Nurse and Spy in the Union Army Part 19

De Lord dat heap de Red Sea waves, He jes' as strong as den; He say de word--we las' night slaves, To-day de Lord's free men.

CHORUS--De yam will grow, de cotton blow, We'll hab de rice an' corn, O nebber you fear if nebber you hear De driber blow his horn.

Ole ma.s.sa on his trabbles gone He lebe de land behind; De Lord's breff blow him furder on, Like corn-shuck in de wind.

We own de hoe, we own de plow, We own de hands dat hold; We sell de pig, we sell de cow, But neber chile be sold.

CHORUS--De yam will grow, etc.

We know de promise nebber fail, An' nebber lie de Word; So, like de 'postles in de jail, We waited for de Lord.

An' now He open ebery door, An' trow away de key, He tink we lub Him so before, We lub Him better free.

CHORUS--De yam will grow, etc.

Then a collection was taken up among the soldiers and presented to the old blind colored man, who wept with delight as he received it, for said he--"I hab no home, no money, an' no friend, but de Lord Jesus."

CHAPTER XXVII.

ARRIVAL AT VICKSBURG--ITS SURROUNDINGS--GRANT'S ARMY--a.s.sAULT ON THE REBEL WORKS--THE SEVEN COLOR-BEARERS--PEMBERTON'S HARANGUE--IN THE TRENCHES--SUFFERINGS OF THE WOUNDED--PEMBERTON'S PROPOSED CAPITULATION--GRANT'S REPLY--TERMS OF SURRENDER--OCCUPATION OF THE CITY--LOSS OF THE ENEMY--COMPLIMENTARY LETTER--GRANT'S SUCCESS--ATTACHMENT OF HIS SOLDIERS--"FIGHTING d.i.c.k"--GOLD LACE--REBEL SUFFERINGS--SIGHTS IN VICKSBURG--INCIDENTS OF THE SIEGE--CAVE LIFE.

Our troops at length joined General Grant's army near Vicksburg, where those veterans had been digging and fighting so many weeks.

The city of Vicksburg is nestled among numerous terraced hills, and would under other circ.u.mstances present a magnificent and romantic appearance; but I could not at that time realize its beauty, for the knowledge of the sufferings and distress of thousands within its walls detracted materially from its outward grandeur.

The enemy's works had consisted of a series of redoubts extending from Haines' Bluff to the Warrenton road, a distance of some ten miles. It was a vast plateau, upon which a mult.i.tude of little hills seemed to have been sown broadcast, giving the enemy a position from which it could sweep every neighboring crest and enfilade every approach. But the rebels had already been driven from this position after a severe struggle.

On the twenty-second of May, at two o'clock in the morning, heavy guns were opened upon the rebel works, and continued until ten o'clock, when a desperate a.s.sault was made by three corps moving simultaneously. After a severe engagement and heavy loss the flag of the Seventh Missouri was planted on one of the rebel parapets, after seven color-bearers had been shot down.

After this contest the rebel general, Pemberton, addressed his men as follows: "You have heard that I was incompetent and a traitor, and that it was my intention to sell Vicksburg. Follow me, and you will see the cost at which I will sell Vicksburg. When the last pound of beef, bacon and flour, the last grain of corn, the last cow and hog, horse and dog shall have been consumed, and the last man shall have perished in the trenches, then, and not till then, will I sell Vicksburg."

It became evident that the works could not be carried by a.s.sault, and that nothing but a regular siege could reduce the fortifications.

While the siege was in progress our soldiers endured hardships, privations and sufferings which words can but inadequately express. Our men were closely packed in the trenches, often in water to the knees, and not daring to lift their heads above the brow of the rifle pits, as the rebel sharpshooters lost no time in saluting every unfortunate head which made its appearance above ground.

The sufferings of the wounded were extreme. Those who were wounded during the day in the trenches nearest the city could not be removed until the curtain of night fell upon the scene and screened them from the vigilant eye of the enemy.

General Grant steadily approached the doomed city by means of saps and mines, and continued to blow up their defenses, until it was evident that another day's work would complete the capture of the city.

Such was the position of affairs on the third of July, when General Pemberton proposed an armistice and capitulation.

Major General Bowen, of the Confederate army, was the bearer of a despatch to General Grant, under a flag of truce, proposing the surrender of the city, which was as follows:

HEADQUARTERS, VICKSBURG, _July 3d, 1863_.

Major General Grant, commanding United States forces:

GENERAL--I have the honor to propose to you an armistice for--hours, with a view of arranging terms for the capitulation of Vicksburg. To this end, if agreeable to you, I will appoint three commissioners to meet a like number to be named by yourself, at such place and hour to-day as you may find convenient. I make this proposition to save the farther effusion of blood, which must otherwise be shed to a frightful extent, feeling myself fully able to maintain my position for a yet indefinite period. This communication will be handed to you, under flag of truce, by Major General James Bowen.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

J. C. PEMBERTON.

To which General Grant replied:

HEADQUARTERS, DEPARTMENT OF TENNESSEE, In the Field, near Vicksburg, _July 3d, 1863_.

Lieutenant General J. C. Pemberton, commanding Confederate forces, etc.:

GENERAL--Your note of this date, just received, proposes an armistice of several hours for the purpose of arranging terms of capitulation, through commissioners to be appointed, etc. The effusion of blood you propose stopping by this course can be ended at any time you may choose by an unconditional surrender of the city and garrison. Men who have shown so much endurance and courage as those now in Vicksburg will always challenge the respect of an adversary, and, I can a.s.sure you, will be treated with all the respect due them as prisoners of war. I do not favor the proposition of appointing commissioners to arrange terms of capitulation, because I have no other terms than those indicated above.

I am, General, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

U. S. GRANT.

Then the following doc.u.ment was made out by General Grant, and submitted for acceptance:

GENERAL--In conformity with the agreement of this afternoon, I will submit the following proposition for the surrender of the city of Vicksburg, public stores, etc. On your accepting the terms proposed, I will march in one division, as a guard, and take possession at eight o'clock to-morrow morning. As soon as paroles can be made out and signed by the officers and men, you will be allowed to march out of our lines, the officers taking with them their regimental clothing, and staff, field and cavalry officers, one horse each. The rank and file will be allowed all their clothing, but no other property. If these conditions are accepted, any amount of rations you may deem necessary can be taken from the stores you now have, and also the necessary cooking utensils for preparing them; thirty wagons also, counting two two-horse or mule teams as one. You will be allowed to transport such articles as cannot be carried along. The same conditions will be allowed to all sick and wounded officers and privates as fast as they become able to travel. The paroles for these latter must be signed, however, whilst officers are present authorized to sign the roll of prisoners.

After some further correspondence on both sides this proposition was accepted, and on the fourth of July the Federals took possession of the city of Vicksburg.

A paragraph from General Grant's official despatch will best explain the result of his campaign, together with the surrender of Vicksburg: "The defeat of the enemy in five battles outside of Vicksburg, the occupation of Jackson, the capital of the State of Mississippi, and the capture of Vicksburg and its garrison and munitions of war, a loss to the enemy of thirty-seven thousand prisoners, among whom were fifteen general officers, at least ten thousand killed and wounded, and among the killed Generals Tracy, Tilghman and Green, and hundreds, perhaps thousands, of stragglers, who can never be collected and organized. Arms and munitions of war for an army of sixty thousand have fallen into our hands, besides a large amount of other public property, consisting of railroads, locomotives, cars, steamboats, cotton, etc., and much was destroyed to prevent our capturing it."

On the thirteenth of July the President sent an autograph letter to General Grant, of which the following is a copy:

EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, _July 13th, 1863_.

To Major General Grant:

MY DEAR GENERAL--I do not remember that you and I ever met personally. I write this now as a grateful acknowledgment for the almost inestimable service you have done the country. I wish to say a word further. When you first reached the vicinity of Vicksburg I thought you should do what you finally did--march the troops across the neck, run the batteries with the transports, and thus go below; and I never had any faith, except a general hope that you knew better than I, that the Yazoo Pa.s.s expedition and the like could succeed.

When you got below and took Port Gipson, Grand Gulf and vicinity, I thought you should go down the river and join Banks; and when you turned northward, east of the Big Black, I feared it was a mistake. I now wish to make a personal acknowledgment that you were right and I was wrong.

Yours, very truly,

A. LINCOLN.

It is stated on good authority that at the time the news of Grant's success reached the President, there were several gentlemen present some of whom had just been informing Mr. Lincoln that there were great complaints against General Grant with regard to his intemperate habits.

After reading the telegram announcing the fall of Vicksburg, the President turned to his anxious friends of the temperance question and said:

"So I understand Grant drinks whiskey to excess?"

"Yes," was the reply.

"What whiskey does he drink?"

"What whiskey?" doubtfully queried his hearers.