Mississippi Heat: Stops along the Vicksburg Campaign

ECW welcomes back guest author Nathan Provost.

This past summer, I traveled to Vicksburg with Andy Gilliand, a major in the army for 23 years. He led several staff rides throughout his career and was always interested in Vicksburg. We spoke about the campaign and decided to create a virtual staff ride for the battles of Raymond and Champion Hill. These two battles were a part of Maj. Gen. Ulysses Grant’s attempt to capture the heavily fortified city, which sat along the high bluffs of the Mississippi River. Vicksburg was one of the final objectives for the Union to occupy the Mississippi River. Grant managed to occupy key positions in the Mississippi River valley, but by mid-1863 Port Hudson and Vicksburg remained in Confederate hands.

We left Kansas City, Missouri, in late July. Departing at 4:30 a.m., we began our 10-hour journey to Vicksburg. Upon our arrival that afternoon, the temperature was already over 100 degrees. We went immediately to the Vicksburg National Military Park. Grant’s headquarters recently opened to the public; unfortunately, it was only accessible by foot.

Alongside the right side of the road to Grant’s statue were busts of several Union officers, including of generals James Wilson and John Parke. Wilson was a topographical engineer and a close subordinate of Grant. Parke served primarily as a division commander in the IX Corps, which transferred west from the Eastern Theater. Upon seeing Parke’s bust, I wondered if his presence at Vicksburg had anything to do with his promotion to commanding the IX Corps in 1864. We walked around Grant’s statue while noting the strength of the high ground northeast of the Graveyard Road. The humidity took its toll during our time there, and we left.

The following day, Andy called me at 4:30 a.m. to ask if I was awake, which I was. We traveled to Raymond, roughly twenty-five miles southeast of Vicksburg, moving east on Clinton Road towards Bolton Station. Bolton is about seven miles north of Raymond. At these points, we took pictures trying to imagine the XIII, XV, and XVII Corps marching along these roads while Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton’s forces marched east along Clinton Road to meet Union forces at Champion Hill.

At Raymond, Andy disappeared beneath the slope of Fourteen Mile Creek to take pictures. Both Union and Confederate forces traversed the steep slopes of the creek during the battle of Raymond. The rebels crossed it when attempting to outflank the entire XVII Corps. The Federals attempted to cross it, but were stuck in the mud. They also struggled to overcome the Confederate force defending the other side of the creek after pushing them off their right flank.

The Raymond battlefield is not run by the National Park Service, but by local groups, and is preserved by the American Battlefield Trust. Local groups are responsible for the twenty-four cannons lining the left side of the Utica Road looking northeast. It was only difficult to access the signs to the right of Utica Road looking in the same direction. These signs were hidden among the trees, shrubs, and bushes, and some were inaccessible because of hornet nests. By early afternoon, Andy and I were covered in mud and sweat.

Back at the Vicksburg National Military Park, we visited the Third Louisiana Redan, where a Union mine blew up on June 25, 1863. This attack only brought minuscule gains. I picked up a book at the visitor’s center, Engineering Victory by Justin Solonick, which explained that Grant used mines and parallels to consistently pressure the Confederates, thus compelling Pemberton to surrender on July 4, 1863. General Joseph E. Johnston attempted to coordinate his army at Jackson, Mississippi, with Pemberton’s force trapped in Vicksburg. Johnston told Pemberton that if the Union captured Haynes’ Bluff, thirteen miles north of Vicksburg, then Vicksburg could not be defended. Haynes’ Bluff provided Grant’s army a way to transport supplies to his army via the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. In Pemberton’s defense, several other forward positions should have been held, but he did not have the manpower to defend them.

The following day involved a circuitous route around parts of the Champion Hill battlefield twenty miles east of Vicksburg. The forests made it almost impossible to locate the critical positions of the battle. We first stopped along Raymond Road at the dilapidated Coker House. Here, the Union army took up a good artillery position and drove Brig. Gen. Lloyd Tilghman’s Confederates back. It was difficult to see where much of the fighting occurred on the Middle Road because of the tree line; we only took a few pictures there.

Andy and I came across a position that oversaw some of the heaviest fighting on Champion Hill. It was also near the Champion House, where Grant established his headquarters. We could not see the house because it is located on private property near a church with a closed gate. Frustrated, Andy and I drove to Bolton, twenty-five miles east of Vicksburg, and entered the municipal building to figure out who could open the gate for us. In between the front doors of the building sat an old man, who I figured was also waiting to speak to the mayor. Inside, Andy spoke with a woman behind the front desk. She told us we could speak with the mayor about the battlefield. She took us back to the front doors where that man sat. She said, “Mayor, these men would like to ask you some questions.”

Mayor Lawrence Butler introduced himself. Andy immediately asked him his age. He responded with “77.” The woman at the front desk laughed. She said, “Don’t lie. He is 87.” Despite his age, he recalled what the Champion Hill battlefield looked like in 1945. He told us there were no trees, and you could see for miles. The Hill of Death was much more prominent until it lost much of its original height after the dirt was used for nearby roads. A significant part of the Champion Hill battlefield, the Hill of Death got its name from the severe fighting that took place during the battle as fighting seesawed there. Grant brought up reserves to launch one final counterattack to occupy the hill that May 16. His insight into the battlefield was more than I could find on any website. It was clear that preservation needed to take place back in the 1930s when the ground was clear.

Finally, he told us to ask around the small town to see if anyone could let us through the church gate. Unfortunately, most people were at work and not answering their doors. Therefore, I looked for another way in. There was an opening in the woods near a gated church, so I walked along the path towards a vibrant green field where the Champion House used to be located. Taking it all in, I thought that this would have been an excellent view for Grant and his officers to see the Hill of Death, where most of the fighting took place.

While looking for this infamous hill, I came across a monument dedicated to the renowned Ed Bearss’ experience in the military and as a historian. To the left of his monument was a path that I followed, unsure of where I would end up. After avoiding many spiderwebs and ditches, we came across a steep incline located right inside the forest to our left. This steep incline, which I believe to be the Hill of Death still sat upon a steep and commanding position that Grant talked about in his memoirs.

We had time remaining to go into Vicksburg to look around a local Civil War museum. This museum possessed a plethora of Civil War items and memorabilia. Finally, the train station along the river bank had an excellent model and display of the siege with accurate depictions of different engagements and the location of officers’ headquarters. Upon further reflection, we said that if the National Park visitor’s center combined its items with the local museum and train station, it would be a perfect museum for the Vicksburg National Battlefield Park.

The park is currently under renovation, and Grant’s headquarters only recently opened up to the public. The rolling landscape is challenging to preserve with the constant changes in the soil. There is also a lot of land to maintain and cut if they want to retain its historical view. Some signs need to be redone, and the visitor’s center could also use an update. Vicksburg is not Gettysburg; it does not have the same foot traffic.

There is also a need to clean up some battlefields of the Vicksburg Campaign. What remains of the Big Black River battlefield is littered with trash, needles, and a burnt tire. The aid is limited, but some locals in Raymond partnered with the NPS and American Battlefield Trust to retain much of its historic landscape today. They are a fitting example that others should follow. Vicksburg may never reach the same status as Gettysburg with the American public, but it certainly deserves it based on its strategic importance during the war.

Nathan Provost received his doctorate from Liberty University and is currently employed as a history teacher at Mill Valley High School.