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Gentlemen,
In addition to what Mr. Tipton has posted from the 56th Ohio regimental I have also added a few what I call "human interest stories" which depict the level of drunkeness and disorderly conduct exhibited by this unit leading up to the Vicksburg Campaign and have posted those below. I have also posted various accounts of Federal picket duty in the siege line from various regimental histories. Granted many of these units were in the adjacent corps (15th) but they do offer a glimpse into picket duty on the line such as sharpshooting, trading with the enemy, and playing cards and reading newspapers while not on duty. I am having trouble with Word so I had to paste all of this info instead of attaching the document.
Regards,
Mark Susnis
An Historical Sketch of the 56th Ohio Volunteer Infantry During the Great War from 1861 to 1866 by Thomas J. Williams, Former First Lieutenant of the Regiment, published in 1899 and reprinted by Higginson Book Company of Salem, Massachussetts.
Excerpts from Chapter VII. The Siege of Vicksburg and Jackson - On to Natchez and New Orleans:
p. 54 "May 22nd 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."
I have also transcribed some of the “human interest” stories from the 56th Ohio Regimental of events that occurred prior to the Vicksburg Campaign which include a riot in camp, raiding their sutlers, and excessive drunkenness.
From the beginning of Chapter II: Fort Donelson, Crump’s Landing and Shiloh p. 13 “There was a very boisterous time the first night out. As a number were trying to drown their grief in the flowing bowl, their conduct was foolish in the extreme, and they kept all awake with their drunken revelry”
p. 21-22 “A laughable affair took place in Company C. Comrades will all know that nothing was so tiresome as that kind of waiting. A middle-aged comrade, worn out in waiting, went to a saloon near camp and got stupidly drunk, returning to the company, he lay down where his tent stood, totally oblivious of time and place. Seeing his condition, one of the boys remarked that he was dead, and that he ought to have some kind of a funeral service, so one of our comrades with a talent in that kind of work, and in possession of a good strong voice, took charge. They sang appropriate hymns, and then he proceeded to deliver a eulogy on the departed. The effort could not have been excelled by the ministers whom he imitated. The audience was large and deeply impressed, and the whole matter was ludicrous in the extreme, and our drunken comrade was rather sore over the episode when he came to himself again.”
p. 27-28. December 16, 1862. “On December 16, 1862, a riot broke out in our camp. A lot of men being crazed by liquor at about 11 p.m. overpowered the camp guards, and treated Captain Chenowith shamefully. The captain was one of the finest men in the regiment, and he would have been fully justified in shooting some of the rioters. These men for a short time ran things with a high hand. Colonel Kinney, about midnight, sent a written order to Captain Williams to take Company C, also to Captain Cook of Company K, and put a stop to these lawless acts, and to arrest the participants. Company C ran right into the main crowd of them. Captain Williams was armed with a heavy wooden poker. There was no argument. “Fall in!” was the command, and if any hesitation was shown or resistance offered, the Captain’s poker and the butt ends of our muskets settled matters at once, and inside of twenty minutes all that had not secreted themselves safely in the guard house; and once more quiet reigned in camp. The next morning, December 17, 1862, as I went out of my cabin I saw Colonel Kinney pass at a rapid walk in the direction of the Company D quarters. I stood and watched to see where he was going and what he was up. He halted before a cabin door and knocked. Some one opened the door, and after talking a moment, the Colonel drew his revolver and fired into the cabin. That shot killed Sergeant Frank Wallace of Company D. Someone had reported that Sergeant Wallace was the leader of the riot the night before.”
p. 28. December 18, 1862 “The regiment was disgraced on dress parade by a Second Lieutenant and Acting Adjutant being so drunk that he could not perform his duties, and was placed under arrest by Colonel Raynor”.
p. 29. January 14, 1863. “Our regiment had two men as sutlers, and while good men in general, they would not expose themselves or their goods where there was the remotest prospect of danger. But they had just reached the regiment with a big stock as we started on this expedition, and they were in a manner compelled to go along. On this night the boys of the regiment made a raid on their stock and cleaned out their whole outfit. After this bad treatment they never staid with us anymore.”
p. 33. April 14, 1863. “We had not been on this boat long before we found that the officers and crew of the Alone had little, if any, respect, for a Union soldier; and on April 14, the blackguard barkeeper of this boat greatly insulted Willis Walker, a member of Company C. This comrade was a noted forager, and had the nack of getting what he went for. He promised the barkeeper that he would even up with him before we left the boat. Out on the cabin deck of the boat, they had two large boxes, securely locked. One of them contained the table supplies for the boat, and the other the barkeeper’s extra stock. After midnight we were roused up and told to come below at once. On going down to the lower deck, we found that Comrade Walker and his partners had the entire contents of the two boxes laid out for a banquet, which we disposed of quietly and hurriedly. What we failed to consume was consigned to the river, as it was not safe to leave a crumb in sight, though some of the boys could not part with the liquor they had, but kept it well hidden. The loss was discovered at daylight, complaint was made, but our officers failed to find who was guilty.”
“On the 15th of April we landed at Milliken’s Bend, Louisiana. Here the raid was reported to our headquarters, and our brigade commander, General Slack, was ordered to investigate the matter. The regiment was formed in line near the levee. In the rear of our line was a body of backwater from the river. As General Slack passed down the line the men who had any liquor left in their canteens would throw them into the backwater behind them, the straps of the canteens floating. Captain of Company ___ waded in and fished them out about as fast as they fell, and, stringing them on his shoulder, he reached the left of the regiment at the same time the General did, and while they blessed the rebels and all their friends, they took a bumper to the success of the Union cause, to the great applause of a multitude of comrades of other regiments who were giving this free show their close attention. This episode gave us a reputation, which later came near depriving us of our colors. Some foragers of other regiments, when caught in unlawful acts, such as burning houses, etc., gave the Fifty-sixth Ohio credit with their membership; but upon investigation, and being confronted with our officers, we were cleared of the charge.”
A Boy's Service With the 76th Ohio: In the Fifteenth Army Corps, Under General Sherman, During the Civil War by Charles A. Willison, New Addition With Additional Material Published in 1995 by Blue Acorn Press
Excerpts of the description of the siege at Vicksburg:
p. 56 "Intrenchments were strengthened and approaches advanced wherever the nature of the ground admitted. This was more the case to our left around the line, where the ground was more irregular and tunneling and mining possible. Owing to the deep ravine in our front nothing of this kind could be done, so that our efforts were mainly devoted to sharpshooting. Our company was divided into five reliefs, each manning the works two hours at a time for that purpose. The slightest exposure in the pits opposite called for a half dozen shots, and the enemy was no less vigilant watching and trying to "wing" us.
p. 57 "In the edge of this terrace a number of us contrived lodging places - very much like graves with one end out. Over these, tent shape were stretched our rubber blankets for shelter. They were insufferably hot in daytime but good and comfortable nights,which were cool. One of these was my "house" all during the siege. Drinking water of a passable quality trickled out of the hill a little way to our rear."
p. 59 "The night of June 7 six deserters from the opposite line came through our camping lines. They reported the besieged army living in very restricted rations of poor beef, and bread made of peas. We fed three of them at our quarters and they ate voraciously."
p. 59. "Our bodily condition can be imagined after a month and a half campaigning through rain and mud, heat and dust, without change of clothing and a chance to bathe. The "graybacks" fairly swarmed and were no disgrace to us under the circumstances, as it was simply impossible to get rid of them."
p. 60 "In spite of continuous danger and trying conditions we tried to get some fun out of the situation. There was a good deal of chaffing back and forth between us and the enemy at night. When darkness settled down there was a mutual truce in firing and we felt free to sit at-top our works to have a talk with the "Johnnies" across the way."
p. 61 "Pending negotiations, a truce was agreed on and in that interval our troops and the "Johnnies" met down in the ravine between the lines to enjoy a little friendly chat and exchange coffee and tobacco."
p. 61-62 "During the siege I fired at least one thousand rounds. As before stated, sharpshooting was kept up constantly and systematically. I spotted a certain point across the way where a road ran down the slope toward us intersecting the rifle pits of the enemy. Here, in passing back and forth in their works, exposure was more common and quite risky. I made it my business to cover this, though it was a full thousand yards distant. My rifle was sighted for one thousand yards and practice enabled me to get accurate range of the spot so I could see the dust fly just where I wanted to hit."
The Story of the Fifty-Fifth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War 1861-1865 by a Committee of the Regiment. Reprinted 1993 by Blue Acorn Press.
p. 248 "Details of men were called for night and day to work in the trenches. The parallels and approaches, laid out and constructed under direction of engineer officers of the regular army,were more elaborate than any we had yet seen. Heavy bags of sand were aligned on the ordinary earth parapet with just space enough between each two for the musket barrel of the sharpshooter, and on these heavy head-logs were raised; while at points there was risk of an enfilading fire, the whole way was covered with earth and logs."
p. 250 "The popping of the sharpshooters rifles was continuous, and the lines soon coming very close to each other everywhere, it soon became a hazard to show a finger above the parapet."
p. 250 "By night strong covering parties were picketed to protect those working in the saps, and the enemy, wherever the ground permitted, also stationed pickets in advance of their intrenchments to guard against a surprise."
p. 251 "After a time it became a custom for the men on outpost duty, by mutual agreement,to abstain from firing upon each other; a contract extremely favorable to our labor details. Private exchange of Union hard-tack and Coffee for Confederate tobacco was not uncommon. A Mississippian one night inquired about the wherabouts of the Fifty-fourth Ohio, and being told that the 54th men were our particular friends and near neighbors, asked that Sergeant ______ of that regiment, if alive, might be notified to come to the picket line at a certain hour the next night, where he would recover something of great value to him. The sergeant was found, and appearing as requested, received from the Southerner a letter enclosing the likeness of his sweetheart, which he had lost somehow during the battle of Shiloh."
p. 253 "Now and then willingly captured pickets were brought in by our men at night. They all told the same tale of being worn out with sleeplessness and fatigue; of hospitals crowded with sick and wounded; of women and children slain in the city by fragments of shells. They sometimes had with them copies of a newspaper, the Daily Citizen, published in Vicksburg at fifty cents a copy, printed on the blank side of half a yard of wall paper."
p. 253-254 "In short, these deserters confirmed in us the belief that the end must not be far away. At night from our camp we could hear "Yank" and "Johnny" bandying jibes with each other across the brief interval that separated them, and chatting of this and that; and Yank was wont to close with; "Well Johnny, Old Unconditional has promised us that we shall dine in Vicksburg on Independence-day, and he will keep his word, you bet."
Captain Richard W. Burt
Civil War Letters From The 76th Ohio Volunteer Infantry
This info was posted by Mr. Larry Stevens on his Ohio in the Civil War website. http://my.ohio.voyager.net/%7Elstevens/burt
June 10, 1863 Vicksburg
Right Wing of the Army
Besieging Vicksburg, June 10, 1863
Mr. Editor: This is the 23rd day of the siege, and now while I sit in my tent writing--my trunk for a seat and the lid of a cartridge box laid across my knees for a desk--the balls of the rebel sharpshooters are whistling over my head; but an earthwork behind which the tent stands, gives security from the danger from them, so let them crack away. A portion of the regiment is kept in the rifle-pits with reliefs every two hours, and they are getting the range on the butternuts so well that when one raises his head to fire, half a dozen balls from our Springfields raise the dust on top of the rifle pits so close to him that he is soon silenced. The siege is generally the heaviest for an hour or two in the morning, and the same length of time in the evening, continuing until it is too dark to see the enemy, and through the night a storm of shells are thrown into their camps and the city, from the mortars on the river above DeSoto Point, and the light and heavy artillery all around the lines. During the heat of the day, (which has been very oppressive for several days past), it becomes comparatively quiet, we pass away the time reading the news in the latest northern papers, or perusing old magazines sent us by kind and loyal friends up north, and perhaps some of the boys indulge in a game of "Seven up" or "Euchre". A day or two since some of them were thus engaged, when a rebel ball came along through the tent and barked the thumb of one of them, when he concluded to let some one else play out his hand.
Well, we are having a long siege, but all are in good spirits and confident that Vicksburg will be ours before long. While deserters (half a dozen of whom come over every night), report that the rebels are living on pea bread and blue beef, except occasionally corn meal and bacon pressed from the citizens, and on about 1/3 rations at that; our Union boys are living on Uncle Sam's best, and full rations, besides what they buy from the Sutler, who is on hand and keeps up a good supply of many things that greatly improve the soldiers fare. Besides this, our reinforcements since we have had the city invested have reached 40,000.
Our army has unlimited confidence in Gen. Grant, and think there is no such thing as failing in taking Vicksburg and the whole rebel army inside its works, prisoners of war. When we get it it will be a "big thing" and you can have some big glorifications over it, but you fellows up there who are out of the range of rebel shells and rifle balls can afford to wait, if we can. We have had but one man severely wounded since I wrote last--William Carman, Co. I, (K), gun shot through the neck, and two or three others slightly. The regiment was never in better health than now.
Our camp equipage and all that we left behind when we went from Milliken's Bend, was soon after moved to Young's Point, and as the rebels did not go there in force, they are all safe. Our men are without tents as yet, only those that were captured from the rebels when we drove them in from their earthworks, but we have not room to put all our tents if we had them, where they would be out of range of the rebel rifle pits. But we expect to have better quarters, in the city of Vicksburg, before very long, and are patiently enduring all the inconveniences here. The 76th occupy the same hill that they have from the second day of the siege.
Thursday Morning June 11. Isaac Holtsberry, of Co. G, was killed this morning by a musket ball passing through his head, just as he was entering the rifle pits.
R.W. Burt
Note: Letter to the Newark True American Found at Vicksburg National Military Park
In addition to what Mr. Tipton has posted from the 56th Ohio regimental I have also added a few what I call "human interest stories" which depict the level of drunkeness and disorderly conduct exhibited by this unit leading up to the Vicksburg Campaign and have posted those below. I have also posted various accounts of Federal picket duty in the siege line from various regimental histories. Granted many of these units were in the adjacent corps (15th) but they do offer a glimpse into picket duty on the line such as sharpshooting, trading with the enemy, and playing cards and reading newspapers while not on duty. I am having trouble with Word so I had to paste all of this info instead of attaching the document.
Regards,
Mark Susnis
An Historical Sketch of the 56th Ohio Volunteer Infantry During the Great War from 1861 to 1866 by Thomas J. Williams, Former First Lieutenant of the Regiment, published in 1899 and reprinted by Higginson Book Company of Salem, Massachussetts.
Excerpts from Chapter VII. The Siege of Vicksburg and Jackson - On to Natchez and New Orleans:
p. 54 "May 22nd 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."
I have also transcribed some of the “human interest” stories from the 56th Ohio Regimental of events that occurred prior to the Vicksburg Campaign which include a riot in camp, raiding their sutlers, and excessive drunkenness.
From the beginning of Chapter II: Fort Donelson, Crump’s Landing and Shiloh p. 13 “There was a very boisterous time the first night out. As a number were trying to drown their grief in the flowing bowl, their conduct was foolish in the extreme, and they kept all awake with their drunken revelry”
p. 21-22 “A laughable affair took place in Company C. Comrades will all know that nothing was so tiresome as that kind of waiting. A middle-aged comrade, worn out in waiting, went to a saloon near camp and got stupidly drunk, returning to the company, he lay down where his tent stood, totally oblivious of time and place. Seeing his condition, one of the boys remarked that he was dead, and that he ought to have some kind of a funeral service, so one of our comrades with a talent in that kind of work, and in possession of a good strong voice, took charge. They sang appropriate hymns, and then he proceeded to deliver a eulogy on the departed. The effort could not have been excelled by the ministers whom he imitated. The audience was large and deeply impressed, and the whole matter was ludicrous in the extreme, and our drunken comrade was rather sore over the episode when he came to himself again.”
p. 27-28. December 16, 1862. “On December 16, 1862, a riot broke out in our camp. A lot of men being crazed by liquor at about 11 p.m. overpowered the camp guards, and treated Captain Chenowith shamefully. The captain was one of the finest men in the regiment, and he would have been fully justified in shooting some of the rioters. These men for a short time ran things with a high hand. Colonel Kinney, about midnight, sent a written order to Captain Williams to take Company C, also to Captain Cook of Company K, and put a stop to these lawless acts, and to arrest the participants. Company C ran right into the main crowd of them. Captain Williams was armed with a heavy wooden poker. There was no argument. “Fall in!” was the command, and if any hesitation was shown or resistance offered, the Captain’s poker and the butt ends of our muskets settled matters at once, and inside of twenty minutes all that had not secreted themselves safely in the guard house; and once more quiet reigned in camp. The next morning, December 17, 1862, as I went out of my cabin I saw Colonel Kinney pass at a rapid walk in the direction of the Company D quarters. I stood and watched to see where he was going and what he was up. He halted before a cabin door and knocked. Some one opened the door, and after talking a moment, the Colonel drew his revolver and fired into the cabin. That shot killed Sergeant Frank Wallace of Company D. Someone had reported that Sergeant Wallace was the leader of the riot the night before.”
p. 28. December 18, 1862 “The regiment was disgraced on dress parade by a Second Lieutenant and Acting Adjutant being so drunk that he could not perform his duties, and was placed under arrest by Colonel Raynor”.
p. 29. January 14, 1863. “Our regiment had two men as sutlers, and while good men in general, they would not expose themselves or their goods where there was the remotest prospect of danger. But they had just reached the regiment with a big stock as we started on this expedition, and they were in a manner compelled to go along. On this night the boys of the regiment made a raid on their stock and cleaned out their whole outfit. After this bad treatment they never staid with us anymore.”
p. 33. April 14, 1863. “We had not been on this boat long before we found that the officers and crew of the Alone had little, if any, respect, for a Union soldier; and on April 14, the blackguard barkeeper of this boat greatly insulted Willis Walker, a member of Company C. This comrade was a noted forager, and had the nack of getting what he went for. He promised the barkeeper that he would even up with him before we left the boat. Out on the cabin deck of the boat, they had two large boxes, securely locked. One of them contained the table supplies for the boat, and the other the barkeeper’s extra stock. After midnight we were roused up and told to come below at once. On going down to the lower deck, we found that Comrade Walker and his partners had the entire contents of the two boxes laid out for a banquet, which we disposed of quietly and hurriedly. What we failed to consume was consigned to the river, as it was not safe to leave a crumb in sight, though some of the boys could not part with the liquor they had, but kept it well hidden. The loss was discovered at daylight, complaint was made, but our officers failed to find who was guilty.”
“On the 15th of April we landed at Milliken’s Bend, Louisiana. Here the raid was reported to our headquarters, and our brigade commander, General Slack, was ordered to investigate the matter. The regiment was formed in line near the levee. In the rear of our line was a body of backwater from the river. As General Slack passed down the line the men who had any liquor left in their canteens would throw them into the backwater behind them, the straps of the canteens floating. Captain of Company ___ waded in and fished them out about as fast as they fell, and, stringing them on his shoulder, he reached the left of the regiment at the same time the General did, and while they blessed the rebels and all their friends, they took a bumper to the success of the Union cause, to the great applause of a multitude of comrades of other regiments who were giving this free show their close attention. This episode gave us a reputation, which later came near depriving us of our colors. Some foragers of other regiments, when caught in unlawful acts, such as burning houses, etc., gave the Fifty-sixth Ohio credit with their membership; but upon investigation, and being confronted with our officers, we were cleared of the charge.”
A Boy's Service With the 76th Ohio: In the Fifteenth Army Corps, Under General Sherman, During the Civil War by Charles A. Willison, New Addition With Additional Material Published in 1995 by Blue Acorn Press
Excerpts of the description of the siege at Vicksburg:
p. 56 "Intrenchments were strengthened and approaches advanced wherever the nature of the ground admitted. This was more the case to our left around the line, where the ground was more irregular and tunneling and mining possible. Owing to the deep ravine in our front nothing of this kind could be done, so that our efforts were mainly devoted to sharpshooting. Our company was divided into five reliefs, each manning the works two hours at a time for that purpose. The slightest exposure in the pits opposite called for a half dozen shots, and the enemy was no less vigilant watching and trying to "wing" us.
p. 57 "In the edge of this terrace a number of us contrived lodging places - very much like graves with one end out. Over these, tent shape were stretched our rubber blankets for shelter. They were insufferably hot in daytime but good and comfortable nights,which were cool. One of these was my "house" all during the siege. Drinking water of a passable quality trickled out of the hill a little way to our rear."
p. 59 "The night of June 7 six deserters from the opposite line came through our camping lines. They reported the besieged army living in very restricted rations of poor beef, and bread made of peas. We fed three of them at our quarters and they ate voraciously."
p. 59. "Our bodily condition can be imagined after a month and a half campaigning through rain and mud, heat and dust, without change of clothing and a chance to bathe. The "graybacks" fairly swarmed and were no disgrace to us under the circumstances, as it was simply impossible to get rid of them."
p. 60 "In spite of continuous danger and trying conditions we tried to get some fun out of the situation. There was a good deal of chaffing back and forth between us and the enemy at night. When darkness settled down there was a mutual truce in firing and we felt free to sit at-top our works to have a talk with the "Johnnies" across the way."
p. 61 "Pending negotiations, a truce was agreed on and in that interval our troops and the "Johnnies" met down in the ravine between the lines to enjoy a little friendly chat and exchange coffee and tobacco."
p. 61-62 "During the siege I fired at least one thousand rounds. As before stated, sharpshooting was kept up constantly and systematically. I spotted a certain point across the way where a road ran down the slope toward us intersecting the rifle pits of the enemy. Here, in passing back and forth in their works, exposure was more common and quite risky. I made it my business to cover this, though it was a full thousand yards distant. My rifle was sighted for one thousand yards and practice enabled me to get accurate range of the spot so I could see the dust fly just where I wanted to hit."
The Story of the Fifty-Fifth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War 1861-1865 by a Committee of the Regiment. Reprinted 1993 by Blue Acorn Press.
p. 248 "Details of men were called for night and day to work in the trenches. The parallels and approaches, laid out and constructed under direction of engineer officers of the regular army,were more elaborate than any we had yet seen. Heavy bags of sand were aligned on the ordinary earth parapet with just space enough between each two for the musket barrel of the sharpshooter, and on these heavy head-logs were raised; while at points there was risk of an enfilading fire, the whole way was covered with earth and logs."
p. 250 "The popping of the sharpshooters rifles was continuous, and the lines soon coming very close to each other everywhere, it soon became a hazard to show a finger above the parapet."
p. 250 "By night strong covering parties were picketed to protect those working in the saps, and the enemy, wherever the ground permitted, also stationed pickets in advance of their intrenchments to guard against a surprise."
p. 251 "After a time it became a custom for the men on outpost duty, by mutual agreement,to abstain from firing upon each other; a contract extremely favorable to our labor details. Private exchange of Union hard-tack and Coffee for Confederate tobacco was not uncommon. A Mississippian one night inquired about the wherabouts of the Fifty-fourth Ohio, and being told that the 54th men were our particular friends and near neighbors, asked that Sergeant ______ of that regiment, if alive, might be notified to come to the picket line at a certain hour the next night, where he would recover something of great value to him. The sergeant was found, and appearing as requested, received from the Southerner a letter enclosing the likeness of his sweetheart, which he had lost somehow during the battle of Shiloh."
p. 253 "Now and then willingly captured pickets were brought in by our men at night. They all told the same tale of being worn out with sleeplessness and fatigue; of hospitals crowded with sick and wounded; of women and children slain in the city by fragments of shells. They sometimes had with them copies of a newspaper, the Daily Citizen, published in Vicksburg at fifty cents a copy, printed on the blank side of half a yard of wall paper."
p. 253-254 "In short, these deserters confirmed in us the belief that the end must not be far away. At night from our camp we could hear "Yank" and "Johnny" bandying jibes with each other across the brief interval that separated them, and chatting of this and that; and Yank was wont to close with; "Well Johnny, Old Unconditional has promised us that we shall dine in Vicksburg on Independence-day, and he will keep his word, you bet."
Captain Richard W. Burt
Civil War Letters From The 76th Ohio Volunteer Infantry
This info was posted by Mr. Larry Stevens on his Ohio in the Civil War website. http://my.ohio.voyager.net/%7Elstevens/burt
June 10, 1863 Vicksburg
Right Wing of the Army
Besieging Vicksburg, June 10, 1863
Mr. Editor: This is the 23rd day of the siege, and now while I sit in my tent writing--my trunk for a seat and the lid of a cartridge box laid across my knees for a desk--the balls of the rebel sharpshooters are whistling over my head; but an earthwork behind which the tent stands, gives security from the danger from them, so let them crack away. A portion of the regiment is kept in the rifle-pits with reliefs every two hours, and they are getting the range on the butternuts so well that when one raises his head to fire, half a dozen balls from our Springfields raise the dust on top of the rifle pits so close to him that he is soon silenced. The siege is generally the heaviest for an hour or two in the morning, and the same length of time in the evening, continuing until it is too dark to see the enemy, and through the night a storm of shells are thrown into their camps and the city, from the mortars on the river above DeSoto Point, and the light and heavy artillery all around the lines. During the heat of the day, (which has been very oppressive for several days past), it becomes comparatively quiet, we pass away the time reading the news in the latest northern papers, or perusing old magazines sent us by kind and loyal friends up north, and perhaps some of the boys indulge in a game of "Seven up" or "Euchre". A day or two since some of them were thus engaged, when a rebel ball came along through the tent and barked the thumb of one of them, when he concluded to let some one else play out his hand.
Well, we are having a long siege, but all are in good spirits and confident that Vicksburg will be ours before long. While deserters (half a dozen of whom come over every night), report that the rebels are living on pea bread and blue beef, except occasionally corn meal and bacon pressed from the citizens, and on about 1/3 rations at that; our Union boys are living on Uncle Sam's best, and full rations, besides what they buy from the Sutler, who is on hand and keeps up a good supply of many things that greatly improve the soldiers fare. Besides this, our reinforcements since we have had the city invested have reached 40,000.
Our army has unlimited confidence in Gen. Grant, and think there is no such thing as failing in taking Vicksburg and the whole rebel army inside its works, prisoners of war. When we get it it will be a "big thing" and you can have some big glorifications over it, but you fellows up there who are out of the range of rebel shells and rifle balls can afford to wait, if we can. We have had but one man severely wounded since I wrote last--William Carman, Co. I, (K), gun shot through the neck, and two or three others slightly. The regiment was never in better health than now.
Our camp equipage and all that we left behind when we went from Milliken's Bend, was soon after moved to Young's Point, and as the rebels did not go there in force, they are all safe. Our men are without tents as yet, only those that were captured from the rebels when we drove them in from their earthworks, but we have not room to put all our tents if we had them, where they would be out of range of the rebel rifle pits. But we expect to have better quarters, in the city of Vicksburg, before very long, and are patiently enduring all the inconveniences here. The 76th occupy the same hill that they have from the second day of the siege.
Thursday Morning June 11. Isaac Holtsberry, of Co. G, was killed this morning by a musket ball passing through his head, just as he was entering the rifle pits.
R.W. Burt
Note: Letter to the Newark True American Found at Vicksburg National Military Park
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