My Cave Life in Vicksburg Part 6

I was sewing, one day, near one side of the cave, where the bank slopes and lights up the room like a window. Near this opening I was sitting, when I suddenly remembered some little article I wished in another part of the room. Crossing to procure it, I was returning, when a Minie ball came whizzing through the opening, pa.s.sed my chair, and fell beyond it.

Had I been still sitting, I should have stopped it. Conceive how speedily I took the chair into another part of the room, and sat in it!

CHAPTER XXII.

A WOUNDED HORSE--SHRAPNELL Sh.e.l.lS--CHARGE ON THE INTRENCHMENTS--FEARFUL FIRING.

One evening I noticed one of the horses tied in the ravine, acting very strangely--writhing and struggling as if in pain. One of the soldiers went to him and found that he was very badly wounded in the flank by a Minie ball. The poor creature's agony was dreadful: he would reach his head up as far as possible into the tree to which he was tied, and cling with his mouth, while his neck and body quivered with the pain. Every motion, instead of being violent, as most horses would have been when wounded, had a stately grace of eloquent suffering that is indescribable. How I wanted to go to him and pat and soothe him! The halter was taken off, and he was turned free. Going to a tree, he leaned his body against it, and moaned, with half closed eyes, shivering frequently throughout his huge body, as if the pain were too great to bear.

Then, turning his head entirely around, he would gaze at the group of soldiers that stood pityingly near, as if he was looking for human sympathy. The master refused to have him shot, hoping he would recover; but it must have been evident that this day was the last of his strong, proud life: the n.o.ble black was doomed. After the gentle faithfulness of his service, it was cruel to prolong his suffering: after the simple meals of mulberry leaves, with scarcely sustenance enough to maintain life, why should this pain and agony be permitted to rack his already weakened body?

These truths were set aside, and the master looked with pity; yet, it seemed, a selfish pity.

Becoming restless with the pain, the poor brute staggered blindly on. And now my eyes fill with tears; for he has fallen, with a weary moan, between the banks of the little rivulet in the ravine, his head thrown on the sod, and the bright, intelligent eye turned still upon the men who have been his comrades in many a battle, standing still near him.

Poor fellow!--those low and frequent moans and trembling limbs tell them that death has stricken you already--that you are far beyond human sympathy. In the midst of all the falling sh.e.l.ls, cannot one reach him, giving him peace and death? I see an axe handed to one of the bystanders, and turn suddenly away from the scene. The quick, soft stroke! I know it must be over. Again I look, and the glossy, black body is being taken out from our sight, to be replaced by new sufferings, and to be forgotten in new incidents.

There is one missile, were I a soldier, that would totally put me to rout--and that is a shrapnell sh.e.l.l. Only those who have heard several coming at a time, exploding near, and scattering hundreds of small b.a.l.l.s around them, can tell how fearful the noise they make--a wild scream--a clattering and whizzing sound that never fails in striking terror to my heart! It seemed sometimes that as many as fifty b.a.l.l.s fell immediately around our door. I could have sent out at any time, near the entrance of our cave, and had a bucketful of b.a.l.l.s from shrapnell and the Minie rifle, picked up in the shortest possible time.

One old, gray-headed, cheerful-hearted soldier, whom I had talked with often, was pa.s.sing through the ravine for water, immediately opposite our cave. A Minie ball struck him in the lower part of the leg; he coolly stooped down, tied his handkerchief around it, and pa.s.sed on. So constantly fell projectiles of all descriptions, that I became almost indifferent to them. Only the hideous noise of numerous shrapnell could startle me now. Generally at four o'clock in the morning the shrapnell were thrown more furiously than at any other time through the day. At about seven, the Minie b.a.l.l.s began falling, accompanied by Parrott, canister, solid shot, and shrapnell sh.e.l.ls; and through every minute in the day this constant play of artillery and musketry was kept up from the Federal lines. General Pemberton had ordered the Confederate batteries to remain silent, unless particular orders were given to fire, or an a.s.sault was made on the works.

One afternoon I remember so vividly! One of the surgeons of the staff was chatting with M----, when I heard a rushing and peculiar sound, as if some one were rapidly cutting through the air, near and around me, with a sword.

Both the doctor and M---- sprang to their feet, as the sound grew more confused, seeming as if the sudden rush of a volume of water was pouring down the hill. I saw M---- turn to the doctor and say: "They're coming!" I dared not ask any questions; yet, I at first supposed the intrenchments were taken. M----, without a word, drew on another coat and threw the linen one he had worn to me, with a laugh. I suppose I must have looked rather wild; for I could not tell or imagine the meaning of the confusing and singular noise around us. Taking his sword, M---- started immediately.

I feared every moment that he would fall, for the b.a.l.l.s fell like hail. I turned to the doctor, questioning: "Are they coming over the hill?" He laughed, and said:

"Oh! no; they are only making a charge on the intrenchments; and the rushing in the air you hear is the numerous small b.a.l.l.s flying over us."

The strange, bewildering sound lasted for some time. The doctor soon took his leave, saying that the wounded would be brought in for him to attend.

I sat for half an hour hearing the constant rushing and surging around me, and the quick dropping of b.a.l.l.s; the ground trembled from the frequent discharge of the Confederate cannon. What was likely to be the result, I could not tell; for the ravine below, lately so full of animation, seemed to be totally deserted, save now and then the rapid gallop of a courier through the shower of b.a.l.l.s along the road. Soon there came a gradual cessation, quieting more and more down to the old interval of a minute between the discharges; soon M---- came home, reporting one or two wounded and one killed. It seems miraculous to me that, amid such a shower of b.a.l.l.s, so few persons should be injured.

CHAPTER XXIII.

AN UNHAPPY ACCIDENT--THE UNFORTUNATE LADIES OF VICKSBURG--APPROACH OF MORTAR Sh.e.l.lS NEAR THE INTRENCHMENTS.

A few days after the a.s.sault on the Confederate fortifications, a sad accident cast a gloom over all the little community encamped in the ravine--officers, soldiers, and servants: A soldier, named Henry, had noticed my little girl often, bringing her flowers at one time, an apple at another, and again a young mocking bird, and had attached her to him much by these little kindnesses. Frequently, on seeing him pa.s.s, she would call his name, and clap her hands gleefully, as he rode the general's handsome horse for water, causing him to prance past the cave for her amus.e.m.e.nt. She called my attention to him one morning, saying: "O mamma, look at Henny's horse how he plays!" He was riding a small black horse that was exceedingly wild, and striving to accustom it to the rapid evolutions of the Texas troops, turning in his saddle to grasp something from the ground, as he moved speedily on. Soon after, he rode the horse for water; and I saw him return and fasten it to a tree.

Afterward I saw him come down the hill opposite, with an unexploded shrapnel sh.e.l.l in his hand. In a few moments I heard a quick explosion in the ravine, followed by a cry--a sudden, agonized cry. I ran to the entrance, and saw a courier, whom I had noticed frequently pa.s.sing by, roll slowly over into the rivulet of the ravine and lie motionless, at a little distance: Henry--oh, poor Henry!--holding out his mangled arms--the hands torn and hanging from the bleeding, ghastly wrists--a fearful wound in his head--the blood pouring from his wounds. Shot, gasping, wild, he staggered around, crying piteously, "Where are you, boys? O boys, where are you? Oh, I am hurt! I am hurt! Boys, come to me!--come to me! G.o.d have mercy! Almighty G.o.d, have mercy!"

My little girl clung to my dress, saying, "O mamma, poor Henny's killed!

Now he'll die, mamma. Oh, poor Henny!" I carried her away from the painful sight.

My first impulse was to run down to them with the few remedies I possessed. Then I thought of the crowd of soldiers around the men; and if M---- should come and see me there--the only lady--he might think I did wrong; so I sent my servant, with camphor and other slight remedies I possessed, and turned into my cave, with a sickened heart.

In a few moments, the litters pa.s.s by, going toward the hospital, the blood streaming from that of Henry, who still moaned and cried "for the boys to come to him," and "for G.o.d to pity him."

But the other bore the still, motionless body of the young courier, who, in the strength of his life, had been so suddenly stricken. It seems that the two men had been trying to take out the screw from an unexploded sh.e.l.l for the purpose of securing the powder; in turning it, the fuse had become ignited, communicating the fire to the powder, and the fatal explosion ensued.

Henry had been struck in the head by a fragment--his hands torn from his arms; one or two fragments had also lodged in his body. The courier had been struck in two places in his head, and a number of b.a.l.l.s had entered his body. Poor soldier! his mother lived in Yazoo City; and he was her only son. So near was she, yet unable to hold his head and set the seal of her love on his lips ere the breath fled from them forever! He lived until the sun went down, speaking no word--making no moan; only the quickly drawn breath told that life still flickered in the mangled body. Henry died, also, that night, still unconscious of the sorrowful comrades around his bed--still calling on G.o.d to pity him.

After the bodies of the wounded men had been carried away, we heard loud wailings and cries in the direction of the city. I was told a negro woman, in walking through the yard, had been struck by a fragment of sh.e.l.l, and instantly killed. The screams of the women of Vicksburg were the saddest I have ever heard. The wailings over the dead seemed full of a heart-sick agony. I cannot attempt to describe the thrill of pity, mingled with fear, that pierced my soul, as suddenly vibrating through the air would come these sorrowful shrieks!--these pitiful moans!--sometimes almost simultaneously with the explosion of a sh.e.l.l. This anguish over the dead and wounded was particularly low and mournful, perhaps from the depression. Many women were utterly sick through constant fear and apprehension. It is strange that the ladies were almost constantly in caves, and yet, did one go out for a short time, she was almost certain to be wounded; while the officers and soldiers rode and walked about, with very little destruction of life ensuing.

An officer was telling me of two soldiers near his camp, who had been severely wounded by Minie b.a.l.l.s--one shot through the hand and lung; the other through the side.

A new cause for apprehension came to me about this time: the mortar boats were endeavoring to throw their bombs as far as the intrenchments, and almost succeeded. I could see them at night falling near the opposite hill; and I was in a constant state of trepidation, lest they should be cast still nearer us. After witnessing the brilliant streams of light that they created in the heavens, one night, and feeling repeatedly thankful that they always fell short of the hill we inhabited, I gradually grew sleepy in utter loneliness, for M---- seldom finished receiving reports until eleven. I wearily turned to the little mattress on the floor, said my prayers, and retired. I had been sleeping some time, for the moon was shining brightly, when I was awakened by loud cries and screams: "Where shall we go? Oh! where shall we go?" My immediate conclusion was that some woman had been killed or wounded, as every now and then I could see the mortar sh.e.l.ls dropping on the hill opposite. I therefore thought that I had been spared in Vicksburg, as long as I reasonably could hope, from the variety of changes through which I had pa.s.sed; and immediately I was seized with a severe panic. If sh.e.l.ls had not been falling from the battle field also, I fear I should have started in that direction--so great was my dread of the mortars!--and run, I cared not where, out of their range.

But the counter awe of Parrott sh.e.l.ls kept me where I was. I sat up in bed in a fearful state of excitement; called M---- again and again, without the slightest response; at last, a sleepily uttered "What is the matter?"

gave me an opportunity of informing him that we would all be killed, and telling him, while the cold moisture of fear broke out over my forehead, that the mortar sh.e.l.ls were nearer than ever, and that the next one would probably fall upon our cave. Awakened at last to my distressed state of mind, and hearing me say that I knew some woman had been killed, he got up, dressed, took up his cap, and went out to see what had happened, telling me he would return shortly--looking back, laughing as he went, and saying to me that I was fearfully demoralized for so good a soldier. He soon returned, telling me that a negro man had been killed at the entrance of a cave a little beyond us, toward the city; that his mistress, wife, and the young ladies of the family were very badly frightened, having taken refuge in the adjutant's office.

CHAPTER XXIV.

DEATH OF A FAITHFUL SERVANT--BLOWING UP OF A FORT--LOSS OF PROMINENT OFFICERS--SURRENDER OF VICKSBURG.

The next day, the family were invited up to our cave; and the lady told me, with tears, of the death of the faithful old man, who had served her mother before her. The morning of the day he died, he called her to him, and said: "Mistess, I feel like I ain't gwin' to live much longer. Tell young master, when you see him, that I've been praying for him dis day; tell him it smites my heart mightily to think I won't see his young face dis day with the childern. Please tell the young folks, mistess, to come; and let me pray with them." "Oh! uncle!" the mistress answered, "don't talk that way; you will live many years yet, I hope." The young ladies were called, and knelt, while he prayed for them and all he loved, shaking hands with them, and speaking to each one separately, as they left. His cave was next his mistress's. That night he sat smoking his pipe near the entrance, when a mortar sh.e.l.l, exploding near, sent a fragment into the old man's side, rending it open, and tearing away his hip. He lived a few moments, and was carried into the cave. Turning to his mistress, while he shook his head, he said: "Don't stay here, mistess. I said the Lord wanted me." And so the good old Christian died. When he had breathed his last, a sudden panic seized them, for sh.e.l.l after sh.e.l.l fell near them; and they all ran. Some of the gentlemen, hearing them cry, brought them to headquarters.

The next day, the news came that one of the forts to the left of us had been undermined and blown up, killing sixty men; then of the death of the gallant Colonel Irwin, of Missouri; and again, the next day, of the death of the brave old General Green, of Missouri.

We were now swiftly nearing the end of our siege life: the rations had nearly all been given out. For the last few days I had been sick; still I tried to overcome the languid feeling of utter prostration. My little one had swung in her hammock, reduced in strength, with a low fever flushing in her face. M---- was all anxiety, I could plainly see. A soldier brought up, one morning, a little jaybird, as a plaything for the child. After playing with it for a short time, she turned wearily away.

"Miss Mary," said the servant, "she's hungry; let me make her some soup from the bird." At first I refused: the poor little plaything should not die; then, as I thought of the child, I half consented. With the utmost haste, Cinth disappeared; and the next time she appeared, it was with a cup of soup, and a little plate, on which lay the white meat of the poor little bird.

On Sat.u.r.day a painful calm prevailed: there had been a truce proclaimed; and so long had the constant firing been kept up, that the stillness now was absolutely oppressive.

At ten o'clock General Bowen pa.s.sed by, dressed in full uniform, accompanied by Colonel Montgomery, and preceded by a courier bearing a white flag. M---- came by, and asked me if I would like to walk out; so I put on my bonnet and sullied forth beyond the terrace, for the first time since I entered. On the hill above us, the earth was literally covered with fragments of sh.e.l.l--Parrott, shrapnell, canister; besides lead in all shapes and forms, and a long kind of solid shot, shaped like a small Parrott sh.e.l.l. Minie b.a.l.l.s lay in every direction, flattened, dented, and bent from the contact with trees and pieces of wood in their flight. The gra.s.s seemed deadened--the ground ploughed into furrows in many places; while scattered over all, like giants' pepper, in numberless quant.i.ty, were the shrapnell b.a.l.l.s.

I could now see how very near to the rifle pits my cave lay: only a small ravine between the two hills separated us. In about two hours, General Bowen returned. No one knew, or seemed to know, why a truce had been made; but all believed that a treaty of surrender was pending. Nothing was talked about among the officers but the all-engrossing theme. Many wished to cut their way out and make the risk their own; but I secretly hoped that no such b.l.o.o.d.y hazard would be attempted.

The next morning, M---- came up, with a pale face, saying: "It's all over! The white flag floats from our forts! Vicksburg has surrendered!"

He put on his uniform coat, silently buckled on his sword, and prepared to take out the men, to deliver up their arms in front of the fortification.

I felt a strange unrest, the quiet of the day was so unnatural. I walked up and down the cave until M---- returned. The day was extremely warm; and he came with a violent headache. He told me that the Federal troops had acted splendidly; they were stationed opposite the place where the Confederate troops marched up and stacked their arms; and they seemed to feel sorry for the poor fellows who had defended the place for so long a time. Far different from what he had expected, not a jeer or taunt came from any one of the Federal soldiers. Occasionally, a cheer would be heard; but the majority seemed to regard the poor unsuccessful soldiers with a generous sympathy.

After the surrender, the old gray-headed soldier, in pa.s.sing on the hill near the cave, stopped, and, touching his hat, said:

"It's a sad day this, madam; I little thought we'd come to it, when we first stopped in the intrenchments. I hope you'll yet be happy, madam, after all the trouble you've seen."

To which I mentally responded, "Amen."

The poor, hunchback soldier, who had been sick, and who, at home in Southern Missouri, is worth a million of dollars, I have been told, yet within Vicksburg has been nearly starved, walked out to-day in the pleasant air, for the first time for many days.