East Tennessee Roots
Major
- Joined
- Dec 31, 2010
- Location
- Kingsport, Tennessee
Captain Ward enlisted 6/15/1861. On 7/29/1861 he was commissioned Captain of Co.B 47th Ohio Infantry.
He mustered out 8/9/1864. On May 3, 1863, a Union steam tug and two barges loaded with needed supplies for the troops in the field were tasked with making their way past Vicksburg, Mississippi beneath a concentration of Confederate batteries. This group of volunteers under Captain William Ward, who, under cover of darkness, risked their lives beneath these enemy guns in order to re-supply the embattled troops. Nine of these brave men received Medals of Honor including: Captain Ward, Assistant Surgeon Andrew Davidson, Corporals Henry Lewis and Henry Nash, Privates Frederick Ballen, John Hack, Henry Peters, and Peter Sype, and Private Addison Hodges, who actually gave another man a dollar, to go in his place.
William H. Ward
Vicksburg, MS
05/03/63
AN AWFUL BARGE RIDE UNDER FIRE
ONE of the most desperate feats of the war was the attempt of
Captain William H. Ward, of Company B, Forty-seventh Ohio
Volunteers, to run the gauntlet of the Confederate batteries at
Vicksburg, on the night of May 3, 1863. There were three barges
loaded with stores for General Grant's Army, but between them and
their destination lay the enemy's batteries, mounting more than
one hundred guns, many of them of the heaviest calibre. The
Mississippi River makes a double bend at this point, like the
letter S, and from the moment the barges entered the first bend,
till they emerged on the open river below, they would be under
the concentrated fire of the guns every foot of the way, and it
seemed impossible that anyone could live under such a terrible
fire.
The strength of the position was not unknown to Captain Ward, for
he had several times, from a distance watched the batteries in
action, when the ironclads were attempting to run the blockade.
What he had seen, instead of deterring him, only made him more
anxious for a closer acquaintance, and when a call was made for
volunteers to take the barge down the stream, he was the first to
offer himself. There was no lack of volunteers, and where only
thirty-five men were required, ten times that number were willing
and anxious to go. One man, Addison J. Hodges, was so eager to
go, that he actually offered a comrade a dollar to let him go in
his place.
Previous expeditions had run the gauntlet of these batteries with
more or less success, but always on the darkest of nights and
convoyed by armor-clad gunboats. On this occasion a full moon
and a clear sky made the night as light as day, and there were no
gunboats to shelter the barges from the enemy's fire. There was
only one little tug, the George Sturgis, to tow the barges, and
any accident to her would wreck the whole expedition. This did
not discourage the gallant little band, and the account of the
adventure is entertainingly given by Captain Ward, as follows:
" We cast off from Milliken's Bend, La., about fifteen miles
above Vicksburg at ten o'clock P. M, The trip down the river was
uneventful until two o'clock in the morning, when a rocket sent
up from one of the Confederate batteries, warned the enemy of our
approach, and we were soon under a heavy fire. It was a wild
ride we had from this time on.
" Battery after battery opened on us as we came within range,
until it seemed that the guns were being played upon like the
keys of a piano, and to say that the rain of shot and shell was
terrific but faintly describes the situation. The scene was
indescribably grand and awe-inspiring as we steamed slowly past
the city amid the roar of more than a hundred guns, with their
death-dealing missiles whistling and shrieking over and around
us, and exploding on board, while the patter of bullets from the
infantry resembled a fall of hail-stones. The barges were large
and unwieldy; and as we could make only about six miles an hour
at best, the enemy's gunners were able to get our range
accurately. We had been struck many times but not seriously
damaged. The little tug seemed to bear a charmed life, for we
passed several times within a hundred yards of the heaviest
batteries.
" We had now been under fire three-quarters of an hour, and had
reached a point below the city where ten minutes more meant
safety. The steady 'puff-puff' of the little tug gave
assurance that all was right, and we were beginning to indulge in
mental congratulations on the success of the expedition, when a
roar like the bursting of a volcano, caused the barges to rock as
if shaken by an earthquake, and in an instant the air was filled
with burning coals, flying timbers, and debris. A plunging shot
from a heavy gun, stationed on an eminence far in the rear, had
struck the tug and penetrated to the furnaces, where it exploded,
blowing the boilers and machinery up through the deck, and
completely wrecking the vessel. The blazing coals fell in a
shower over both barges, setting fire to the bales of hay in
hundreds of places at once. The enemy sent up a cheer upon
witnessing our misfortune, and for a few minutes seemingly
redoubled their fire. The tug went down like a plummet, while
the barges were soon blazing wrecks, drifting with the eddying
current of the river. No recourse remained but surrender, and
the waving of a handkerchief from a soldier's bayonet caused the
firing to cease. The flames compelled the survivors to seek
safety by taking to the water, and, having no boats, we floated
off on bales of hay and found them surprisingly buoyant. The
wounded were first cared for, and then ale took passage on the
hay-bale line.
" The enemy now hailed us from shore, ordering us to come in and
surrender, but, on learning that we had no boats, sent their own
to our assistance, capturing all but one of the survivors. That
one, Julius C. Conklin by name, was the only man in the party who
could not swim. He managed, with the aid of a piece of wreckage,
to reach the Louisiana shore unobserved by the enemy, and
rejoined his company two days later.
" When all had been rescued and assembled in the moonlight under
guard of Confederate bayonets, the roll was called, and just
sixteen, less than half our original number, were found to have
survived. Some of the scalded men were piteous sights to behold,
the flesh hanging in shreds from their faces and bodies, as they
ran about in excruciating agony, praying that something be done
to relieve their sufferings. These, with the wounded, were
speedily sent to a hospital, where some of them died the next
day.
" It is not often, even in a soldier's life, that one is
compelled to face death in so many forms as beset our little
party on that memorable night; shot and shell, fire, water, and a
boiler explosion with its attendant horrors. Our captors treated
us with marked consideration, affording every courtesy consistent
with the rules of war and we were the recipients of many
attentions from soldiers and citizens, who seemed to marvel at
the temerity of our undertaking. We were held prisoners in
Vicksburg for two days, when General Grant, having crossed the
river and defeated the enemy near Grand Gulf, Mississippi, began
to threaten the city from the rear. We were then paroled, and
hurriedly forwarded to Richmond, Va., where, after an eventful
journey through the Confederacy, we duly arrived, and were
assigned quarters in that famous Confederate hostelry, Libby
Prison. Here we remained about six weeks before we were
exchanged and we were only able to rejoin the regiment in the
trenches before Vicksburg, on the evening before the surrender,
just in time to be in at the death.
" Language fails to describe my feelings, when with a few
companions I entered the city the next morning, July 4th,
immediately after the surrender, under circumstances in such
marked contrast with my forced advent of a few weeks before. Now
no hostile demonstrations of any kind greeted us. The great guns
were still, the hostile flags were furled and 'Old Glory'
floated proudly from the public buildings, while our late foes
were quietly resting in their camps awaiting the pleasure of the
victors".
"Mr. Wm Burton, your son is in the Hospital at Jackson. He wants you to come and see if you cant get him Discharged or furlowed home till his health would be come good a gain. This morning at 1 o clock we was aroused up to cook four days rations. By the time we was up and was fixing to make a fire, our Pickets fired to tell us there was a boat a coming. When the boat come in range of our cannons, they commenced firing at her with great fury. They struck her several time. Some of the balls was hot and set her on fire so she was burnt up. If I had time this Morning, I would write you a long letter. You must excuse me this time. You must write to me often".
Your Friend Henry Blakely
May 4th 1863
Confederate Private Henry Carter Blakely, Company B 61st Tennessee Infantry, writes to a Mr. William Burton back home in east Tennessee about Mr. Burton's sick son. He probably attempts here to describe this same incident.