Vicksburg Campaign-The Fortress Surrenders

On July 7, 1863, Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles received the following telegram from the Office of the U.S. Military Telegraph at the War Department:

"From U.S. Miss Squadron, Flagship Blackhawk

Hon. Gideon Welles Secretary Navy

Sir, I have the honor to inform you that Vicksburg has surrendered to the U.S. Forces on this 4th of July.

Very Respectfully, Your Obedient Servt D.D. Porter Acting Rear Admiral."

In a more complete report to Welles, Porter noted that the Navy's mortar boats fired over 7,000 shells at Vicksburg; the ships fired about 4,500 shells from their direct fire weapons with an additional 4,500 fired from Navy guns on shore. On top of that, the Navy provided 6,000 shells to the Army. He also commented that "the capture of Vicksburg leaves us a large army and naval force free to act all along the river. The effect of this blow will be felt far up the tributaries of the Mississippi."


Upon hearing the news, President Lincoln is to have said "The Father of Waters again goes unvexed to the sea."

The Navy Memorial at Vicksburg National Military Park



Vicskburg Campaign-The Navy Unloads Its Firepower.

One of the chief reasons for Union victory in the West was the close
cooperation  between General Grant and Admiral Porter.

While the the Navy bombarded Port Hudson from the river and land, Admiral Dixon Porter set up a similar operation for Vicksburg itself. The admiral had the USS Cincinnati, Mound City, Carendolet, Benton, and Tuscumbia approach within 300-400 yards of the Confederate guns.  The two sides exchanged shots for over two hours before the Union squadron withdrew.  Porter often coordinated closely with General Ulysses S. Grant's ground assaults.  It was during one of these raids that Confederate gunners found their mark on Cincinnati, striking the ironclad in several critical places.  The ironclad soon sank.

Porter's ships bombarding Vicksburg at night.

Direct assaults did not make much progress.   Union leadership decided on a  more passive siege.  Ground forces would bombard from land, while Porter deployed a number of heavy guns from river and land to shell the fortress town.  Porter brought up mortar boats equipped with 175 mortars (not all of them functioning) from the south to augment his ironclad squadron. 

In addition to his warships, Porter placed IX-Inch and X-inch Dahlgrens and 100 pounder Parrott Rifles on scows (flat bottom river boats).  On land, he contributed five VIII-inch and two IX-inch Dahlgrens, two 42-pounder rifles, and older 32-pounder smoothbores.  All the guns were added to Grant's artillery batteries and manned by sailors from Porter's squadron. From 27 May to 3 July 1863,  Porter's gunners bombarded Vicksburg.  The gunners usually fired either first thing in the morning or at night, as Porter did not want to exhaust his gunners during the hot summer days. 

"Siege of Vicksburg"-Compare this print to the war time sketch
 of the same scene by Theodore Davis.

Porter directed the gunners not only to fire at the town, but also at the town supply depots, such as its cattle herd. The bombardments killed several hundred heads of cattle, making the Confederate's supply situation that much worse. 

One target Porter directed his gunners to stop firing at was the infamous "Whistling Dick" gun.  "Dick" was an 18-pounder rifle that made a distinct "whistling" sound when fired.  It is credited with sinking Cincinnati.  After many failed attempts to knock the gun out, Porter told his ships not to specifically target it anymore. 

In addition to the massive bombardment, Naval forces assisted in keeping Confederate relief columns from coming to Vicksburg's rescue. Porter deployed Brigadier General Alfred Ellet's Mississippi Marine Brigade to help Union ground forces fend off approaching enemy units.  This unique formation now under Navy control was a combined unit of infantry and cavalry with its own river transports.  The unit also took control of plantations along the river where newly freed slaves produced cotton for Union forces.

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Porter received a note during the siege indicating that Admiral Andrew Hull Foote died in a New York hospital on 27 June.  Considered one of the Navy's finest seamen (and rabid teetotaler), he suffered an injury during the Fort Donelson campaign which he never fully recovered from.  He was to take over the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, but his injury prevented him from travelling.  All the ships in the squadron lowered their flags to half mast. 

Vicksburg Campaign-The Navy Shells Port Hudson From the River and Land

Farragut's squadron attempting to the run the guns at
Port Hudson and the destruction of USS Mississippi.

As we approach the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg and the vast public interest in it, let us not forget the importance of Vicksburg.  Listen to the words of a Confederate Army engineer stationed in Vicksburg, Mississippi: "I am almost sorry to hear of Lee's progress Northward; for it looks as if the importance of Vicksburg were not understood.  What is Philadelphia to us if the Mississippi be lost?" 

Union  leaders in the West understood the importance of Vicksburg and spent considerable resources to take the town.  The "siege" of Vicksburg formally began on 18 May 1862 when Mayor L. Lindsay rejected the U.S. Navy's demand to surrender. Taking Vicksburg turned out to be more than just a simple assault.  It involved a complex process of controlling not only the Mississippi River, but its secondary rivers and nearby towns that guarded the river approaches. One of these towns near Vicksburg was Port Hudson, Louisiana.  The river town is strategically positioned on the Mississippi near the Red River.  Confederate forces used the Red River to bring supplies to Vicksburg from the west.  Thus, any encirclement of Vicksburg by Union ground forces was pointless unless Port Hudson was subdued.

The first major move on Port Hudson was to suppose to be a joint Army-Navy effort between Admiral David Farragut and Major General Nathaniel Banks.  However, Farragut grew tired of Banks' sluggish movements and delays. Since he took New Orleans with no ground forces, Farragut somewhat arrogantly believed he could push past Port Hudson and seize control of the Red River-Mississippi River junction with just his ships. 

Gunners from USS Richmond
prepare to fire the ship's forward
Parrott Rifle at Port Hudson

With USS Hartford in the lead, Farragut's seven ship squadron steamed up river in pairs with USS Mississippi bringing up the van of the squadron alone. The operation did not go well as all the seven ships ran aground as they attempted to hug the west bank of the river.  Hartford and Albatross got free and under the cover morning fog successfully passed the guns.  The other five were not so lucky as the wind blew away the fog.  Four of the ships received heavy damage, but successfully retreated back down stream. 

Mississippi, however, took several critical hits, caught on fire and sank.  The frigate's executive officer and future Admiral of the Fleet, Lieutenant George Dewey stayed on board long enough to spike the guns.  Thus ended the career of one of the Navy's most famous ships.  Farragut did not hear about Mississippi's demise until he read about it in local newspapers.  The movement was not one of the admiral's finest hours.

After that operation, the Navy was much more cautious and respectful of Port Hudson's defenses. Both Union and Confederate forces settled in for a long siege.  Banks' forces eventually encircled Port Hudson on the eastern side and U.S. Navy ships bombarded the town from positions down river.  

"Battery No. 10"-The Navy contributed four IX-inch
Dahlgrens to the Army's eighty-nine gun siege train
that encircled Port Hudson.  Sailors from USS
 Richmond manned the battery.

Steam sloops such as USS Monogahela (manned by both Dewey and  another Spanish-American War hero, Winfield Scott Schley) and Richmond, along with the ironclad USS Essex rotated in and out of the bomb line. The mortar schooner squadron that allegedly worked so well at New Orleans, returned from Hampton Roads and also began a steady bombardment of the town. 

After several failed assaults by Union ground forces on Port Hudson's extensive fortification network, Banks decided to blast the Confederates out of their position.  He brought in over eighty heavy guns to shell the Confederate defenses.

The Confederate defenders, however, had their own heavy guns.  Of particular note was a 10-inch Columbiad, which inflected heavy loses on Union ground forces.  Having nothing to respond to such firepower, the Army turned to the Navy for help.
The Navy had an answer. Originally intended for a new fort at Head of Passes (where the  Mississippi River empties into the Gulf of Mexico), the Navy had four IX-inch Dahlgrens in surplus.  The Navy agreed to transfer the weapons to the Port Hudson siege lines.  Labeled "Battery No. 10," gun teams from Richmond manned the weapons and took up positions about a mile east of the town. 

The Admiral and the Overseer in the Vicksburg Campaign

In order to capture Vicksburg, Mississippi, Union forces had to control the Yazoo River.  David Dixon Porter had his men and ships begin clearing out trees and sweeping the river for torpedoes. During the operation, Porter witnessed local plantation owners setting fire to their stocks of cotton.  He also noticed that plantation's overseer did not seem to care that his boss had just set the place on fire.  He took no notice to the Yankee forces in his backyard, either.  Seeing this, the flag officer struck up a conversation with the overseer.  Here is how Porter remembered the conversation in his book Incidents and Anecdotes of the Civil War :

A burly overseer, weighing over two hundred pounds, sat at the door of log-hut with a pipe in his mouth. He was a white man, half bull-dog, half blood-hound, and his face expressed everything that was bad in human nature, but he smoked away as if nothing was the matter—as Nero fiddled while Rome was burning. He looked on us with perfect indifference; our presence didn’t seem to disturb him at all. Doubtless he felt quite secure; that we didn’t want anything so bad as he was.

I called to him, and he came down in his shirt-sleeves, bareheaded, and looked stolidly at me as if to say, “Well, what do you want?”

“Why did those fools set fire to that cotton?” I inquired.

“Because they didn’t want you fools to have it,” he replied. “It’s ourn, and I guess things ain’t come to such a pass that we can’t do as we please with our own.”

“Tell them we won’t trouble it,” I said; “it is wicked to see such material going off like smoke.”

In five minutes he had a dozen Negroes at his side, and they were all sent up the bayou on a full run to stop the burning of cotton. He believed our word, and we did not disappoint him.

“And who are you ?” I inquired of the man.

“I am in charge of this plantation,” he replied; “this is the mother of my children”—pointing to a fat, thick-lipped Negress who stood, with her bosom all bare and arms a-kimbo, about ten yards away—”and these fine fellows are my children,” he continued, pointing to some light-colored boys who had followed him down.

“I suppose you are Union, of course? You all are so when it suits you,” I said.

“No, by G-- , I’m not, and never will be; and as to the others, I know nothing about them. Find out for yourself. I’m for Jeff Davis first, last, and all the time. Do you want any more of me?” he inquired, “for I am not a loquacious man at any time.”

“No, I want nothing more with you,” I replied; “but I am going to steam into that bridge of yours across the stream and knock it down. Is it strongly built?”

“You may knock it down and be d—d,” he said, “It don’t belong to me; and, if you want to find out how strong it is, pitch into it . You’ll find a hard nut to crack; it ain’t made of candy.”

"You are a Yankee by birth, are you not ?” I asked.

“Yes, d—n it, I am,” he replied; “that’s no reason I should like the institution. I cut it long ago,” and he turned on his heel and walked off.

We came to one more bridge; down it went like nine-pins, and we steamed slowly on, forcing our way through small, lithe willows that seemed to hold us in a grip of iron. This lasted for an hour, during which we made but half a mile. But that was the last of the willows for a time. Had they continued, we would have been obliged to give it up. The small sprouts, no larger than my little finger, caught in the rough plates of the overhang and held us as the threads of the Lilliputians held Gulliver.

The banks of the bayou were high with right behind us with an army, and an army, too, that was no respecter of ducks, chickens, pigs, or turkeys, for they used to say of one particular regiment in Sherman’s corps that it could catch, scrapes, and skin a hog without a soldier leaving the ranks. I was in hopes they would pay the apostate Yankee a visit, if only to teach him good manners.

Preparing for Vicksburg: The Importance of Controlling the Yazoo River

In the latter days of 1862, Admiral David Porter, General William Sherman, and their respective subordinates produced a mountain of paperwork.  The paperwork included orders, requests for guidance and information, and plans related to the fortress town of Vicksburg, Mississippi.  

One factor to a successful conclusion to any Vicksburg campaign was having officers of both services agree on the importance of controlling the Yazoo River.  This meant that Yazoo had to be completely clear of enemy ground forces, ships, and torpedoes.  

Around this time, U.S. Army cartographers produced two maps of the area that show why Porter, Sherman, and Grant placed such high value on the river.  In order for Union ground forces to approach Vicksburg and be supplied from the north, the Yazoo River had to be under the U.S. Navy's complete control.  (Note: Modern day maps of  Vicksburg are extremely misleading, as the course of the Yazoo has been shifted to the south since the war ended.)  

December 1862 Map-The Yazoo River (on the left) and its relation to Vicksburg (lower right)

January 5 1863 Map of Vicksburg and the surrounding country side and rivers.  The Yazoo River at the time
emptied in to Mississippi west of Vicksburg and flowed from north to southwest.  

USS Cairo Strikes a Torpedo: December 12, 1862

Sketch by Rear Admiral Henry Walke of Cairo hitting the mine.  The image is incorrect in the
 respect that the mine exploded on Cairo's port side and not the starboard.

Early on the morning of December 11, 1862, Captain Henry Walke deployed two wooden gunboats, USS Marmora and Signal, to conduct a reconnaissance of the Yazoo River.  When both ships returned, their commanding officers reported that Confederate operatives had sewed numerous torpedoes (i.e. underwater mines) in the river.  The two men also informed Walke that they could sweep and clear the river if heavier ships provided cover fire against Confederate snipers hiding along its banks.  Walke agreed and assigned the ironclads USS Cairo and Pittsburgh and the ram Queen of the West to assist.  He gave strict orders that all ships were to stay out of the main channel of the river, as Marmora and Signal were to clear mines with small boats.  Bigger ships had to stay well behind during this process.

A sketch of one of the torpedoes/mines/"infernal machines,"
discovered by Ensign Fentress' mine clearing team. 
Part "C" contained the charge and Part "D" and "E" were
contact wires that set it off. 

The mine sweeping operation began early the next morning with Marmora and Signal leading the way.  At 11 a.m., watches aboard Marmora spotted a mine and proceed to render it inert.    After that, the story line becomes muddy.  Ensign Walter Fentress of Maromora later reported that his team was in the process of clearing the mine when he "heard an explosion from the Cairo, and on looking up I saw her anchor thrown up several feet into the air."

Lieutenant Commander Thomas Selfridge, late executive officer of USS Cumberland and now commanding officer of Cairo, reported that he believed Marmora was under attack by Confederate soldiers and rushed from the back of the squadron's formation to assist.  Upon discovering the gunfire was Marmora's crew attempting to blow up mines with gunfire, Selfridge ordered them to stop and Cairo would assist with small boats.  One minute later, "two sudden explosions in quick succession occurred." 

The ship slowly sank with no human causalities.  The ship's company transferred to 

Contemporary sketch of Cairo's
sailors sitting on the remains
of their ship. 

Queen of the West.  Twelve minutes after the explosion, Cairo sank beneath the surface and into the history books (she was the first armored warship sunk by an underwater mine).  After the ironclad sank, Selfridge ordered Pittsburg and Queen of the West to open fire on the woods along the river. Each ship fired about sixty shells into the woods and stopped.  There was no return fire and it is possible there were no Confederate troops present.  Meanwhile Maromora and Signal continued to sweep for mines and removed twenty before Selfridge ordered a retreat. 

Selfridge claimed that he believed that any part of the river Marmora passed through must have had no mines.  Thus, he ordered Cairo forward from the rear of the squadron's formation (against Walke's standing orders).  In his autobiography, What Finer Tradition, Selfridge only briefly mentions the incident.

U.S. Army Captain Edwin Sutherland, commanding officer of Queen of the West, provided insight into why Selfridge was so quick to have historians move along and ignore the incident. Sutherland reported to Walke that Cairo came along side Queen of the West and was asked why the ram stopped moving.  Sutherland replied that Marmora reported torpedoes ahead.  He then reported that not only did Cairo still go forward, but the ironclad entered the river's main channel (again, against Walke's standing order).

No charges or court-marital were ever filed against Selfridge.  In fact, Selfridge continued to have Porter's confidence and found Selfridge another ship to command (which he later ran aground).  The remains of Cairo can be seen in an outdoor exhibit as part of the National Park Service's Vicksburg National Military Park.

National Park Service photo of Cairo's remains

CSS Arkansas is Lost: August 1862

The castemate ironclad CSS Arkansas was a one ship wrecking crew on the Mississippi River.  The ironclad interfered with Union plans to take Vicksburg and complete their control of the Mississippi River.  Thus, the U.S. Navy made several attempts to eliminate the ironclad.  While the attempts succeeded in damaging Arkansas, the ironclad remained  a "fleet-in-being."  Even if she was only one ship, she was still a threat to any Union offensive in the West.


Isaac Brown, commanding officer
of CSS Arkansas

Arkansas' gallant commanding officer, Issac Brown, decided the ship needed a break to regroup.  Brown barely slept or ate during the month of July.  Worse, he fell ill to the "swamp fever" epidemic that swept both Union and Confederate camps and ships during the months of July and August.  Because of this, he was granted four days of shore leave.  Before he left, Brown gave strict orders to his executive officer Lieutenant Henry K. Stevens to repair and refit Arkansas and not to let anyone move the ship until he returned from liberty. 

Unfortunately for Stevens, senior Confederate leadership had other plans. Confederate General Earl Van Dorn, whose skill set as a general were highly suspect, demanded Stevens immediately prepare Arkansas for battle.  Van Dorn planned to use the ironclad in a counter-attack against Union lines at Baton Rouge.  Stevens refused and recited Brown's orders to not move the ship.  The decision was referred to Flag Officer William Lynch, a man whose two greatest claims to fame were getting his squadron destroyed at Roanoke Island in early 1862 and claiming to have scientific proof of the existence of the lost Biblical cites of Sodom and Gomorrah (read more about that here).  Lynch agreed with Van Dorn.  Now being faced down by two flag officers, Stevens' will broke and agreed to make Arkansas ready. 

Stevens wrote to Brown about the situation.  Despite running a high fever and barely being able to walk, Brown jumped out of bed and took two trains to get to Vicksburg.   He was too late.  Arkansas already left four hours after he got there.

As Arkansas approached Baton Rouge, the ship's engines began to fail. Upon seeing Arkansas head south, Essex followed in hot pursuit and opened fire.  Arkansas' engines eventually gave out.  Unable to maneuver and bring any guns to bear on Essex, Stevens ordered the ship beached so that she could be scuttled. 

With Essex bearing down her, Stevens set  Arkansas on fire.  Brown was able to get transportation south just in time to see his ship explode.  Brown later stated that he did not blame his executive officer for what happened.  He squarely placed blame on Lynch and Van Dorn for not being very smart with their side's limited resources. (Read Brown's entire account in Battle and Leaders here)  The explosion destroyed the Confederacy's last major warship on the Mississippi River.

Porter's Mortar Fleet in Hampton Roads

Many historians and enthusiasts agree that the U.S. Navy's James River Flotilla was ill-equipped to attack the Confederate garrison at Fort Darling along Drewry's Bluff in May 1862.  Besides the lack of Union Army units nearby, the Flotilla's ships were designed for ship to ship action.  They were not designed to tackle a fort sitting far above the river.  Why didn't the Navy use mortar boats on the James River as in the Mississippi?  Even if they were less than effective at engagements like Island No. 10, their involvement might have inflicted some damage on the approach to Richmond.  Although this was intended to occur, the ships did not arrive in time. 

On July 9, 1862, Secretary Welles, ordered Porter and most of the mortar fleet to transfer from the Mississippi River to the James.  The mortar ships were used against Vicksburg for much of June in preparation for an assault on the fortress city.  However, Welles received reports that Union ground forces under General Halleck were not ready to attack and the water level in the Mississippi was beginning to drop.  Seeing that the mortar ships could be better used in the East and with the endorsement of Assisstant Secretary Fox, Welles ordered the transfer.

The move took four weeks.  The first ships began to filter into Hampton Roads in the beginning of August.  En route to Hampton Roads, Porter's flagship USS Octorara captured the blockade runner Tubal Cain off the east coast of Key West.  That was the only postive development of the transfer.

Leaving aside the fact that the fleet arrived a full month after the Army of the Potomac ended the Peninsula Campaign, the mortar fleet and its sailors were in no shape for action.   Flag officer Goldsborough reported that many of the sailors were suffering from what we now call relapsing fever (older term: "bilious remittent"/ slang term: "camp fever"), which had spread throughout ships serving on the Mississippi.  Welles responded to this issue suggesting the Navy enlist African American men camped around Fort Monore to fill in the ranks, as there were not enough sailors in Northern ports to provide replacements. 

Upon looking at the ships themselves, Goldsborough questioned their seaworthiness to Welles. "Are these vessel to be sent up the James River in their present condition?" he asked.  Commodore Charles Wilkes further questioned Welles, implying that the Secretary was seriously misinformed about the readiness of the ships.  He stated that it would be several months before the ships could see offensive action again, as many of the mounts holding the mortars were in serious disrepair.   Furthermore, Army commanders in Hampton Roads refused to release any African Americans to the Navy. 

Thus, the idea of using mortar ships to capture Richmond was killed.  Furthermore, with Farragut and Porter's pull back from Vicksburg, the siege of the city was effectively lifted.

Commander Walke and the CSS Arkansas: 15 July 1862

 

Today marks the 150th anniversary of the engagement between the Confederate ironclad Arkansas and the Federal gunboats Carondelet, Tyler, and Queen of the West.  Unlike the Union ships,  CSS Arkansas was new and inexperienced in combat.  The Union vessels were all veterans of river offensives like Shiloh, Memphis, and the initial repulse at Vicksburg.  

The newly created Confederate ships were directed by General Earl Van Dorn, commanding the Army at Vicksburg, to bring the ship to the Rebel "Gibraltar."  The CSS Arkansas ran into the  Federal ships while she was making her way down the Yazoo River on her way to the city.  As shown, the CSS Arkansas proved to be a worthy adversary to the experienced Union fleet.  The Arkansas managed to damage the Carondelet and Tyler.  The following is an excerpt from the deck log of the USS Carondelet, written by commanding officer Henry Walke. 

------------------------

July 15.  At 4 a. m. proceeded up the river, gunboat Tyler and ram Queen of the West following us. At 4.30 entered Yazoo River. At 5 the Tyler and Queen of the West passed us. At 6 discovered a boat coming down the river. Immediately went to quarters and cleared the boat for action. Rebel ram opened fire upon the Queen of the West and gunboat Tyler and they immediately rounded to. We found the advancing rebel boat to be a powerful gunboat and ram. We rounded to and headed downstream, at the same time firing upon her with all our batteries as we brought them in range. Captain Walke hailed the Tyler as she passed and ordered Lieutenant Commanding Gwin to go ahead and inform the commodore of the Arkansas approach. The ram made for us and for an hour we continued a running fight (she gaining on us), distance 500 to 50 yards. Our wheel ropes were shot away, steam escape pipe cut, exhaust pipe cut, cold water supply pipe riddled with pieces of shot, and steam gauge shot away, the boat becoming unmanageable. Our tiller ropes and box being shot away, the Carondelet was unmanageable and ran upon a small stump after the Arkansas passed us. As she passed by us we called the boarders upon deck, and we gave her our starboard broadside and bow guns, firing them as the enemy came in range. At this time the Arkansas flag was down and not hoisted again while in sight. Our backing bell and speaking trumpet. being shot away, the pilot could not communicate readily with the engineer. By this time the ram had passed us and was following the Tyler. After remaining at the bank for a short time to repair damages, we made our way down the river and found the rebel boat had succeeded in passing by the whole of the flotilla and rams. We received 5 shots in the captains cabin and 3 in the wardroom, 3 of the shots passing clear through the wheelhouse, 1 lodging in the steerage mess room, 1 going through wheelhouse, carrying away deck pump, passing through bulkhead aft of steam drum, glancing up, passing over steam drum, striking carlines, carrying away 4 of them and falling into fire room. One going through the wheelhouse carrying away steam escape pipes, going through 2 coppers on the galley, through smoke pipe, through ventilators, through bulkhead forward of fire room, through loose timbers placed upon the bulkhead and entering 4 pieces of one-fourth-inch iron. One coming in captains cabin on starboard corner, carrying away 12 carlines, striking chambers of side pipe, glancing upward and cutting exhaust pipe and striking upper deck over engine room and falling to the main deck. One coming in wardroom just about amidships, cutting away 8 carlines, passing through chief engineers, surgeons, and gunners rooms, carrying away bulkheads and striking the deck and fetching up against the after stanchion on port side. Another shot came through starboard quarter, passing through second and first masters room and through the captains cabin, out of the after port. Another shot came through the iron on starboard side, breaking in casemate and the shot breaking in pieces. Two shot carrying away iron and coming through the iron into the wood on the inside. Both cutters shot away; 2 boat davits carried away; all boats falls on starboard side shot away. Three awning stanchions shot away. One shell burst on starboard side of upper deck, cutting awning in pieces and setting starboard hammock netting on fire. We expended during the engagement one 32-pound gun, weight 42-hundred weight, struck on the lower part of the muzzle, splitting the gun in two pieces; 6 boarding pikes, 1 musket, 3 revolvers, and 4 cutlasses, belts, and accouterments were lost and shot to pieces during the engagement. Four men were killed, 15 wounded., and 16 missing. Expended 90 rifle and solid shots. 

From S to 12 meridian: Came to anchor with fleet. At 8: 30 hospital boat Red Rover came off alongside and took off the wounded. Cincinnati proceeded to the assistance of the Benton. Explosion seen at the point below supposed to be a mortar schooner aground at that point. At 10: 30 the Louisville proceeded down the river. At 6:30 p. m. vessels proceeded down the river.

 

Source:  Official records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion; Series I - Volume 23: Naval Forces on Western Waters (April 12, 1862 - December 31, 1862)

The Naval Siege of Vicksburg Begins

When attempting to capture a city, fortress, or other strongpoint, the formal rules of siege craft require the opposing force to ask the authorities if they would kindly surrender. The commanding officer of the garrison or civilian authorities would either accept a surrender and negotiate the terms or reject it. Upon a rejection, the siege would formally begin. While many sieges did not follow such strict rules of protocol, the epic siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi could said to have begun on May 18, 1862.

In May, U.S. Naval Commander Samuel Phillips Lee, cousin of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, proceed up the Mississippi River on the sloop-of-war USS Oneida. Upon arriving under a flag of truce, Lee formally delivered a request to Lazarus Lindsey, the mayor of Vicksburg, to surrender his city. Lee wrote

Mayor of the City of Vicksburg:

SIR: It becomes my duty to give you notice to remove the women and children beyond the range of our guns within twenty-four hours, as it will be impossible to attack the defenses without injuring or destroying the town, a proceeding which all the authorities of Vicksburg seem determined to require. I had hoped that the same spirit which induced the military authorities to retire from the city of New Orleans rather than wantonly sacrifice the lives and property of its inhabitants would have been followed here.

Respectfully, yours,

S. PHILLIPS LEE

Lindsey responded to Lee twenty-four hours later:

S. P. LEE, U. S. N.,

Commanding Advance of Naval Division:

...I will state that neither the municipal authorities nor the citizens will ever consent to the surrender of the city.

Respectfully, yours,

L. LINDSAY,

Confederate Lieutenant Colonel James Autrey, military governor of Vicksburg, was a bit more blunt in his rejection letter to Lee:

I have to state that Mississippians don't know and refuse to learn how to surrender to an enemy. If Commodore Farragut or Brigadier-General Butler can teach them, let them come and try.

Thus, Vicksburg would be no New Orleans. Upon getting the rejection, Farragut brought up more ships and shelled the city on May 27.

USS Cairo "America the Beautiful®" Coin Unveiling at Vicksburg NMP

Last tuesday marked an historic day for Vicksburg National Military Park and its celebrated ship, USS Cairo. Amongst a crowd of over 2,500 assembled underneath her bow, the Cairo officially became the newest face of the United States Mint's "America the Beautiful" coin collection. Shown above, the coin depicts the famous ship steaming down the Mississippi where she fought in several critical battles for Union control of the western theater of operations, specifically the Vicksburg campaign .

Nearly 2,000 elementary students from area schools were in attendance, including music provided by the Utica Jubilee Singers of Hinds Community College. Dressed in the dark-blue wool uniform of a Union Navy seaman, fifteen year old Sam Andrews, a park VIP pictured below, read a portion of the diary of George Yost describing the sinking of the USS Cairo. Yost was also fifteen when he served aboard the ship. After the ceremony, everyone under the age of 18 received a new Vicksburg Quarter and keepsake case from the Mint. According to Park Ranger Tim Kavanaugh, the coin unveiling witnessed by so many children gave the event "a youthful exuberance."

Park VIP Sam Andrews reads a portion of the diary of George Yost describing the sinking of the USS. Cairo. NPS Photo

The Cairo, an ironclad river gunboat captained by Thomas Selfridge, was sunk by Confederates in the Yazoo River north of Vicksburg on December 12, 1862. She was raised on December 12, 1964 and is on permanent display, along with all artifacts salvaged, at Vicksburg National Military Park.

Vicksburg Visitors & Convention Bureau

This is a historic event for the 150th commemoration of the Civil War and its navies. The coin is the ninth to be released in the series. Special thanks to Tim Kavanaugh for providing the CWN 150 with this information.

Vicksburg Military Park Included in 2011 America the Beautiful Program Coins

Vicksburg Military Park will be included in the second set of coins issued by the United State Mint's Beautiful Quarters Program. Other 2011 Beautiful Quarters will honor Gettysburg National Military Park, Glacier National Park, Olympic Nationalo Park, and Chickasaw National Recreation Area.

The coin depicts the U.S.S. Cairo on the Yazoo River as it would have been seen when it served the Union Navy during the Civil War. Inscriptions are VICKSBURG, MISSISSIPPI, 2011 and E PLURIBUS UNUM.