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On 21 February 1899 the Congress of the United States authorized the War Department to create it's 5th national military park at Vicksburg, Mississippi. It is the 8th oldest national park in the United States. On 10 August 1933 ownership of the park was transferred from the War Department to the Department of the Interior which oversees the park to the present day.
The following are the memorials from the Confederate States.
The Virginia Monument, dedicated 23 November 1907.
The first monument erected at Vicksburg National Military Park commerates the only unit from Virginia present during the siege, the Botetourt Light Artillery. It is located at the southeast corner of North Frontage Road and Iowa Ave. in the city of Vicksburg. It's entire cost of $520 was raised by donations.
The Botetourt Light Artillery
After its official designation as artillery, Anderson’s Battery was assigned to Brig. Gen. Edward Johnson’s Brigade, Army of the Northwest. The battery is listed in the Order of Battle for Johnson’s Brigade in the Bath-Romney Campaign of 1862.
After 8 months of service the men of the new Anderson’s Battery headed home for a 30-day furlough. The remained in the Buchanan area from December 24,1861 until February 1, 1862.
Captain Anderson, with 80 men and officers, reported to Camp Lee near Richmond on Feb. 3,1862 to begin instruction in artillery drill.
Because Capt. Anderson’s battery was the most advanced in training at the time, they were sent to Knoxville, Tenn. on March 29, 1862 because of heavy Union activity in Eastern Tennessee and Kentucky. One section was sent to Chattanooga, Tenn. To pick up 4 new guns, two 6 pounders and two,12-pounders.
The battery was assigned to Brig. Gen. Seth M. Barton’s Brigade for service in Maj. Gen. Carter L. Stevenson’s Division. Operating in this region the battery took part in numerous minor engagements with General Edmund Kirby-Smith’s Army of East Tennessee.
On August 6, 1862 the battery engaged the enemy at Waldron’s Ridge, Tennessee.
In August, 1862 the Army of East Tennessee was renamed the Army of Kentucky. Stevenson’s Division was the vanguard of Kirby-Smith’s army as it invaded Kentucky through the Cumberland Mountains in August. Kirby-Smith’s Army of Kentucky was part of a two pronged attack on the Union forces in Kentucky. The other prong was Maj. Gen. Braxton Bragg’s Army of Mississippi. Bragg’s army would enter Kentucky from middle Tennessee.
It was very difficult hauling artillery through the mountain passes into Kentucky. Much of it had to be done by hand.
Stevenson’s Division was given the task of taking the Cumberland Gap and holding it open. The division did not rejoin Kirby-Smith’s main columns until the middle of September, 1862. During the month of September , Kirby-Smith’s forces encountered the enemy at Harrodsburg and Lexington.
Joining Bragg’s army after the retreat from Perryville, Stevenson’s Division was part of the force covering the army’s retreat back into Tennessee.
In November, 1862 , following the retreat back into Tennessee, the army was reorganized. Stevenson’s Division was sent to Bragg’s newly named Army of Tennessee at Murfreesboro
.
In December, 1862, Stevenson’s Division was ordered to Mississippi where it was to bolster the forces of Gen. John C. Pemberton in the defense Vicksburg.
By this action the battery , and Stevenson’s Division, missed the Battle of Murfreesboro( Stones’ River ) on December31st and January 1st.
Fighting in Mississippi the battery was involved in numerous engagements including the
Siege of Vicksburg.
On New Years Day 1863 Anderson’s Battery was entrenched in the cold winter Mississippi rain and mud where they remained until January 15th when they received orders to move their camp about 2-miles south of Vicksburg.
The Botetourt Artillery now numbered 140 men. On the other side of the river Major General U.S. Grant’s Army numbered 35,000. General Pemberton now had about 40,000 men in and around Vicksburg. Confederate troops moved to several locations in April setting up their defenses. On orders The Botetourt Artillery marched 44 miles in 27 hours and set up their weapons at Port Gibson.
On May 1, 1863 Stevenson’s Division engaged Ulysses S. Grant’s Army of the Tennessee at Port Gibson (Bayou Pierre). The battery was heavily engaged and suffered heavy casualties, with a loss of 32 %. Captain Johnston’s report states at the start of the fight he had 144 men and at the end, only 79.
The land battle for Vicksburg was under way.
Captain Anderson had been promoted on January 28th and was now Major Anderson on General Stevenson’s staff and was also Chief of the Artillery for Stevenson’s Division. Lt. John William Johnston was now commanding officer of The Botetourt Artillery.
The battery suffered heavy casualties at Port Gibson (Bayou Pierre). Capt. Johnston reported he had 144 men at the start of the battle and only 79 when the day ended.
The total loss of the Botetourt Artillery in this battle in killed, wounded, and captured was about sixty five officers and men, fifty three horses, and four guns. Late in the day Captain Johnston was disabled.
The men continued their retreat toward Vicksburg making camp at Hawkins Ferry. On May 15th they moved again taking up a position at Champions Hill ( Baker’s Creek )to get better position. Scattered fighting became a full-scale battle by late morning. The Virginians asked for Infantry help but none came. The battle of Champion’s Hill left 1,202 men dead. One of those men was Major Joseph W. Anderson.
This hit and run battle continued until tattered troops retreated into Vicksburg and set up the defense of the City. The men of the Botetourt Artillery were the only Virginia unit that would spend the next 47 terrible days at the siege of Vicksburg!
After two unsuccessful frontal assaults on May 19th and 22nd Grant settled in for an extended siege of Vicksburg. Two more frontal assaults would take place later on June 25th and July 1st.
General Stevenson in his report of the Champion’s Hill ( Baker's Creek) battle mentions Maj. J. W. Anderson as "Gallantly falling in full discharge of his duties" and Capt. J. W. Johnston as fighting his battery "to the last extremity," and he mentions Captain Johnston in the siege of Vicksburg while inspector of light artillery "for valuable service rendered."
The Botetourt Artillery had lost all their guns in the fighting at Champion’s Hill. Upon reaching the defenses of Vicksburg they were given two 6 pounder guns as armament. Those men not assigned to serve these two guns were armed with Enfield rifles and served as sharpshooters in support of these field pieces.
The battery had the misfortune of being posted in the swamps South of Vicksburg where the conditions were horrible. The men made the best of a bad environment. There was a consolation in this however. This area was the right flank of the Confederate line. It was an honor to be able to say that a unit was the “Right Of The Line”. It denoted that a commander placed trust in a unit’s ability to keep an army’s flank from caving in to enemy pressure.
During the siege of Vicksburg the Botetourt Artillery was attached to the renowned
Waul’s Texas Legion,Col. Thomas N. Waul, commanding, which was assigned to Stevenson’s Division.
On June 2, 1863 Capt. Johnston was promoted to Inspector General of Artillery on General Stevenson’s Staff. Lt. Francis Obenchain assumed command of the battery.
All through June at Vicksburg, the Union troops dug lines parallel to and approaching the rebel lines. Soldiers could not poke their heads up above their works for fear of snipers. It was a sport for Union soldiers to poke a hat above the works on a rod, betting on how many rebel bullets would pierce it in a given time.
Over a year before the much publicized Battle of “The Crater” at Petersburg, Virginia, the troops under siege at Vicksburg dealt with a similar fight. Union engineers had tunneled under the Confederate defenses and set off a mine under the 3rd Louisiana Infantry. The Federal troops who charged through the opening made by the mine were repulsed with heavy losses. As with at Petersburg, the fighting was hand to hand.
Brig. Gen. Andrew V. Hickenlooper, Chief engineer of the XVII Army Corps of the Army of the Tennessee observed that
“Every eye was riveted upon that huge redoubt standing high above the adjoining works. At the appointed moment it appeared as though the whole fort and connecting outworks commenced an upward movement, gradually breaking into fragments and growing less bulky in appearance, until it looked like an immense fountain of finely pulverized earth, mingled with flashes of fire and clouds of smoke, through which could occasionally be caught a glimpse of some dark objects,-men, gun-carriages, shelters, etc. Fire along the entire line instantly opened with great fury, and amidst the din and roar of 150 cannon and the rattle of 50,000 muskets the charging column moved forward to the assault. But little difficulty was experienced in entering the crater, but the moment the assaulting forces attempted to mount the artificial parapet, which had been formed by the falling debris about midway across the fort, completely commanded by the Confederate artillery and infantry in the rear, they were met by a withering fire so severe that to show a head above the crest was certain death. Two lines were formed on the slope of this parapet, the front line raising their muskets over their heads and firing at random over the crest while the rear rank were engaged in reloading. But soon the Confederates began throwing short-fused shells over the parapet, which, rolling down into the crater crowded with the soldiers of the assaulting column, caused the most fearful destruction of life ever witnessed under like circumstances. The groans of the dying and shrieks of the wounded became fearful, but bravely they stood to their work until the engineers constructed a casemate out of the heavy timbers found in the crater, and upon which the earth was thrown until it was of sufficient depth to resist the destructive effects of the exploding shells. As soon as this work was completed, and a parapet was thrown up across the crater on a line with the face of the casemate, the troops were withdrawn to the new line beyond the range of exploding shells.”
Suffering from heat, the sun, rain and long damp nights and the lack of food for the better part of five weeks took a heavy toll on Confederate troops.
Finally on July 3, 1863, flags of truce were placed along the works. That night, the men of the Botetourt Artillery cut up the wedding dress Virginia flag so it would not fall into enemy hands and each man was given a small piece. On July 4, 1863 the City of Vicksburg was surrendered. With this event the Confederacy was literally cut in half. No longer would the Armies west of the Mississippi have efficient contact with those east of the river. The waning days of the Confederacy were beginning.
On July 7 and 8 Major Fry of the 20th Ohio paroled the majority of the Botetourt Artillery. A total of 130 men of the Artillery were paroled; 21 of this number were paroled within one of the local hospitals on July 11, 1863. Pemberton’s army was to be exchanged at Enterprise, Mississippi and the Virginians would have to march 154 miles east to reach the site. It took them nine days to get there two men died during the journey. The death toll for the Botetourt Artillery during this campaign was 41men dead.
The following are the memorials from the Confederate States.
The first monument erected at Vicksburg National Military Park commerates the only unit from Virginia present during the siege, the Botetourt Light Artillery. It is located at the southeast corner of North Frontage Road and Iowa Ave. in the city of Vicksburg. It's entire cost of $520 was raised by donations.
The Botetourt Light Artillery
After its official designation as artillery, Anderson’s Battery was assigned to Brig. Gen. Edward Johnson’s Brigade, Army of the Northwest. The battery is listed in the Order of Battle for Johnson’s Brigade in the Bath-Romney Campaign of 1862.
After 8 months of service the men of the new Anderson’s Battery headed home for a 30-day furlough. The remained in the Buchanan area from December 24,1861 until February 1, 1862.
Captain Anderson, with 80 men and officers, reported to Camp Lee near Richmond on Feb. 3,1862 to begin instruction in artillery drill.
Because Capt. Anderson’s battery was the most advanced in training at the time, they were sent to Knoxville, Tenn. on March 29, 1862 because of heavy Union activity in Eastern Tennessee and Kentucky. One section was sent to Chattanooga, Tenn. To pick up 4 new guns, two 6 pounders and two,12-pounders.
The battery was assigned to Brig. Gen. Seth M. Barton’s Brigade for service in Maj. Gen. Carter L. Stevenson’s Division. Operating in this region the battery took part in numerous minor engagements with General Edmund Kirby-Smith’s Army of East Tennessee.
On August 6, 1862 the battery engaged the enemy at Waldron’s Ridge, Tennessee.
In August, 1862 the Army of East Tennessee was renamed the Army of Kentucky. Stevenson’s Division was the vanguard of Kirby-Smith’s army as it invaded Kentucky through the Cumberland Mountains in August. Kirby-Smith’s Army of Kentucky was part of a two pronged attack on the Union forces in Kentucky. The other prong was Maj. Gen. Braxton Bragg’s Army of Mississippi. Bragg’s army would enter Kentucky from middle Tennessee.
It was very difficult hauling artillery through the mountain passes into Kentucky. Much of it had to be done by hand.
Stevenson’s Division was given the task of taking the Cumberland Gap and holding it open. The division did not rejoin Kirby-Smith’s main columns until the middle of September, 1862. During the month of September , Kirby-Smith’s forces encountered the enemy at Harrodsburg and Lexington.
Joining Bragg’s army after the retreat from Perryville, Stevenson’s Division was part of the force covering the army’s retreat back into Tennessee.
In November, 1862 , following the retreat back into Tennessee, the army was reorganized. Stevenson’s Division was sent to Bragg’s newly named Army of Tennessee at Murfreesboro
.
In December, 1862, Stevenson’s Division was ordered to Mississippi where it was to bolster the forces of Gen. John C. Pemberton in the defense Vicksburg.
By this action the battery , and Stevenson’s Division, missed the Battle of Murfreesboro( Stones’ River ) on December31st and January 1st.
Fighting in Mississippi the battery was involved in numerous engagements including the
Siege of Vicksburg.
On New Years Day 1863 Anderson’s Battery was entrenched in the cold winter Mississippi rain and mud where they remained until January 15th when they received orders to move their camp about 2-miles south of Vicksburg.
The Botetourt Artillery now numbered 140 men. On the other side of the river Major General U.S. Grant’s Army numbered 35,000. General Pemberton now had about 40,000 men in and around Vicksburg. Confederate troops moved to several locations in April setting up their defenses. On orders The Botetourt Artillery marched 44 miles in 27 hours and set up their weapons at Port Gibson.
On May 1, 1863 Stevenson’s Division engaged Ulysses S. Grant’s Army of the Tennessee at Port Gibson (Bayou Pierre). The battery was heavily engaged and suffered heavy casualties, with a loss of 32 %. Captain Johnston’s report states at the start of the fight he had 144 men and at the end, only 79.
The land battle for Vicksburg was under way.
Captain Anderson had been promoted on January 28th and was now Major Anderson on General Stevenson’s staff and was also Chief of the Artillery for Stevenson’s Division. Lt. John William Johnston was now commanding officer of The Botetourt Artillery.
The battery suffered heavy casualties at Port Gibson (Bayou Pierre). Capt. Johnston reported he had 144 men at the start of the battle and only 79 when the day ended.
The total loss of the Botetourt Artillery in this battle in killed, wounded, and captured was about sixty five officers and men, fifty three horses, and four guns. Late in the day Captain Johnston was disabled.
The men continued their retreat toward Vicksburg making camp at Hawkins Ferry. On May 15th they moved again taking up a position at Champions Hill ( Baker’s Creek )to get better position. Scattered fighting became a full-scale battle by late morning. The Virginians asked for Infantry help but none came. The battle of Champion’s Hill left 1,202 men dead. One of those men was Major Joseph W. Anderson.
This hit and run battle continued until tattered troops retreated into Vicksburg and set up the defense of the City. The men of the Botetourt Artillery were the only Virginia unit that would spend the next 47 terrible days at the siege of Vicksburg!
After two unsuccessful frontal assaults on May 19th and 22nd Grant settled in for an extended siege of Vicksburg. Two more frontal assaults would take place later on June 25th and July 1st.
General Stevenson in his report of the Champion’s Hill ( Baker's Creek) battle mentions Maj. J. W. Anderson as "Gallantly falling in full discharge of his duties" and Capt. J. W. Johnston as fighting his battery "to the last extremity," and he mentions Captain Johnston in the siege of Vicksburg while inspector of light artillery "for valuable service rendered."
The Botetourt Artillery had lost all their guns in the fighting at Champion’s Hill. Upon reaching the defenses of Vicksburg they were given two 6 pounder guns as armament. Those men not assigned to serve these two guns were armed with Enfield rifles and served as sharpshooters in support of these field pieces.
The battery had the misfortune of being posted in the swamps South of Vicksburg where the conditions were horrible. The men made the best of a bad environment. There was a consolation in this however. This area was the right flank of the Confederate line. It was an honor to be able to say that a unit was the “Right Of The Line”. It denoted that a commander placed trust in a unit’s ability to keep an army’s flank from caving in to enemy pressure.
During the siege of Vicksburg the Botetourt Artillery was attached to the renowned
Waul’s Texas Legion,Col. Thomas N. Waul, commanding, which was assigned to Stevenson’s Division.
On June 2, 1863 Capt. Johnston was promoted to Inspector General of Artillery on General Stevenson’s Staff. Lt. Francis Obenchain assumed command of the battery.
All through June at Vicksburg, the Union troops dug lines parallel to and approaching the rebel lines. Soldiers could not poke their heads up above their works for fear of snipers. It was a sport for Union soldiers to poke a hat above the works on a rod, betting on how many rebel bullets would pierce it in a given time.
Over a year before the much publicized Battle of “The Crater” at Petersburg, Virginia, the troops under siege at Vicksburg dealt with a similar fight. Union engineers had tunneled under the Confederate defenses and set off a mine under the 3rd Louisiana Infantry. The Federal troops who charged through the opening made by the mine were repulsed with heavy losses. As with at Petersburg, the fighting was hand to hand.
Brig. Gen. Andrew V. Hickenlooper, Chief engineer of the XVII Army Corps of the Army of the Tennessee observed that
“Every eye was riveted upon that huge redoubt standing high above the adjoining works. At the appointed moment it appeared as though the whole fort and connecting outworks commenced an upward movement, gradually breaking into fragments and growing less bulky in appearance, until it looked like an immense fountain of finely pulverized earth, mingled with flashes of fire and clouds of smoke, through which could occasionally be caught a glimpse of some dark objects,-men, gun-carriages, shelters, etc. Fire along the entire line instantly opened with great fury, and amidst the din and roar of 150 cannon and the rattle of 50,000 muskets the charging column moved forward to the assault. But little difficulty was experienced in entering the crater, but the moment the assaulting forces attempted to mount the artificial parapet, which had been formed by the falling debris about midway across the fort, completely commanded by the Confederate artillery and infantry in the rear, they were met by a withering fire so severe that to show a head above the crest was certain death. Two lines were formed on the slope of this parapet, the front line raising their muskets over their heads and firing at random over the crest while the rear rank were engaged in reloading. But soon the Confederates began throwing short-fused shells over the parapet, which, rolling down into the crater crowded with the soldiers of the assaulting column, caused the most fearful destruction of life ever witnessed under like circumstances. The groans of the dying and shrieks of the wounded became fearful, but bravely they stood to their work until the engineers constructed a casemate out of the heavy timbers found in the crater, and upon which the earth was thrown until it was of sufficient depth to resist the destructive effects of the exploding shells. As soon as this work was completed, and a parapet was thrown up across the crater on a line with the face of the casemate, the troops were withdrawn to the new line beyond the range of exploding shells.”
Suffering from heat, the sun, rain and long damp nights and the lack of food for the better part of five weeks took a heavy toll on Confederate troops.
Finally on July 3, 1863, flags of truce were placed along the works. That night, the men of the Botetourt Artillery cut up the wedding dress Virginia flag so it would not fall into enemy hands and each man was given a small piece. On July 4, 1863 the City of Vicksburg was surrendered. With this event the Confederacy was literally cut in half. No longer would the Armies west of the Mississippi have efficient contact with those east of the river. The waning days of the Confederacy were beginning.
On July 7 and 8 Major Fry of the 20th Ohio paroled the majority of the Botetourt Artillery. A total of 130 men of the Artillery were paroled; 21 of this number were paroled within one of the local hospitals on July 11, 1863. Pemberton’s army was to be exchanged at Enterprise, Mississippi and the Virginians would have to march 154 miles east to reach the site. It took them nine days to get there two men died during the journey. The death toll for the Botetourt Artillery during this campaign was 41men dead.
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