. 17

Diary of Major Joseph Stockton, June 3, 1863

I was much interested today in watching a number of Indians that belong to the 14th Wisconsin, acting as sharpshooters. Every day the best shots are detailed to act as sharpshooters to keep the enemy from using their cannon on our working parties and the riflemen from picking the men off. These Indians had fixed their heads with leaves in such a way that you could not tell them. They would creep on their bellies a little distance, then keep quiet, then move ahead until they could get the position they were after, which was generally a log, behind which they could lie without very much exposure. They silenced the rebel cannon in front almost entirely.

SOURCE: Joseph Stockton, War Diary (1862-5) of Brevet Brigadier General Joseph Stockton, p. 17

Diary of Major Joseph Stockton, June 4, 1863

Messrs. Underwood and Seeley of the Chicago Board of Trade and Y. M. C. A., arrived from Chicago today. Visited the rifle pits with them. Battery A, Chicago Light Artillery, did some firing for them, throwing shells with great precision at the rebel works. A poor mule was killed at the distance of a mile by a shell.

SOURCE: Joseph Stockton, War Diary (1862-5) of Brevet Brigadier General Joseph Stockton, p. 17

Diary of Major Joseph Stockton, June 5, 1863

Siege life can be made monotonous or otherwise, as you wish. A visit to the outworks is always interesting, and to see the devices the men use in trying to get a Reb to put his head above their works, is very amusing. Holding their caps on the end of their guns or fixing a coat so that the arm can be seen, and the Reb, thinking it is a Yank, blazes away at him while our boys go for him.

SOURCE: Joseph Stockton, War Diary (1862-5) of Brevet Brigadier General Joseph Stockton, p. 17

Diary of Major Joseph Stockton, June 6, 1863

The navy have several mortar-boats in position on the Mississippi River, and it is a very interesting sight to watch their shells in the night time go sailing through the air, sometimes bursting way up high, and at other times just before reaching the ground. I never appreciated the words of our glorious National anthem until now, where it says, "And the bombs bursting in air," etc.

SOURCE: Joseph Stockton, War Diary (1862-5) of Brevet Brigadier General Joseph Stockton, p. 17

Diary of Major Joseph Stockton, Sunday, June 7, 1863

Had religious service today. Men are pious when danger threatens, but somewhat lax when it is passed.

SOURCE: Joseph Stockton, War Diary (1862-5) of Brevet Brigadier General Joseph Stockton, p. 17

Diary of Major Joseph Stockton, June 8-16, 1863

The usual cannonading; trench work and mining going on. Had a splendid rain on the 10th which was enjoyed by all. Weather cool and pleasant.

SOURCE: Joseph Stockton, War Diary (1862-5) of Brevet Brigadier General Joseph Stockton, p. 18

Diary of Major Joseph Stockton, June 17, 1863

The siege is progressing slowly but surely. We are making gradual approaches and are now within one hundred feet of the enemy's works. The work is done by the men rolling in front of them a large gabion filled with earth so as to keep the rebel sharp-shooters from picking them off. They then dig a trench throwing the dirt up on both sides; at times men are killed; one of our men, a sergeant in Co. B, has just been brought in killed in the advance rifle pit. He was shot through the head and killed instantly. Such an occurrence makes the men careful but they soon grow careless again. The Rebs are throwing shells into our camp, pieces fall in close proximity to our quarters. Their sharp-shooters are constantly on the watch for a chance to pick us off. I was riding along the other day to see the works on our left and stopped for a moment, when a bullet struck at the feet of my horse's front legs and in a second more two or three others in close proximity. I changed my position. No one can form any idea of the extent of their works, reaching a distance of eighteen miles, completely encircling Vicksburg. Quite a number of our wounded men have died since they have left to go North. The severity of the wounds is proven by the fact that there were over fifty amputations of arms and legs in our brigade alone.

SOURCE: Joseph Stockton, War Diary (1862-5) of Brevet Brigadier General Joseph Stockton, p. 18

Diary of Major Joseph Stockton, June 18-19, 1863

Nothing of importance or interest occurred.

SOURCE: Joseph Stockton, War Diary (1862-5) of Brevet Brigadier General Joseph Stockton, p. 18