Encyclopedia of Mississippi History Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions and Persons, Vol. II, Part 104

Author: Dunbar Rowland
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Madison, Wis. : S.A. Brant
Number of Pages: 1020

USA > Mississippi > Encyclopedia of Mississippi History Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions and Persons, Vol. II > Part 104

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It would be quite impossible to name all the good people who figured in the early history of Vicksburg, and adorned the social and industrial walks of city-life, but among them may be mentioned the Vicks, the Cooks, the Gibsons, the Pinckards, the Guions, the Sharkeys, the Randolphs, and a little later on, the Yergers, the Lakes, the Smedes, the Marshalls, the Colemans, the Paynes, the Booths, and a host of others might be mentioned whose descendants are still prominent in the various business enterprises of the city and county.

I may be permitted to dwell a while on the names of two very distinguished men who were intimately identified with the early history of Vicksburg.

Sargent S. Prentiss, whose name is imperishably interwoven with some of the brightest pages of Mississippi's annals, came to the state from Maine when about nineteen years of age, locating first at Natchez, where he pursued for several years the vocation of a school-teacher, indulging his spare hours in the study of law pre- paratory to his admission to the bar. Soon he was licensed to prac- tice, and Vicksburg offering a more inviting field for the display of his peculiar talents, he came to the city, "hung out his shingle," and entered upon his professional career, the most brilliant, per- haps, in the history of the Southwest. From the very start his success was phenomenal. I have it from the lips of men whose pleasure it was to sit beneath the inspiring strains of his match- less eloquence, that he wove a spell of necromancy around the hearts of all who heard him, and brought them willing captives in silent adoration at his feet. I do not think it too much to say, that in the realm of forensic eloquence, he was surpassed by no orator of ancient or modern times. As Edgar Allen Poe was an eccentricity of genius in the field of literature, so Sargent S. Pren- tiss was an eccentricity of genius in the field of oratory. Unique in his way, he lived without a rival, and up to the present time he has had no successor.

The other to whom I refer was Joseph Holt, who afterwards be- came Postmaster General in President Buchannan's Cabinet, and later on Judge-Advocate General of the United States army. He was a man of profound ability, an accomplished lawyer, a finished orator, and almost always the opponent of his great rival, Prentiss, in the courts. He amassed a handsome fortune during his residence in Vicksburg, and won an immortality of fame.

Shortly after its incorporation, a city government was inaugu- rated of the best men in the community, churches were established, schools were organized, and the little city started upon its brilliant and historic career.

A sketch of this character would be incomplete without some reference to the Press of the day. The first paper published was "The Republican," the initial number making its appearance on March 1st. 1825, William H. Benton, editor and proprietor; on March 30th, 1826, the name was changed to "The Eagle and Vicks- burg Weekly Advertiser." The next in the order of time was the

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"Vicksburg Register," M. Shannon & Co. publishers, Cyrus Griffin, editor. On Sept. 30th, 1831, the name was altered to "The Advocate and Register," with the same publishers, and William Mills, editor. On January 31st, 1838, began the publication of the "Vicksburg- Tri-Weekly Sentinel," with James Hagan as its editor and pub- lisher. The tragic history of this paper furnishes one of the sad- dest chapters in the early story of the city. It was the organ of the Democratic party, an intensely partisan sheet, and though conduc- ted with considerable ability, its vindictive and vituperative utter- ances constantly involved its editors in personal difficulties, five of whom on account of which, met violent deaths, the first being James Hagan, himself, the owner and proprietor, who was killed by Gen'l. Dan Adams in a street encounter. The paper continued its precarious career until, 1860, when Roy, its last editor, was killed by Shepard at the corner of Washington and Clay streets, shortly after which the "Vicksburg Sentinel" breathed its last, leaving behind only a train of bloody memories.

On January 1st, 1839, the "Advocate and Register" became merged into the "Vicksburg Daily Whig," with Shannon and Mc- Cardle, publishers, and the versatile and accomplished Wm. H. McCardle, editor. The "Whig" was the only "Daily" published in the state, and the leading journal of Mississippi. Its editorial columns were marked by a high order of ability, and it was an in- fluential factor in shaping the business and political policies of the state. It passed out of existence amid the storms of war, for its last issue was on the 2nd of May, 1863, when the reverberating thunder of hostile guns was echoing along the hills and vales of the beleagured city, of whose dearest interests this faithful journal had been a staunch defender for twenty-five years.

In 1835, attracted by the allurements which a frontier life ever holds out to adventurous spirits, there floated in on the tide of immigration that had set in this direction, a large number of men the scurf and scum of social life, who had been driven from the haunts of vice in the larger and older cities of the land, and among them were a lot of gamblers of the baser and meaner stripe. These men finally became so shameless in the prosecution of their nefa- rious vocation, that it became unsafe for a lady to go upon the streets unattended, for fear of insult. The better portion of the community at last was so outraged at the immoralities and mis- doings of these social brigands, that a public meeting of the citizens was called at which it was determined that these outcasts should be expelled and driven from the city, and accordingly a committee, with Dr. Hugh Bodley at its head, was appointed to notify them to leave within twenty-four hours. Failing to heed this warning and admonition, a company was organized and marched to their headquarters on North Washington street, where they had barri- caded themselves, and refusing to open the door it was broken in, and Dr. Bodley being at the head was shot to death. This so intensified the feelings of the outraged citizens that five of the law-breakers were arrested and marched under an armed guard to

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the old city Cemetery on the corner of Clay and Farmer steets, where they were publicly executed by hanging. A sixth one whose sins, perhaps, were not quite so grave as the others, was taken to the center of the great river and with his hands pinioned behind him, he was set adrift in a skiff on the current of the mighty stream, and what became of this social derelict, whether he was swallowed up in the vortex of the murky waters, or whether some kindly hand rescued him from a terrible fate, tradition gives no answer. It may be that the conduct of the citizens on this occasion cannot be defended on moral grounds, but it must be remembered that "desperate diseases require desperate remedies" and whether right or wrong, it taught a salutary lesson, for from that day to this, no such experience has again fixed itself on the body politic.

At the time of which I write, there came another young man from Maine, the Rev. Charles K. Marshall, who married a daugh- ter of Newitt Vick, and for more than fifty years was closely associated with the business and religious interests of the city. Dr. Marshall was a man of splendid appearance, gifted in a high degree, and of rare accomplishments, and one of the most eloquent of the pulpit orators of the Methodist Church, rich as it has ever been in illustrious names. He died some fifteen years ago at a great old age, deeply lamented by all.

From this time on Vicksburg grew in commercial importance, until the baneful shadows of the Civil war settled down upon the country in 1860-61. The war, of course, put a stop to all commer- cial progress, and Vicksburg soon became an armed camp, this city and county having contributed some twenty-one companies to the Confederate armies. During the continuance of the struggle every- thing was dedicated to its successful prosecution, and of course, not much progress in other directions was made or could be ex- pected.

In 1862, the Federal Government became impressed with the conviction that the capture of Vicksburg was essential to the suc- cess of the Union cause, and all of its energies were directed to the accomplishment of this purpose. Accordingly in December, 1862, General Sherman made the attempt, impotent from a mili- tary point of view, to turn the right wing of the Confederate de- fences at Haynes Bluff, but he was met by a small force under the leadership of our distinguished citizen, Gen'l Stephen D. Lee, and suffered a most disastrous and humiliating defeat. This ended all effort to capture the town from that direction. But in the early spring of 1863, General Grant was placed in command and ordered to take such steps as he thought best to compass the fall of the city. His astute mind at once took in the situation, and he adopted the only feasible plan to accomplish the end in view, and, under the existing conditions, not a difficult one. He had at his command an army estimated at about eighty thousand men, and he marched his troops across the Delta peninsular, to a point on the Louisiana shore opposite to Bruinsburg, and under cover of his gun-boats, for he had full possession of the river, crossed his army to the

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Mississippi shore, and then commenced his march to the investment of the city. To this immense army General Pemberton could oppose only about twenty-eight thousand men, and though engagements were fought at Port Gibson, Champion Hill, and Raymond, yet, on account of the great inequality of the contending forces, it would hardly do violence to truth to say, that General Grant's march to the investment of Vicksburg, was an uninterrupted one. After a small resistance at Big Black General Pemberton retired with his army within the fortified lines around the city, and thus began one of the most memorable sieges of modern times. Between May 5th, the beginning of the investment, and July 4th, 1863, the date of the surrender, General Grant made several deadly assaults on the Confederate works in the vain hope of carrying the city by storm, but each was repulsed with disastrous effects as the seven- teen thousand dumb witnesses who sleep in our beautiful national cemetery two miles north of the city, but too plainly attest. No more heroic defence than that made by General Pemberton and his gallant army is recorded in the annals of history, and in the light of the well-established facts of history, the suggestion that was whispered in certain quarters at the time, of treachery, because the surrender occurred on the 4th of July, is not only totally unwar- ranted, but is a most unjust aspersion on the memory of a gallant, if unfortunate commander. It was believed at the time that the fall of Vicksburg sealed the doom of the Confederacy, but whether this is true or not, that, in connection with the battle of Gettysburg, undoubtedly hastened the end.

A few of the caves dug by the inhabitants during the siege tu protect them from the bursting shells, are still visible in different portions of the city, and, while objects of curious interest to the tourist, are sad reminders of the vanished hopes and aspirations of a brave and heroic people.

When the curtain went down at Appomattox in April, 1865, on the last act in one of the bloodiest tragedies of modern times, the South was left prostrate and in ruins, and Vicksburg, by reason of the long and disastrous siege, suffered more perhaps than other places, but her brave men and noble women laughed in the face of disaster, and, with undaunted courage, entered upon the battle of life with renewed energy. The decade, covering the period ex- tending from 1865 to 1875, known as the Re-construction era, was the darkest hour in Vicksburg's history, worse even than war with all its train of horrors. Her municipal and all other official sta- tions were filled by ignorant negroes, with a small sprinkling of carpet-bag thieves who absolutely revelled in the stolen plunder wrested from the good people of the community. The city is at this moment staggering under the load of debt fixed upon it by these thieving aliens of thirty-five years ago. But there is an avenging Nemesis that wearies never in the pursuit of the guilty culprit, and in 1875, Mississippi summoned her unconquerable man- hood to the rescue, and in a civic revolution almost without pre- cedent, she drove the negroes and their carpet-bag allies into dis-

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graceful retirement from the offices which they were polluting, and restored them to the rightful custody of their native owners, since which time our mighty Commonwealth has gone forward in its grand march of progress and prosperity. From this time dates modern Vicksburg, but in 1876, an event occurred which for a while threw a damper over the spirit of her citizens, and retarded the growth of the city for many years. I refer to the cut-off made in front of the city in May of that year. For four or five years suc- ceeding this event the river gradually receded until it had gone some two miles south, but about this time the United States gov- ernment said to the great river, "Thus far shalt thou go but no farther," and instructed its Engineers to so revet the Delta Point as to protect the banks against further caving. This partially re- stored confidence in the permanency of the city, and the stability of values, but confidence was not entirely restored until about eight years ago when the government, under the able superinten- dence of the accomplished Engineer, Major J. H. Willard, under- took the stupendous feat of diverting the Yazoo River from its ancient bed into "Lake Centennial," and thence along the front of the city. The consummation of this gigantic enterprise was wit- nessed on the 22nd day of December, 1902, for when the good citi- zens awoke on that morning, and came to their various places of business, their eyes were greeted by the sight of a rapid bounding river coursing its way along the entire city front, where for twenty years had been dry land. This instantly had the effect of produc- ing profound confidence in the future of the city, and, from that moment, Vicksburg has been going ahead by leaps and bounds, to the achievement of her splendid destiny.

In the foregoing pages I have written of ancient Vicksburg and will now conclude this brief and imperfect sketch with an account of Vicksburg as it is today, and of its prospective future.

The corporate limits of the city have not been extended since 1884, and therefore, the recent census returns do not give it credit for its real size and importance, for after careful investigation, it may be truthfully stated, that Vicksburg, with its suburban Addi- tions, has a population of, approximately, thirty thousand souls, and is inreasing in growth rapidly day by day.

Geographically considered, there is no place on the Mississippi river more favorably situated. Located just equi-distant from Memphis on the north, and New Orleans on the south, at the foot of the "Imperial Yazoo Delta," in the very heart of the finest cot- ton-belt on the globe, and, admittedly, the best long-staple cotton- market in the world, she has but to utilize the opportunities nature has thrown in her way, to give her a commanding influence in the commercial future of the Mississippi Valley.

Possessed of all the utilities that enter into the make-up of a modern metropolitan city, such as public schools, water works, with sewerage, electric lights, gas works, street railroads, and a fire department that, it is no exaggeration to say. is as fine as can be found in any city of the land, with a Board of Trade, Cotton Ex-

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change, and Business League, composed of its best citizens all working together harmoniously for the betterment of the city, Vicksburg is no laggard in the march of progress. Besides these, she has two great trunk lines of railroad crossing each other at right angles, running north and south, east and west, with the gen- eral machine shops of the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad located within her borders, giving constant employment to from five to seven hundred skilled operatives, with a pay-roll averaging from forty to fifty thousand dollars per month.

At Walters, her northern suburb, the Houston Brothers, and the Anderson-Tully Co., have two of the most extensive milling plants in the South, which employ some five hundred men.

Vicksburg has four national banks, and nine savings banks and trust companies, to handle her ever increasing trade and financial interests. Fourteen regular steamboats, and a larger number of smaller craft, constantly ply her waters and land weekly at her wharf. A dry dock, two compresses, three cotton-seed oil mills, a furniture factory, successful beyond expectation, veneering fac- tory, box factory, basket factory, and a large number of smaller enterprises, enter into the make-up of her industrial life. As I write, an elegant eight story steel building for the First National Bank is rapidly approaching completion, while another sky-scraper is projected only two blocks away, with the spirit of improvement dominating its people, for turn in whatever direction we will, the sound of the hammer and the buzz of the saw make sweet music to the ear.

Its lofty elevation, and magnificent natural drainage. make Vicks- burg one of the healthiest cities of the land, its mortuary statistics showing a death-rate of only a little over ten per thousand. In view of these facts it is not strange that the stream of immigration should empty into her environs with an ever accelerated flow. Two additional lines of railway, at least, will at an early day be com- pleted into the city.

The present municipal government is controlled by her best and most substantial citizens. Mr. B. W. Griffith, president of the First National Bank, is mayor, and another of our bankers, Mr. P. M. Harding, president of the Delta Trust and Banking Co., with nine of our leading merchants, constitute its Board of Alder- men, under whose administration the city is progressing as never bef re.

"The Vicksburg Daily Herald," under the editorial management of the able and accomplished J. K. McNeiley, is the leading and most influential journal in Mississippi, and two evening papers. the "Vicksburg Evening Post," and the "Vicksburg American," with two weekly papers, "The Monday Morning News," and "Vicksburg Democrat," make up the city press.

Vicksburg has even been distinguished for the ability of its Bar, and now ranks with the ablest in the State, but candor compels us to admit that in its es prit' de corps, and lofty ethical ideals, it lags far behind the Vicksburg Bar of the olden time, when such

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master spirits as Prentiss, Holt, John I. Guion, J. P. Harrison, George S. Yerger, William C. Smedes, Thomas A. Marshall, Wil- liam A. Lake, Walker Brooke, and others, ministered at its altar.

I have reserved for the last, one of the most attractive features of modern Vicksburg. To perpetuate the honor and valor of the American soldier, our Great Government has established a mag- nificent National Military Park, in the shape of a half-moon along the lines of the contending armies during the siege. The Park embraces about fourteen hundred acres, with twenty odd miles of gravelled drive-ways, and experts say there is no more beautiful or picturesque spot on the continent than this. Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Illinois, have already placed their memorials, the last at a cost of $250,000.00, whose magnificent proportions can be seen for miles around in all directions. Iowa has hers nearly completed at a cost of $150,000.00 and the Legis- lature of Mississippi at its late session appropriated $50,000.00 for the like purpose, and soon our noble State will raise her shaft of honor in memory of her heroic dead, who fell in defence of as holy a cause as ever inspired the human heart.

Under the splendid management of the courteous and gen- tlemanly Cap't. W. T. Rigby, Chairman of the Commission, this Park when finally completed in accordance with the purpose of our generous government, will be one of the most beautiful in the world. Thousands of tourists already visit it annually to feast their eyes on its exquisite loveliness. Here sits Vicksburg to-day, throned on her everlasting hills, exhibiting in full a realization of Newitt Vick's prophetic dream of eighty odd years ago. Around her brow Fame has entwined its wreath of immortality, and while its citizenship will change with the passing of the years, its fame, like that of another Thermopylae or a Marathon, will go sounding down the ages linked forever to the chivalry of its heroic manhood, and the beauty, loyalty, and devotion of its matchless womanhood.

Vicksburg Campaign, 1863. (See War of 1861-65.) General Grant had under his department command, including West Ten- nessee and West Kentucky, an average of about 104,000 men, out of which he was able to take against Vicksburg about 53,000 men, besides his garrisons, at Corinth, Memphis and other points north- ward. He was aided by Admiral Porter's fleet, which, including all sorts of armed craft, was made up of 81 vessels and 275 guns, besides a few of Farragut's heavier war ships. Without the fleet, Grant wrote afterwards, the campaign could not have been made with twice the army, and could not have been made at all, with any number of men, as it was made. Gen. Pemberton, command- ing in Mississippi and East Louisiana, had at his disposal an aver- age of 45,763 men ; but 7,000 were at Port Hudson, 3,000 or so were cavalry held in northern and southern Mississippi, and the needs of various garrisons were such that he could not put a movable force of more than 20,000 in the field. (S. D. Lee, Miss. Hist. Soc. Publ. III, 27-28.) His army was in five divisions, commanded by Major-Generals Carter L. Stevenson, Martin L. Smith, Dabney

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H. Maury (succeeded by John H. Forney), John S. Bowen, and W. W. Loring. Stevenson's division, about 10,000 strong, was made up of Barton's Georgia brigade, Tracy's (later Lee's) Ala- bama brigade, Taylor's Georgia brigade, Reynolds' Tennessee brigade, and artillery of various States. Smith's division, particu- larly the defenders of Vicksburg, included the brigades of Bald- win, Vaughn and S. D. Lee (later Shoup), the latter embracing the heavy artillery in the river batteries, with which was the Vaiden artillery company. In this division the Mississippi troops were the 4th regiment, Col. P. S. Layton ; 46th, Col. C. W. Sears; Smith's partisan rangers, Capt. N. J. Drew's battery, Capt. Robert Bowman's battery, Maj. M. S. Ward's battalion (batteries of C. B. Vance and J. H. Gates), and the Vaiden artillery, Capt. S. C. Bains. Maury's division included Hebert's and Moore's brigades. He- bert's was a Mississippi brigade (except the Third Louisiana)- 36th regiment, Col. W. W. Witherspoon ; 37th, Col. O. S. Holland ; 38th, Col. Preston Brent; 43d, Col. R. Harrison ; 7th battalion, Capt. A. M. Dozier. Moore's brigade included the 35th Missis- sippi, Col. W. S. Barry, the 40th, Col. W. B. Colbert and two Ala- bama regiments. Attached to Maury's command were Col. Wirt Adams cavalry, and some State troops. under Brig .- Gen. John V. Harris, including the 5th regiment, Col. H. C. Robinson, and Col. T. A. Burgin's battalion. Bowen's division, about 4,500 strong, was from Missouri and Arkansas. Loring's division was all Mis- sissippian, except an Alabama and a Kentucky regiment. Gen. Lloyd Tilghman's brigade included the 6th Mississippi, Col. Rob- ert Lowry : 20th, Col. D. R. Russell; 23d, Col. J. M. Wells : 26th, Col. A. E. Reynolds; and the batteries of Capts. Jacob Culbertson (Ward's battalion), J. J. Cowan and Mclendon. Gen. W. S. Featherston's brigade was the 3rd regiment, Col. T. H. Mellon; 22d, Lieut .- Col. H. J. Reid; 31st, Col. J. A. Orr ; 33d, Col. D. W. Hurst ; First battalion sharpshooters, Maj. W. A. Rayburn; Bat- tery C, First regiment artillery. Loring's division, except a part of Lowry's regiment, was not in the siege of Vicksburg. The Park Commission list of Mississippi troops in the siege shows, of Wither's First regiment of artillery, Battery A, Capt. S. J. Ridley ; C, Capt. W. T. Ratliff ; D, Capt. J. L. Wofford; E, Capt. N. J. Drew; G, Capt. J. J. Cowan, and I, Lieut. E. E. Bower (Bow- man's) ; of Ward's battalion, Vance's and Gates' companies and Lieut. F. W. Merrin's section of Culbertson's; also Hudson's bat- tery and the Vaiden battery.

Gen. John Adams commanded the Jackson military district un- der Pemberton. He had the 14th regiment, Col. G. W. Abert; Pierce's battalion (Choctaw) ; Harper's First battalion; Norton's company of the 15th regiment, and two cavalry companies ; and under his orders was George's brigade of State troops, at Grenada, but all these were so reduced in numbers that they added little to the effective force. Early in April, there were sent to Jackson, from the army at Port Hudson, La., Rust's brigade, Arkansans, Louisianians, and these Mississippians-First Confederate bat-

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Encyclopedia of Mississippi History Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions and Persons, Vol. II, Part 104

Author: Dunbar Rowland Publication date: 1907 Publisher: Madison, Wis. : S.A. Brant Number of Pages: 1020

Author: Dunbar Rowland
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Madison, Wis. : S.A. Brant
Number of Pages: 1020