Vicksburg Map - hand-drawn by GA soldier w/Whistling Dick?

Forrest

Sergeant
Joined
Sep 25, 2015
This large hand-drawn map of Vicksburg sold at auction yesterday. It's possible that the huge cannon facing the canal was intended to represent Whistling Dick:

Map-Vicksburg2 (1).jpg
 
Whistling Dick was in the Railroad Battery, south of the city.

I just received a list of all riverfront batteries and their cannons - I am going to sit down in the coffeeshop with that list and a map that shows the same batteries, and hopefully I can get a good cross-reference to update the riverfront battery map with better cannon location detail. As we all know, the cannons were moved around some, but probably not as much as Farragut and Porter thought, as it could be very difficult, especially under fire.

Whistling Dick's location and movement is well-documented - the only issue is both sides getting confused over which cannon was actually Whistling Dick. I was reading some Naval reports the other day that made it sound like they thought Whistling Dick was directly across from the canal - there was a huge priority on silencing it, mentioning it by name in several reports that had to do with operations primarily south of town.
 
I was reading some Naval reports the other day that made it sound like they thought Whistling Dick was directly across from the canal

If you flip the map around, that very large cannon, which I suppose represents Whistling Dick, is depicted being located on the South side of the River and directly in line with the canal.
 
If you flip the map around, that very large cannon, which I suppose represents Whistling Dick, is depicted being located on the South side of the River and directly in line with the canal.

Maybe I communicated poorly, but my intent was to say basically the same thing you said above, in my first post. So we are in agreement.

Thinking more about the giant cannon in the drawing, it might just represent heavy cannon fire, as opposed to a single giant cannon.
 
Its hard to say what was in the mind of the drawer of this map but from my many days of hunting Vicksburg and studying the siege and battle I'm going with the Widow Maker a LOT bigger gun then the WD.
 
Maybe I communicated poorly, but my intent was to say basically the same thing you said above, in my first post. So we are in agreement.

Totally understoid what you meant. Sorry I wasnt as clear.

My main points were: the map WAS inverted and I didnt see anything labeked Whistling Dick on the map so assumed it was that monster tube.
 
Its hard to say what was in the mind of the drawer of this map but from my many days of hunting Vicksburg and studying the siege and battle I'm going with the Widow Maker a LOT bigger gun then the WD.

I think you are correct. It's possible that the Yankees were referring to two different cannon (or more) as being 'Whistling Dick'. Here is yet another reference to 'Whistling Dick' as being the cannon south of town that was facing the canal. From a very long 'memorandum' found in 'Naval Forces on Western Waters' Volume 23, entitled: "Memorandum regarding the operations of the Mississippi Squadron, under Acting Rear-Admiral Porter, U.S. Navy, from October, 1862, to May, 1863" I assume the author was Porter but it doesn't say. This excerpt is from a section talking about Grant digging the canal to keep his soldiers occupied:

Mud machines were brought down and got into operation, which induced the enemy to throw up works opposite the canal and mount thereon a heavy rifled gun called "Whistling Dick," which fired the whole length of the canal and put a stop to the work.
 
Totally understoid what you meant. Sorry I wasnt as clear.

My main points were: the map WAS inverted and I didnt see anything labeked Whistling Dick on the map so assumed it was that monster tube.

It was a guess on my part, as to what the monster tube referred to. Could very well be that he meant it to represent the Widow Blakely.
 
Since there appears to be a name associated with this map I decided to see if I could find him on fold3....
jhsmith.JPG

Joseph H. Smith Sgt/Lt. Co. G 34th Ga. Inf. parolled at Vicksburg July 4, 1863
jhsmith01.JPG

In December of 1864 he was wounded and captured at Nashville, Tn. He recieved a gunshot wound to the left thigh and went through an amputation operation on Dec. 29 1864.
jhsmith02.JPG

After the amputation of his left leg he lived until May 1865...buried in Nashville City Cemetery.
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Since there appears to be a name associated with this map I decided to see if I could find him on fold3....
View attachment 171565
Joseph H. Smith Sgt/Lt. Co. G 34th Ga. Inf. parolled at Vicksburg July 4, 1863
View attachment 171566
In December of 1864 he was wounded and captured at Nashville, Tn. He recieved a gunshot wound to the left thigh and went through an amputation operation on Dec. 29 1864.
View attachment 171567
After the amputation of his left leg he lived until May 1865...buried in Nashville City Cemetery.
View attachment 171568
View attachment 171569
Excellent Detective work! Thanks!
 
Thanks for sharing. I came real close to bidding higher on this piece, but when it got up to around $2,000 I had to bow out. It would certainly have been the cornerstone of any 'Siege of Vicksburg' collection.
 
Did the map come with a certificate of authenticity? Maybe I'm just overly cautious. While the age of the paper could be right, something about the pencil marks looks modern to me. Too sharp.....no blending or smudging. I thought pencil lead was much softer back in the day? And leads were fatter - not as slim? Don't get me wrong - it's a lovely map. I would just want to see some verification it was indeed a period piece.
 
Did the map come with a certificate of authenticity? Maybe I'm just overly cautious. While the age of the paper could be right, something about the pencil marks looks modern to me. Too sharp.....no blending or smudging. I thought pencil lead was much softer back in the day? And leads were fatter - not as slim? Don't get me wrong - it's a lovely map. I would just want to see some verification it was indeed a period piece.

I don't remember what the provenance is, but the auction house is as reputable as they get.

Pencil lead was sharpened with a knife to whatever sharpness was desired. I've drawn with soft-lead pencils all of my life and never had an issue with smudging; in fact, one of the great things about pencil lead is that it doesn't smudge as much as ink - I know autograph collectors who prefer their vintage autographs to be in pencil, simply because they hold up better to time. I wasn't aware that pencil lead was softer in the 1800's, but maybe you are right.
 
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