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5 Fighting for Vicksburg
- Louisiana State University Press
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64 chapter five FIGHTING FOR VICKSBURG The campaign for Vicksburg began the second phase of the war in the regiments that became Granbury’s Brigade, testing the 7th Texas Infantry after their surrender and imprisonment following Fort Donelson. The fighting for Vicksburg gave these Texans the first chance, after surrender, to prove their loyalty to the Confederacy. Although the 7th Texas underwent reorganization after the death or departure of many of their field officers, those officers who stepped up filled the gaps well, keeping the morale of the regiment high. From the almost suicidal charge at Raymond to the boredom of trench life at Port Hudson, the 7th Texas conformed perfectly to the type of Confederate nationalism and devotion to the cause outlined in Jason Phillips’s Diehard Rebels and Gary Gallagher’s The Confederate War. The 7th Texas would serve as the heart and soul of Granbury’s Brigade, and their fierce devotion to the Confederacy and fighting prowess in the Vicksburg campaign set in motion these results.1 Vicksburg held the key to the western Confederacy. By 1863 the hill city alone blocked Union control of the Mississippi. One other Confederate garrison at Port Hudson also remained, but Vicksburg remained the key; as Vicksburg went, Port Hudson would follow. Since December 1862, U. S. Grant and his Federal forces had attempted to capture the city, with the 65 fighting for vicksburg first foray at Chickasaw Bluffs on December 29, where Sherman met with a bloody repulse. In January, McClernand succeeded in diverting a good portion of Grant’s forces to Arkansas Post, but by the beginning of spring Grant again prepared to take the “Gibraltar of the Confederacy.” In the spring of 1863 the 7th Texas once again found itself at the center of action in the western theater. After the exchange of the officers and men, the regiment began to reform at Port Gibson. Major Granbury received promotion to colonel on August 29, 1862, to replace John Gregg, who had been placed in command of a brigade in Mississippi. The 7th Texas was assigned to the brigade of General Lloyd Tilghman. Captains K. M. Van Zandt and William L. Moody were the two senior captains in the regiment, and Tilghman decided that they should draw lots to determine who would become lieutenant colonel and major. Moody drew the lot for lieutenant colonel, while Van Zandt became major. Gregg received a promotion to brigadier general on September 27, placing him in permanent command of a brigade. Later in the year Major General Frank Gardner transferred the 7th Texas to the brigade of Brigadier General Samuel Maxey. While the Texans remained at Port Gibson, their officers turned their attention to recruiting, so as to fill out the thinning ranks. On October 11 Gregg placed an advertisement in the Marshall Texas Republican. “The recruiting officers of the 7th Texas Infantry are among you,” it read, “to fill the thinned ranks of the veterans . . . we call upon you to join us, as you expect to enlist in maintaining our liberties.” In mid-October Granbury, Van Zandt, and Captains E. T. Broughton and C. N. Alexander all departed for Texas to recruit.2 From October through January they busied themselves enrolling volunteers and conscripting those who did not enlist willingly. The recruiting paid off, with 216 men added to the regiment from October 1862 to March 1863. This number included eighty-seven conscripts and volunteers that Van Zandt formed into Company K.3 While the officers recruited, they left the 7th Texas almost leaderless. On October 23, Lieutenant Colonel Moody fell ill at Holly Springs, Mississippi. Van Zandt and Granbury remained in Texas, leaving Captain W. H. Smith of Company F in command. Finally, in January, Van Zandt and Broughton returned to Port Gibson. Granbury elected to stay in Texas a little longer, placing the major in temporary command of the regiment. In early January Gardner ordered the brigades of Sam Maxey and John Gregg to defend Port Hudson. On the evening of January 5 the 7th Texas [35.175.212.5] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 19:34 GMT) Granbury’s Texas Brigade 66 boarded the steamer Charm in Vicksburg for the trip downriver to Port Hudson. By the next morning the Texans had reached Natchez, Mississippi, where they stopped for a few hours. From there they moved down the river, passing the mouth of the Red River and arriving at Port Hudson around 10 p.m. At Port Hudson, Gardner...