Diary of Private W. J. Davidson, Tuesday, May 26, 1863

Still at our camps near Jackson doing absolutely nothing, living on the shortest possible commons. Had dress-parade yesterday for the first time in four weeks, and on Sunday a sermon from the lips of the Reverend Colonel Fountain E. Pitts. The news from all quarters is cheering; the victory of our Vicksburg friends is complete, and the loss of the enemy is estimated at fifteen thousand (15.000); we hear of John Morgan's work on the Cumberland, Lee's victory over Hooker in Virginia, while “Old Pap" Price is said to be stirring the enemy up lively on the other side of the Mississippi. Kirby Smith, we also hear, has bagged a whole army of "blue coats" in Western Louisiana Altogether, we feel quite confident, and while the feeling lasts we will be able to endure all sorts of privations, short rations not excepted.

SOURCE: Edwin L. Drake, Editor, The Annals of the Army of Tennessee and Early Western History, Vol. 1, p. 214

Diary of Private W. J. Davidson, May 23, 1863

NEAR CANTON.—We have marched five miles this morning, and are now in two miles of Canton. Our force is now ten or twelve thousand strong, and looking for other reinforcements. The news from Vicksburg is that our men have repulsed the enemy, with a loss of 16,000 killed and wounded. I hope it may be true.

There is a report in camp that the enemy are approaching Canton from North Mississippi, and are now in fifteen miles of us. We are living very hard at present, drawing nothing but corn-meal and fresh beef without salt. We have been able to buy bacon from the citizens until an order from General Johnston put a stop to our going out of camps. I think we will get bacon this evening.

SOURCE: Edwin L. Drake, Editor, The Annals of the Army of Tennessee and Early Western History, Vol. 1, p. 170

Major-General John A. McClernand to Edwin M. Stanton, August 24, 1863

SPRINGFIELD, ILL.,        

August 24, 1863.

Hon. E. M. STANTON,
        Secretary of War:

On June 27, ultimo, I had the honor to address you a respectful communication, giving the circumstances attending my removal by General Grant from the command of the Thirteenth Army Corps, and containing, among other things, the following passages:

I ask, in justice, for an investigation of General Grant's and my conduct as officers from the battle of Belmont to the assault of May 22 on Vicksburg, inclusive.

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

Please early advise me of the determination of the Government in the premises.

Fearing that the foregoing matter, in the multitude of your engagements, has escaped your attention, I write again, respectfully asking that you will please immediately advise me whether the desired investigation will or will not be ordered.

Your obedient servant,

JOHN A. McCLERNAND,        

Major-general.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 24, Part 1 (Serial No. 36), p. 158

Major-General John A. McClernand to Edwin M. Stanton, June 27, 1863

SPRINGFIELD, ILL., June 27, 1863.

Hon. E. M. STANTON,
        Secretary of War:

Under authority conferred by you in previous correspondence to communicate freely, I inclose the accompanying correspondence* between Major-General Grant and myself. From that correspondence you will learn that General Grant has assumed power to relieve me from the command of the Thirteenth Army Corps and to banish me from the Department of the Tennessee. The ostensible motive for this act is the failure of my adjutant to send General Grant a copy of a congratulatory order communicated to commanders of divisions of the Thirteenth Army Corps, the design of which was to assert the just claims of that corps and to stimulate its soldierly pride and conduct.

The order reflected upon no one, nor was it to have been expected that I could have personally supervised the routine of the adjutant's office in this or any like particular. I was in the presence of the enemy, and my attention and best efforts were due to what was transpiring in the field; besides, sent or unsent, outside of the purpose mentioned, the order effected nothing.

The real motive for so unwarranted an act was hostility—personal hostility—growing out of the early connection of my name with the Mississippi River expedition and your assignment of me to the command of it. This feeling subsequently became intensified by the contrast made by my success at Arkansas Post with General Grant's retreat from Oxford and his repulse at Chickasaw Bayou, and, later still, more intensified by the leadership and success of my corps during the advance from Milliken's Bend to Port Gibson, to Champion's Hill, and to Big Black. In all these battles my corps led the advance and bore the brunt; indeed, I made the dispositions for the battles of Port Gibson and Champion's Hill, also for the battle of Big Black, which was fought on our part alone by my own corps.

During May 19, 20, 21, and 22, I lost 1,487 men killed and wounded before Vicksburg in fruitless attempts to carry the enemy's works, in obedience to General Grant's orders—orders which, under the circumstances, were incapable of execution.

On the 22d, I was the first to attack. I made the only lodgments; held them all day under a scorching sun and wasting fire, while the corps on my right, sustaining repulse, left the enemy to mass upon me. Yet, so far as I have seen, the only dispatch from General Grant noticing me or the Thirteenth Army Corps placed me in the position of bringing up the rear.

The fact that McPherson and Sherman gained the lead for a day or two by reason of the temporary substitution of Jackson for Edwards Station as the objective point of the army's movements, was the occasion for a statement calculated to induce the belief that I was uniformly in the rear. All this, however, is but consistent with the motive that censured me for the Arkansas expedition, which, fortunately for me and the country, terminated in the fall of Post Arkansas, and the attempt to charge me with the failure at Chickasaw Bayou, which occurred before I took command of the Mississippi River expedition.

I ask, in justice, for an investigation of General Grant's and my conduct as officers from the battle of Belmont to the assault of the 22d upon Vicksburg, inclusive; and meantime, until the public service will allow the investigation, that I be restored to my command, at least until the fall of Vicksburg. General Grant cannot consistently object to the latter, because only two days before my dismission he made my command larger than the Fifteenth and Seventeenth Army Corps combined by the addition of one division certainly and two others contingently, thus in an emergency, notwithstanding his personal feelings, testifying his confidence in my fidelity and capability. Please early advise me of the determination of the Government in the premises.

Your obedient servant,

JOHN A. McCLERNAND,        

Major General.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­_______________

* See McClernand to Halleck, p. 165

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 24, Part 1 (Serial No. 36), p. 166-7

Major-General John A. McClernand to Major-General Henry W. Halleck, June 27 1863

SPRINGFIELD, ILL., June 27, 1863.

Maj. Gen. H. W. HALLECK,
        General-in-Chief:

GENERAL: On the 4th instant I personally delivered the original of the accompanying paper, marked A, to Major-General Grant, upon the perusal of which he remarked in substance that he had underrated the obstacles frustrating the assault upon Vicksburg's defenses, and that he would answer my note in writing, and, as I understood him, satisfactorily. It has not yet been answered. The original of the accompanying paper, marked B,^† was received by me on the evening of the 18th instant. The paper marked C^‡ is a copy of my answer, and paper marked D is a copy of General Grant's reply.^§ Paper marked E is a copy of my protest.

In compliance with General Grant's order, I have the honor to report to Headquarters of the Army by letter for orders.

Having opened the way from Milliken's Bend above to Perkins' plantation, 40 miles below, Vicksburg; having led the advanced corps to Port Gibson and to Champion's Hill, and borne the brunt of both of these battles, as statistics will prove; having fought the battle of Big Black unassisted by any other corps; having made the first and perhaps only lodgments in the enemy's works at Vicksburg on the 22d ultimo, and demonstrated the vigor and persistency of my assault by the greatest loss, I ask, in justice, that I may be restored to my command at least until Vicksburg shall have fallen. Only two days before my banishment from the Department of the Tennessee, General Grant had increased my command by the positive addition of one division and by the contingent addition of two others, making it larger than the Fifteenth and Seventeenth Army Corps combined, and therefore cannot consistently object upon the score of distrust of my fidelity or ability.

Your obedient servant,

JOHN A. McCLERNAND,        

Major-general.

_______________

† See Inclosure No. 1, p. 159

‡ See Inclosure No. 3, p. 162

§ See Inclosure No. 6, p. 164

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 24, Part 1 (Serial No. 36), p. 165

Major-General John A. McClernand to Major-General Ulysses S. Grant, June 4, 1863

HEADQUARTERS THIRTEENTH ARMY CORPS,        

Battle-field near Vicksburg, Miss., June 4, 1863.

[Maj. Gen. U.S. GRANT:]

GENERAL: What appears to be a systematic effort to destroy my usefulness and character as a commander makes it proper that I should address you this note. It is reported, among other things, as I understand, that I attacked on the 22d ultimo without authority; again, that I attacked too late; again, that I am responsible for your failure and losses; again, that I am arrested and being sent North; again, that my command is turned over to another officer, and, again, that you have personally assumed command of it. These reports are finding their way from the landings up the river. I hardly need say to you that all these reports are false; that I obeyed orders in attacking; that my attack was prompt and in a larger measure more successful than any other; that the ultimate failure of the general attack and the losses attending it were, under the circumstances, unavoidable consequences of obstacles found to be unsurmountable, and [notwithstanding] a determined effort, at least on my part, to carry and hold the works in obedience to your express and peremptory order. You know that I am not yet under arrest, or being sent away, or superseded in my command. All these things being known to you, and these false reports being brought to your notice, it remains for you to determine whether truth, justice, and generosity do not call on you for such a declaration as will be conclusive in the matter.

Your obedient servant,

JOHN A. McCLERNAND,        

Major-general, Commanding.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 24, Part 1 (Serial No. 36), p. 165-6

Charles A. Dana to Edwin M. Stantion, June 19, 1863—10. a.m.

BEHIND VICKSBURG, MISS., June 19 1863 - 10 a.m.,                

VIA MEMPHIS, TENN., June 22 - 9 a.m.        

(Received June 24 - 3.35 a.m.)

McClernand last night was relieved of his command and ordered to report to Washington for orders. As the matter may be of some importance, I telegraph the correspondence connected with it. The congratulatory address spoken of in General Grant's first letter is one that first reached here in the Missouri Democrat of June 11. In it he claims for himself most of the glory of the campaign; reaffirms that on May 22 he held two rebel forts for several hours, and imputes to other commanders a failure to aid him to keep them and take the city. The letters are as follows:

• Major-General Ulysses S. Grant to Major-General John A. McClernand, June 17, 1863
• Major-General John A. McClernand to Major-General Ulysses S. Grant, June 18, 1863
• Major-General Ulysses S. Grant: Special Orders, No. 164, June 18, 1863
• Major-General John A. McClernand to Major-General Ulysses S. Grant, June 18, 1863

Though the congratulatory address in question is the occasion of McClernand's removal, it is not its cause, as McClernand intimates when he says incorrectly that General Grant has taken exceptions to this address. That cause, as I understand it, is his repeated disobedience of important orders, his general insubordinate disposition, and his palpable incompetence for the duties of the position. As I learned by private conversation, it was, in General Grant's judgment, also necessary that he should be removed, for the reason, above all, that his relations with other corps commanders rendered it impossible that the chief command of this army should devolve upon him, as it would have done were General Grant disabled, without most pernicious consequences to the cause.

Lauman's division, having for some days past been temporarily attached to the Thirteenth Corps, will remain under Ord's command. Herron will continue to report directly to department headquarters. Captain Comstock takes general charge of the siege works on the lines of both Lauman and Herron. The siege works here are steadily progressing on the right and center, rather in the way of enlargement of covered ways and strengthening of the lines than of direct advances. On the front of the Thirteenth Corps and the extreme left, our works constantly approach those of the enemy. On the right of our center, however, an important advantage was this morning gained by General Ransom, who during the night pushed his trenches so that at daylight his sharpshooters were able to take in reverse the whole right flank of the main rebel fort in his front, called Fort Hill. He soon drove out the enemy, killing and wounding many, and will be able to crown the rebel parapet with his artillery whenever the order is given. The rebels are constructing an interior battery to cover the works they have thus virtually lost. Trustworthy advices from Jackson to the 16th show that Joe Johnston had withdrawn his troops thence. A few guards were all the troops there. As I have before reported, Breckinridge was at Clinton. The rebels are endeavoring to establish at Demopolis, on the Tombigbee, the gun-carriage factory we burned at Jackson. Ten thousand troops from Bragg had passed through that place—re-enforcements to Joe Johnston. No cavalry was among them nor any heavy artillery.

Weather is hot; thermometer at 95 degrees. The springs from which we get water are becoming bad. They are full of lime from decayed shells.

C. A. DANA.

Hon. E. M. STANTON,
        Secretary of War.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 24, Part 1 (Serial No. 36), p. 102-4

Major-General James B. McPherson to Major-General Ulysses S. Grant, June 18, 1863

HDQRS. 17TH ARMY CORPS, DEPT. OF THE TENNESSEE,        

Near Vicksburg, Miss, June 18, 1863.

Major-General GRANT, Comdg. Dept. of the Tennessee:

GENERAL: My attention has Just been called to an order published in the Missouri Democrat of the 10th instant, purporting to be a congratulatory order from Maj. Gen. John A. McClernand to his command The whole tenor of the order is so ungenerous, and the insinuations and criminations against the other corps of your army are so manifestly at variance with the facts, that a sense of duty to my command, as well as the verbal protest of every one of my division and brigade commanders against allowing such an order to go forth to the public unanswered, require that I should call your attention to it. After a careful perusal of the order, I cannot help arriving at the conclusion that it was written more to influence public sentiment at the North and impress the public mind with the magnificent strategy, superior tactics, and brilliant deeds of the major-general commanding the Thirteenth Army Corps than to congratulate his troops upon their well-merited successes. There is a vain-gloriousness about the order, an ingenious attempt to write himself down the hero, the master-mind, giving life and direction to military Operations in this quarter, inconsistent with the high-toned principles of the soldier, sans peur et sans reproche. Though born a warrior, as he himself stated, he has evidently forgotten one of the most essential qualities, viz, that elevated, refined sense of honor, which, while guarding his own rights with zealous care, at all times renders justice to others.

It little becomes Major-General McClernand to complain of want of co-operation on the part of other corps in the assault on the enemy's works on the 22d ultimo, when 1,218 men of my command were placed hors de combat in their resolute and daring attempt to carry the positions assigned to them, and fully one-third of these from General Quinby's division, with the gallant and accomplished Colonel [George B.] Boomer at their head, who fell in front of his own lines, where they were left (after being sent 2 miles to support him) to sustain the whole brunt of the battle from 5 p.m. until after dark, his own men being recalled. If General McClernand's assaulting columns were not immediately supported when they moved against the enemy's intrenchments, and few of the men succeeded in getting in, it most assuredly was his own fault and not the fault of any other corps commander. Each corps commander had the positions assigned to him which he was to attempt to carry, and it remained with him to dispose his troops in such a way as to support promptly and efficiently any column which succeeded in getting in. The attack was ordered by the major general commanding the department to be simultaneous at all the points selected, and precisely at the hour the columns moved, some of them taking a little longer than others to reach the enemy's works, on account of the natural and artificial obstacles to be overcome, but the difference in time was not great enough to allow of any changing or massing of the enemy from one part of the line to the other.

The assault failed, not, in my opinion, from any want of co-operation or bravery on the part of our troops, but from the strength of the works, the difficulty of getting close up to them under cover, and the determined character of the assailed.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

JAS. B. McPHERSON,        

Major-general.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 24, Part 1 (Serial No. 36), p. 163-4

Major-General William T. Sherman to Lieutenant Colonel John A. Rawlins, June 17, 1863

HEADQUARTERS FIFTEENTH ARMY CORPS,        

Camp on Walnut Hills, June, 17, 1863.

Lieut. Col. JOHN A. RAWLINS,
        Assistant Adjutant-General, Department of the Tennessee:

SIR: On my return last evening from an inspection of the new works at Snyder's Bluff, General Blair, who commands the Second Division of my corps, called my attention to the inclosed publication in the Memphis Evening Bulletin of June 13, instant, entitled “Congratulatory Order of General McClernand,” with a request that I should notice it, lest the statements of fact and inference contained therein might receive credence from an excited public. It certainly gives me no pleasure or satisfaction to notice such a catalogue of nonsense—such an effusion of vain-glory and hypocrisy; nor can I believe General McClernand ever published such an order officially to his corps. I know too well that the brave and intelligent soldiers and officers who compose that corps will not be humbugged by such stuff.

If the order be a genuine production and not a forgery, it is manifestly addressed not to an army, but to a constituency in Illinois, far distant from the scene of the events attempted to be described, who might innocently be induced to think General McClernand the sagacious leader and bold hero he so complacently paints himself; but it is barely possible the order is a genuine one, and was actually read to the regiments of the Thirteenth Army Corps, in which case a copy must have been sent to your office for the information of the commanding general.

I beg to call his attention to the requirements of General Orders, No. 151, of 1862, which actually forbids the publication of all official letters and reports, and requires the name of the writer to be laid before the President of the United States for dismissal. The document under question is not technically a letter or report, and though styled an order, is not an order. It orders nothing, but is in the nature of an address to soldiers, manifestly designed for publication for ulterior political purposes. It perverts the truth to the ends of flattery and self-glorification, and contains many untruths, among which is one of monstrous falsehood. It substantially accuses General McPherson and myself with disobeying the orders of General Grant in not assaulting on May 19 and 22, and allowing on the latter day the enemy to mass his forces against the Thirteenth Army Corps alone. General McPherson is fully able to answer for himself, and for the Fifteenth Army Corps I answer that on May 19 and 22 it attacked furiously, at three distinct points, the enemy's works, at the very hour and minute fixed in General Grant's written orders; that on both days we planted our colors on the exterior slope and kept them there till nightfall; that from the first hour of investment of Vicksburg until now my corps has at all times been far in advance of General McClernand's; that the general-in-chief, by personal inspection, knows this truth; that tens of thousands of living witnesses beheld and participated in the attack; that General Grant visited me during both assaults and saw for himself, and is far better qualified to judge whether his orders were obeyed than General McClernand, who was nearly 3 miles off; that General McClernand never saw my lines; that he then knew, and still knows, nothing about them, and that from his position he had no means of knowing what occurred on this front. Not only were the assaults made at the time and place and in the manner prescribed in General Grant's written orders, but about 3 p.m., five hours after the assault on the 22d began, when my storming party lay against the exterior slope of the bastion on my front, and Blair's whole division was deployed close up to the parapet, ready to spring to the assault, and all my field artillery were in good position for the work, General Grant showed me a note from General McClernand, that moment handed him by an orderly, to the effect that had carried three of the enemy's forts, and that the flag of the Union waved over the stronghold of Vicksburg, asking that the enemy should be pressed at all points lest he should concentrate on him. Not dreaming that a major-general would at such a critical moment make a mere buncombe communication, I instantly ordered Giles A. Smith's and Mower's brigades to renew the assault under cover of Blair's division and the artillery, deployed as before described, and sent an aide to General Steele, about a mile to my right, to convey the same mischievous message, whereby we lost, needlessly, many of our best officers and men.

I would never have revealed so unwelcome a truth had General MCClernand, in his process of self-flattery, confined himself to facts in the reach of his own observation, and not gone out of the way to charge others for results which he seems not to comprehend. In cases of repulse and failure, congratulatory addresses by subordinate commanders are not common, and are only resorted to by weak and vain men to shift the burden of responsibility from their own to the shoulders of others. I never make a practice of speaking or writing of others, but during our assault of the 19th several of my brigade commanders were under the impression that McClernand's corps did not even attempt an assault.

In the congratulatory order I remark great silence on the subject. Merely to satisfy inquiring parties, I should like to know if McClernand's corps did or did not assault at 2 p.m. of May 19, as ordered. I do not believe it did, and I think General McClernand responsible.

With these remarks I leave the matter where it properly belongs, in the hands of the commanding general, who knows his plans and orders, sees with an eye single to success and his country's honor, and not from the narrow and contracted circle of a subordinate commander, who exaggerates the importance of the events that fall under his immediate notice, and is filled with an itching desire for "fame not earned."

With great respect, your obedient servant,

W. T. SHERMAN,        

Major-General, Commanding.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 24, Part 1 (Serial No. 36), p. 162-3

Major-General John A. McClernand to Major-General Ulysses S. Grant, June 4, 1863

HEADQUARTERS THIRTEENTH ARMY CORPS,        

Battle-field near Vicksburg, Miss., June 4, 1863.

[Maj. Gen. U.S. GRANT:]

GENERAL: What appears to be a systematic effort to destroy my usefulness and character as a commander makes it proper that I should address you this note. It is reported, among other things, as I understand, that I attacked on the 22d ultimo without authority; again, that I attacked too late; again, that I am responsible for your failure and losses; again, that I am arrested and being sent North; again, that my command is turned over to another officer, and, again, that you have personally assumed command of it. These reports are finding their way from the landings up the river. I hardly need say to you that all these reports are false; that I obeyed orders in attacking; that my attack was prompt and in a larger measure more successful than any other; that the ultimate failure of the general attack and the losses attending it were, under the circumstances, unavoidable consequences of obstacles found to be unsurmountable, and [notwithstanding] a determined effort, at least on my part, to carry and hold the works in obedience to your express and peremptory order. You know that I am not yet under arrest, or being sent away, or superseded in my command. All these things being known to you, and these false reports being brought to your notice, it remains for you to determine whether truth, justice, and generosity do not call on you for such a declaration as will be conclusive n the matter.

Your obedient servant,

JOHN A. McCLERNAND,        

Major-general, Commanding.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 24, Part 1 (Serial No. 36), p. 165-6

Diary of 5th Sergeant Osborn H. Oldroyd: May 25, 1863

Burying the dead that had lain between the Union and Confederate
lines for three days.

Pemberton sent a flag of truce to Grant at two P. M., and the cessation of hostilities thus agreed on, lasted till eight o'clock in the evening. It made us happy, for we fancied it was a sign they wanted to surrender—but no such good luck. It was simply to give both sides a chance to bury their dead, which had been lying exposed since the twenty-second. Both armies issued from their respective fortifications and pits, and mingled together in various sports, apparently with much enjoyment. Here a group of four played cards—two Yanks and two Rebs. There, others were jumping, while everywhere blue and gray mingled in conversation over the scenes which had transpired since our visit to the neighborhood. I talked with a very sensible rebel, who said he was satisfied we should not only take Vicksburg, but drive the forces of the south all over their territory, at last compelling them to surrender; still, he said, he had gone into the fight, and was resolved not to back out. He said they had great hope of dissension in the north, to such an extent as might strengthen their cause. There have been grounds for this hope, I am sorry to say, and such dissensions at the north must prolong the war, if our peace party should succeed in materially obstructing the war measures of government. From the remarks of some of the rebels, I judged that their supply of provisions was getting low, and that they had no source from which to draw more. We gave them from our own rations some fat meat, crackers, coffee and so forth, in order to make them as happy as we could. We could see plainly that their officers watched our communications closely.

SOURCE: Osborn Hamiline Oldroyd, A Soldier's Story of the Siege of Vicksburg, p. 35-7

Diary of 5th Sergeant Osborn H. Oldroyd: May 19, 1863

This day beholds a cordon of steel, with rivets of brave hearts, surrounding Vicksburg. The enemy left their fortifications on the first, twelfth, fourteenth, sixteenth and eighteenth of this month, and dealt their best blows to prevent the occurrence of what we have just accomplished—the surrounding of their well fortified city. We have now come here to compel them to surrender, and we are prepared to do it either by charge or by siege, and they cannot say to us nay. They have fought well to keep their homes free from invasion, and surely deserve praise for their brave return to battle after so many defeats. Our army encircles the city from the river above to the river below, a distance of seven and a half miles.

The three corps have taken respective positions as follows: Sherman's Fifteenth occupies the right of the line, resting on the river above; General McClernand's Thirteenth touches the river below, while McPherson's Seventeenth stands in the center. Our own division, commanded by Logan, occupies the road leading to Jackson.

In taking our position we did a great deal of skirmishing, and I suppose the same difficulty was probably experienced by the rest of the line. We have been nineteen days on the march around Vicksburg, and the time has been full of excitement— quite too varied for a comprehensive view just now, but those who have borne a part in it will store it all away in memory, to be gone over between comrades by piece-meal, when they meet after the war is over.

The personal experience of even the humblest soldier will get a hearing in years to come, for it is the little things in an unusual life that are most entertaining, and personal observations from the rank and file, narrated by those who saw what they describe, will make some of the most instructive paragraphs of the war's history.

This has been a day to try the nerves of the boys, while taking position in front to invest the doomed city. It has been a day to try men's souls, and hearts, too. The long lines of rebel earthworks following the zig-zag courses of the hills, and black field guns still menacing from their port-holes, bristle with defiance to the invaders.

Our regiment, the 20th Ohio, being ordered in position on the Jackson road, immediately passed to the left in front of Fort Hill, where it stood ready to charge at a moment's notice. Meanwhile Colonel Force cautiously made his way in front of the different companies and spoke familiarly to his men words of encouragement. Said he, "boys, I expect we shall be ordered to charge the fort. I shall run right at it, and I hope every man will follow me." At that instant a soldier of one of the companies on the left was found snugly hid in a ravine under the roots of a tree, and his lieutenant's attention being called to the fact, he was ordered out, when he replied, "lieutenant, I do not believe I am able to make such a charge."

SOURCE: Osborn Hamiline Oldroyd, A Soldier's Story of the Siege of Vicksburg, p. 27-9

Diary of 5th Sergeant Osborn H. Oldroyd: May 20, 1863

Map of Vicksburg showing the river front and the
positions of the Union and Confederate lines in the rear.

When I awoke this morning I offered thanks to God that my life had been spared thus far. We slept on our arms—something unusual. This day has been busily spent in making cautious advances toward the works of the enemy, and, although our progress seems to have been very little, we are content to approach step by step, for the task is difficult and dangerous. Bullets are flying over our heads, and it is quite common to see the boys trying to dodge them. A few have succeeded in stopping these bullets, but they had to leave at once for the hospital. A blanket displayed by its owner was called a map of the confederacy, on account of the holes in it made by bullets at Raymond and Champion Hills. It is good enough yet for warmth, but will not do to hold water. We are ragged and dirty, for we have had no change of clothes for over a month. But we have the promise of new suits soon. If we were to enter Vicksburg to-morrow, some of our nice young fellows would feel ashamed to march before the young ladies there. We can see the court house in the city with a confederate flag floating over it. What fun it will be to take that down, and hoist in its stead the old stars and stripes. Then yonder is the Mississippi river again; we want to jump into that once more and have a good bath. The hills back of Vicksburg, and in fact all round the city seem quite steep and barren, and to run in parallels, affording our troops good shelter from batteries and secret approaches. It is upon these hills opposite the town that our tents are pitched. We must cut back into the hills to escape the shower of bullets, for we like to feel secure, when asleep or off duty. A great many of the balls that come over are what are called "spent," that is, have not force enough left to do any harm. We do not feel quite as safe awake or asleep as we did before we got so near the city. However, we manage to sleep pretty much unconcerned as to danger. Our regiment is detailed to watch at the rifle pits in front to-night.

SOURCE: Osborn Hamiline Oldroyd, A Soldier's Story of the Siege of Vicksburg, p. 29-30

Diary of 5th Sergeant Osborn H. Oldroyd: May 22, 1863

Mortar from the river in front. “During the siege

of Vicksburg, sixteen thousand shells were thrown

from the mortar gunboats, and naval batteries

into the city."—Hamersly. 

Last night mortar-shells, fired from the boats on the river in front of the city across Point Louisiana, fell thick over all parts of Vicksburg, and at three o'clock this morning every cannon along our line belched its shot at the enemy. Nothing could be heard at the time but the thundering of great guns—one hundred cannons sent crashing into the town —parrot, shrapnell, cannister, grape and solid shot—until it seemed impossible that anything could withstand such a fearful hailstorm. It was indeed a terrible spectacle—awfully grand.

At ten o'clock we had orders to advance. The boys were expecting the order and were busy divesting themselves of watches, rings, pictures and other keepsakes, which were being placed in the custody of the cooks, who were not expected to go into action. I never saw such a scene before, nor do I ever want to see it again. The instructions left with the keepsakes were varied. For instance, “This watch I want you to send to my father if I never return”—“I am going to Vicksburg, and if I do not get back just send these little trifles home, will you?”—proper addresses for the sending of the articles being left with them. Not a bit of sadness or fear appears in the talk or faces of the boys, but they thought it timely and proper to dispose of what they had accordingly. This was done while we awaited orders, which (it last came in earnest, and in obedience to them we moved up and took our place in the rifle pits within a hundred yards of Fort Hill, where we had orders to keep a diligent watch, and to tire at the first head that dared to show itself. The air was so thick with the smoke of cannon that we could hardly see a hundred yards before us. The line to our right and left was completely hidden from view except as revealed by the flash of guns, and the occasional bursting of shells through the dense clouds. About eleven o'clock came a signal for the entire line to charge upon the works of the enemy. Our boys were all ready, and in an instant leaped forward to find victory or defeat. The seventh Missouri took the lead with ladders which they placed against the fort, and then gave way for others to scale them. Those who climbed to the top of the fort met cold steel, and, when at length it was found impossible to enter the fort that way, the command was given to fall back, which was done under a perfect hail of lead from the enemy. The rebels, in their excitement and haste to fire at our retreating force, thrust their heads a little too high above their cover,—an advantage we were quick to seize with well aimed volleys. In this charge a severe loss was met by our division, and nothing gained. What success was met by the rest of the line I can not say, but I hope it was better than ours. Thus ended another day of bloody fight in vain, except for an increase of the knowledge which has been steadily growing lately, that a regular siege will be required to take Vicksburg. This day will be eventful on the page of history, for its duties have been severe, and many a brave patriot bit the dust under the storm of deadly fire that assailed us.

SOURCE: Osborn Hamiline Oldroyd, A Soldier's Story of the Siege of Vicksburg, p. 31-2

Review: The Vicksburg Assaults, May 19-22, 1863

The Vicksburg Assaults, May 19-22, 1863

Edited by Steven E. Woodworth & Charles D. Grear

With “The Vicksburg Assaults: May 19-22” Southern Illinois University Press has added another volume to its “Civil War Campaigns in the West” series. It is the second volume in the series to cover Major-General Ulysses. S. Grant’s Vicksburg Campaign.  Picking up where the previous volume “The Vicksburg Campaign: March 29-May 18, 1863” left off,  it covers the four days between May 19 and May 22, 1863 during which Grant made two suicidal, uphill frontal assaults on the Confederate earthworks surrounding the heavily fortified city.

This small book, only 136 pages, is a treasure trove of information and firsthand accounts of the fighting which demonstrated to Grant that Vicksburg, “The Gibraltar of the West,” couldn’t be taken as easily as Mississippi’s State Capital, Jackson.

In the book’s Introduction Charles D. Grear gives a brief sketch of the last few days of the Vicksburg Campaign and brings readers up to May 19, 1863.

J. Parker Hills follows up with two essays covering both assaults “Haste and Underestimation: May 19” and “Failure and Scapegoat: May 22”

“The Assault on the Railroad Redoubt” by Stephen E. Woodworth analyzes the fight for the Railroad Redoubt, the site of bloodiest fighting from the viewpoint of the Union men who fought there while Brandon Franke conversely examines it from the point of view of it’s Confederate defenders in his essay “Texans in the Breach: Waul’s Legion at Vicksburg.”

The title of the final essay of the book by Charles D. Grear speaks for itself, “The North-West is Determined with the Sword”; Midwesterners’ Reactions to the Vicksburg Assaults.”

The assaults against the outer works of Vicksburg are rarely given treatment of their own by authors.  They are usually folded into the final few pages of books about the Vicksburg Campaign, in the first few pages of books about the Siege of Vicksburg, or sandwiched between the two in books covering both the campaign and the siege.

Each essay is well researched and well written by its author.  There are end notes following each essay. Taken independently of the others each essay is a slim slice that doesn’t fail to deliver upon its topic, but together the four days between May 19 & May 22, 1863, are completely covered.  “The Vicksburg Assaults: May 19-22, 1863” rightly deserves to take its place on the shelf among many other scholarly works of the Vicksburg Campaign and Siege.

ISBN 978-0809337194, Southern Illinois University Press, © 2019, Hardcover, 136 pages, Photographs, Maps, End Notes at the end of each essay & Index. $29.50.  To purchase this book click HERE.