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I was able to get An Historical Sketch of the 56th Ohio Volunteer Infantry by Thos. J. Williams through Interlibrary Loan and I've transcribed a little bit that might be of interest for the Vicksburg LH.
Pg. 54-55
We moved up and reached Black river on the 19th. On the 20th we were sent to Bridgeport, and returned the next day. May 22 we marched up to the line of investment around Vicksburg. We were quartered a short distance in the rear of our trenches and in close range of musket balls. Shells and round shot were too frequent callers. On May 23 the regiment was in the trenches and had an exceedingly hot time of it. The regiment was on duty every day, on guard in the rifle-pits or digging in the trenches. There was hardly a man who did not have many narrow and wonderful escapes. It was a common thing to have a ball shot through one’s hat or clothing. In the rifle-pits we fired from fifty to seventy rounds a day, and death lurked on every hand, whether on or off duty. Comrade Noah Starcher of Company E was mortally wounded by a musket ball while lying sick on a hospital cot in the regimental hospital, which was quite a distance in the rear of the regiment was quartered for forty-two days and nights.
This same duty in kind continued until July 3, 1863. On that day Company C was at the dead of the trench about thirty feet from one of their forts. A rebel sharpshooter grazed my ear, about the last cannon fired, on that part of the line at least, was at our company. We could see they were up to something more than usual, and we watched their port-holes so closely that it was unsafe for them to fire a gun. But they did take the risk and it fired a load of grape and canister into the head of our trench, knocking over the gabions we had at the head of the trench and covering several of us with dirt and rubbish. Some of the boys thought we were killed, by none of us were seriously injured.
Pg. 54-55
We moved up and reached Black river on the 19th. On the 20th we were sent to Bridgeport, and returned the next day. May 22 we marched up to the line of investment around Vicksburg. We were quartered a short distance in the rear of our trenches and in close range of musket balls. Shells and round shot were too frequent callers. On May 23 the regiment was in the trenches and had an exceedingly hot time of it. The regiment was on duty every day, on guard in the rifle-pits or digging in the trenches. There was hardly a man who did not have many narrow and wonderful escapes. It was a common thing to have a ball shot through one’s hat or clothing. In the rifle-pits we fired from fifty to seventy rounds a day, and death lurked on every hand, whether on or off duty. Comrade Noah Starcher of Company E was mortally wounded by a musket ball while lying sick on a hospital cot in the regimental hospital, which was quite a distance in the rear of the regiment was quartered for forty-two days and nights.
This same duty in kind continued until July 3, 1863. On that day Company C was at the dead of the trench about thirty feet from one of their forts. A rebel sharpshooter grazed my ear, about the last cannon fired, on that part of the line at least, was at our company. We could see they were up to something more than usual, and we watched their port-holes so closely that it was unsafe for them to fire a gun. But they did take the risk and it fired a load of grape and canister into the head of our trench, knocking over the gabions we had at the head of the trench and covering several of us with dirt and rubbish. Some of the boys thought we were killed, by none of us were seriously injured.