A Damned Iowa Greyhound: The Civil War Letters of William Henry Harrison Clayton

4. “Vicksburg Is Ours”

CHAPTER 4 ((Vicksburg Is Ours" In November 1862, Major General Ulysses S. Grant, Commander ofthe Department ofthe Tennessee, had embarked on a campaign to capture Vicksburg, Mississippi, the northernmost post still held by the Confederates on the Mississippi River. After a number offailures, Grant finally found a viable strategy in the spring of 1863. Marching his force down the west bank of the river to a point south of Vicksburg , he then had his troops ferried across to the Mississippi shore. In a brilliant campaign, Grant defeated Confederate forces in detail, then laid siege to the city. Needing more troops both to keep the defenders of Vicksburg penned up and to prevent them from receiving reinforcements, Grant convinced the War Department to send Union regiments from a number of separate commands to support him. One such regiment was the 19th Iowa. Clayton and his compatriots helped slowly tighten the noose around Vicksburg and celebrated the surrender of the city on July 4, 1863. His regiment then participated in an excursion deeper in Mississippi before being transferred to a camp just north of New Orleans. In the twelve letters Clayton wrote during this period, he shows quite different extremes ofthe wartime experience ofa Union soldier. While in the trenches at Vicksburg, Clayton faced the .ever-present danger of sniper fire and Confederate artillery barrages. Moving against the Confederate garrison at Yazoo City likewise put Clayton in a situation fraught with danger. But life at Port Hudson or Carrollton seems almost like a paid vacation for the twenty-three-year-old Iowan. Whether under fire or enjoying the charms of New Orleans, Clayton demonstrates in his letters that he has lost none ofhis ability to provide accurate and interesting descriptions of his adventures. ~ St. Louis June 5th, 1863 Dear Father & Mother: You will be apt to be a little surprised at seeing the heading of my letter. We have just arrived and the regiment is now on the wharf ready to go on a boat. The 94th Illinois is also here and·will leave with us. The 20th Wisconsin has gone. This is all of the infantry belonging to the 3rd Division. The artillery and cavalry remained where they were. I have just seen Buckles. We met him and Lt. Kent 1 and the other boys here. We left Salem on the 3rd having received orders the night before, about 9 or 10 o'clock. The 1st Division is still at Salem, consisting of the 9th Wisconsin and the 10th & 11th Kansas. I am unable to say what our destination is, probably Vicksburg. Some think that we may stop this side at some place left vacant by troops who have gone forward. We will know in 4 or 5 days more. We left Rolla about 5 o'clock last night and got here between 2 and 3 this morning. Buckles got a gum blanket for me, gave $2.75 for it. Some of the boys paid $5.00 for one like it, at Rolla. He also handed me the little package. Socks I think. I have not had time to open it yet. I am glad to get them for we can draw none worth having. I will write as soon as I can again. This leaves me in good health and hope will find you all the same. I remain your affectionate son, Wm. H. H. Clayton ~ On board steamer H. Choteau June 8th, 1863 Dear Father & Mother: I thought that I would write a few lines today, and have them ready for mailing at Memphis. I wrote a few lines while at St. Louis informing you that we was coming down the river. We left St. Louis last 68~ CCVicksburg Is Ours" Friday evening in company with the 94th Illinois on the steamer Minnehaha . The river between St. Louis and Cairo is tolerably low and the boats laid by during the night time. On Saturday morning arrived at St. Genevieve just as two steamers pushed off loaded with troops. We learned here that 5 or 6 regiments had gone on. Took on Battery «B" 1St MO artillery, 6 brass guns. In the evening arrived at Cape Girardeau. Laid a few miles below town all night. On Sunday morning started after daylight. Had to go slow on account oflow water~ Got to Cairo about 9 o'clock A.M. Things looked considerably warlike here, piles of heavy cannon lying on...