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Detail of a sketch of the fortifications on Hayne's and Snyder's Bluff Source: Library of Congress
On the morning of May 17, 1863 the men of the 43rd Mississippi Infantry Regiment, along with the other units of Brigadier General Louis Hebert's brigade, were ordered to retreat south into the defensive lines around Vicksburg. The men of the 43rd had been stationed north of Vicksburg since the start of the year, spending time on the Yazoo River at Snyder's Bluff and in Chickasaw Bayou. They would now join the over 18,000 troops hoping to halt Major General Ulysses Grant's drive to control the Mississippi River.
Not every man moved with the brigade. Left behind on Snyder's Bluff were dozens of men, most of them sick and in hospital. Among them were six of the 43rd Mississippi's soldiers, three from Company C and three from Company F. The records of four of the men explain their situation; "left in camp sick" reads one. "Sick and captured" reads another. Why were the sick left behind? Were they too ill too move? Did the medical officers think they would be a burden in the oncoming siege? Or were their fellow soldiers hoping the men would fare better under the Yankees than inside Vicksburg? Whatever motivated the decision, it proved fateful for the men left behind.
Detail of a map of the defenses north of Vicksburg, New York Herald Source: Library of Congress
The bluffs were taken the following morning by the 4th Iowa Cavalry. They captured a few armed soldiers attempting to remove remaining supplies and what one soldier described as "some hundred or more convalescents and camp followers." The Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported that Union troops found "50 men sick in the hospital." The captured Confederates were put the gunboat Baron DeKalb and sent to Memphis. From there the six men of the 43rd Mississippi travelled through different Union prisoner of war camps. At times the men were moved together; when not, their stints in various camps usually overlapped.
Life in captivity during the Civil War was difficult and often fatal. Illnesses were common, rations were poor, and many died while imprisoned. The men from the 43rd were no different. Three died while in prison and two died shortly after being freed, both of illnesses contracted while in the camps. Only one man survived, my great-great grandfather. In contrast, the approximately 550 men from the 43rd who retreated into Vicksburg fared far better. Their siege lasted 47 days, during which 25 men from the regiment died. Those who surrendered were soon paroled and let go.
Detail of a map of Point Lookout, showing the Rebel Camp Source: Library of Congress
In researching my great-great-grandfather's life I ended up learning the fates of this small group of men, left behind on Snyder's Bluff. Here are their stories:
James Allen Parish. Born in Virginia about 1833, James Parish moved to Monroe County, Mississippi with his family before 1850. In 1854 he married Darthula Jane Tubb. Together they had five children, three boys and two girls. James enlisted in Aberdeen, Mississippi in April of 1862 as a private in Company C of the 43rd Mississippi. That October at the Battle of Corinth James was wounded and taken prisoner. After his parole he spent time at home recovering. James had only recently returned to his company when he was left on Snyder's Bluff. He travelled through Camp Morton, Fort Delaware, and Point Lookout. His name appears on a list of prisoners sent to City Point in July of 1863 for exchange; whether he actually went to or City Point and why this exchange did not happen is unexplained. Instead James found himself again at Point Lookout, where he died March 20, 1864. He is buried in the cemetery at Point Lookout. His widow never remarried, dying at age 85 in Monroe County.
William Pearce. Likely born in Mississippi about 1832, exact pre-war records for William Pearce could not be found. William enlisted in Aberdeen, Mississippi in May of 1862 as a private in Company C of the 43rd Mississippi Infantry Regiment. He soon fell ill and was sent home on an extended sick furlough. He returned to the regiment, perhaps not fully recovered as he was noted as a straggler on retreat not long after. William was again ill when captured. Though his name appears on a list of men at Fort Delaware to be exchanged in July of 1863, he remained in captivity. Two different dates are given for William's death: July 29, 1863 and October 20, 1863. He is listed as having been buried at Finn's Point Cemetery in Salem, New Jersey, the resting place for many of the Confederate prisoners who died at Fort Delaware. No record of a pension for a widow was found.
John Carroll Oden. Born in Mississippi about 1835, John Oden was a farmer. He enlisted in April of 1862 at Caledonia, Mississippi as a private in Company F of the 43rd Mississippi Infantry Regiment. After capture he spent time at Camp Morton and Fort Delaware before being paroled at City Point July 30, 1863. He was admitted to the General Hospital at Petersburg, Virginia two days later, suffering from chronic diarrhea. Twenty days later he was sent home on a forty-day furlough. John never returned to active service, showing up on the rolls of the 43rd Mississippi as sick for the rest of the war. He died in February of 1866; family records indicate he died of dysentery. He left his widow, Mary, and four children.
Exterior view of Fort Delaware Source: Delaware State Archives
Green T. Thrailkill. Born about 1840 in South Carolina, Green Thrailkill moved with his family to Monroe County, Mississippi before 1850. He enlisted as a private in Company F of the 43rd Mississippi Infantry Regiment in May of 1862 at Caledonia, Mississippi. Green's name appears on the July 1863 exchange list; he was not exchanged then but instead was sent that September from Fort Delaware to Point Lookout. He was exchanged from Point Lookout in May of 1864. That June Green was listed as a patient at the Post Hospital at Camp Lee in Richmond, Virginia, suffering from chronic bronchitis. He died there June 29, 1864. No burial record was found.
William Thrailkill. The older brother of Green Thrailkill, William was born in South Carolina about 1832. In the 1860 Census he was working as an overseer in Monroe County, Mississippi. William enlisted as a private in Company F of the 43rd Mississippi Infantry Regiment at Caledonia, Mississippi in April of 1862. He spent that fall on extra duty as a wagoner. After capture William was sent to Camp Morton. He was transferred from there to Fort Delaware late in June of 1863. William died in the hospital at Fort Delaware within days of arrival there. His cause of death is listed as chronic diarrhea. No record of his burial place could be found.
Julius Caesar Sims
Julius Caesar Sims. Born in Alabama in 1839, my great-great-grandfather moved to Hernando, Mississippi as a child. After the untimely death of his father the family relocated to Monroe County, Mississippi. J.C., as he was generally known, enlisted in Company C of the 9th Mississippi Infantry Company as a private at Smithville in March of 1861. He went with the 9th to Pensacola, Florida. At the end of his term he left the 9th and re-enlisted in the Confederate Army as a private in Company C of the 43rd Mississippi Infantry Regiment in April of 1862. That October, at the Battle of Corinth, J.C. was wounded when a cap struck him in the eye, an injury that would eventually cause him to lose his sight in that eye. Though listed as missing after the battle, he was not captured and rejoined his regiment.
J.C. spent longer in captivity than any of the other men from the 43rd who were left behind on Hayne's Bluff. He passed though Camp Morton, Fort Delaware, and Point Lookout before being sent, in August of 1864, to Camp Elmira in New York. J.C. fell ill at "Hellmira" and that was a surprising piece of luck for him. In October of 1864 he was both sick enough to qualify for parole and well enough to survive travel and was sent from New York back to Point Lookout. He was exchanged October 24, 1864, having spent 525 days as a prisoner of the enemy. J.C. returned home to recover and was well enough in December to marry. Records indicate he may have enlisted in a cavalry company during the last months of the Civil War. J.C. and his wife, Mary Elizabeth, had eight children. They relocated to Lee County, Mississippi where J.C. was a farmer. He died in December of 1912, just a few weeks shy of his 74th birthday.
Bringing the