THE MARCH INTO VICKSBURG

On this day, the 16th Ohio rose early, at 3:00am and at 4:00am began their short but triumphant march into Vicksburg. The regiment set up camp along the Mississippi River, about 1/2 mile south of the city. Cpl. Theodore Wolbach provides us with an excellent description of the day:

In the morning we approached the city by their main road from Jackson, which runs near the railroad. The scarred landscape in front and as far to the right and left as we could see was a curiosity. A perfect medley of ditches, lunettes, forts, etc., marked the recent line of operations. The hostile parapets were so close in place that hand grenades could be thrown from one to the other and the hostile soldiers, during the siege, could converse in ordinary tones. Inside of the Confederate works, where the road wound around the base of a hill, we saw a number of the artificial caves where the citizens had sought refuge from the bombardment. Plenty of Spanish moss covered the floors, and we were told bedding and furniture were placed in the apartments. Though gloomy looking they appeared like cool, comfortable, sleeping places in the hot season.

The captured cannon from the outer works were parked on some vacant lots in town. The variety of these, principally field guns, was considerable. Bronze and iron pieces that had been stolen from the U.S. at the beginning of Secession, stood beside rifled cannon of a later pattern. Some of the heavy siege guns had already been dismounted and taken down to the boat-landing to be shipped to other parts along the river. To haul these big guns, high wheeled trucks were used. The gun being swung under them log fashion and drawn by oxen. Over thirty thousand muskets and a vast amount of ammunition was stored away in warehouses and securely guarded. Besides the sick and wounded in the hospitals, many paroled confederates were yet in the place. Many of them had lost all hope for their cause since the great river was wrested from them.

The life that surrounded us, as we marched through town, was of curious interest. Soldiers of both armies and all arms of the service, on land and water; sallow, grave-looking citizens of the captured city quietly regarding the motley multitude; bright, intelligent-looking northern tradesmen, with an eye to business; thousands of contrabands of both sexes and all ages, from the little coffee-colored babe to the white headed and decrepid [sic] of more than four score, contributed to the variety of this mass of human beings around us. Down the river, half a mile beyond the town, we pitched tents. The air was warm in daytime but chilly at night.

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Period military map showing the approximate route of the 16th Ohio from their campsite on the old siege line, two miles east of Vicksburg, through the city and to the approximate site of their camp on July 25, 1863.

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Modern day map showing the approximate route of the 16th Ohio from their campsite on the old siege line, two miles east of Vicksburg, through the city and to the approximate site of their camp on July 25, 1863. Note that in 1876 the Mississippi River changed course and bypassed the city. The Army Corps of Engineers re-routed the Yazoo River back into the old river bed, thus providing Vicksburg, again, with a working riverfront.

Green pin - Approximate location of Mississippi Springs, Mississippi, where the 16th Ohio camped the night of July 21, 1863.
Yellow pin - Approximate location of the campsite of the 16th Ohio on the night of July 22, 1863.
Blue pin - Approximate location of Camp Alice, the campsite of the 16th Ohio on the night of July 23, 1863.
Red pin - Approximate location of the 16th Ohio's campsite on the night of July 24, 1863.
Purple pin - Approximate location of the 16th Ohio's campsite from July 25 to 29, 1863.