excavation in the earth the size of a large room, high enough for the tallest person to stand perfectly erect, provided with comfortable seats, and altogether quite a large and habitable abode … were it not for the dampness and the constant contact with the soft earthy walls.”
When the shelling stopped after two impossibly long hours, Mary and the others cautiously emerged, shaken but safe. They watched the river as the one Union boat that had been hit by Confederate fire slowly burned and sank. “We remained on the veranda an hour or more, the gentlemen speculating on the result of the successful run by the batteries,” Mary reported. “All were astonished and chagrined.”
The next day townspeople watched in disbelief as Union troops set up two large cannon on the Louisiana shore, directly across from the Vicksburg waterfront, and opened fire. A few shells reached land, and once again the earth rumbled and exploded.
Mary’s only thought was to get back to her little daughter in Jackson. At the station, where several shells had already fallen, she waited anxiously for the train to arrive. Finally “the glad sound of the whistle was heard, and, after our long suspense, we felt the motion of the cars again, and were glad to leave Vicksburg, with the sound of the cannon and noise of the shell still ringing in our ears.”
G RANT ’ S SUCCESS shook the little city to its very core. Townspeople had felt secure, even invincible. But with the Yankee fleet now below Vicksburg, they realized that Grant could easily transport his army across the river and would then be in a strong position to attack.
Knowing how risky it was to remain in Vicksburg, Willie’s parents faced a difficult decision. Dr. Lord was determined to stay to care for his congregation. But when word arrived from a friend who owned a largeplantation a few miles outside town that the family was welcome to come there, he and his wife decided that she and the children should go. The next day, according to Willie, “our entire household, excepting only my father … departed for Flowers’ plantation near the Big Black River, where shelter and entertainment had been offered us in anticipation of the shelling of the city. Our most valued household effects, including my father’s library … followed us in a canvas covered army wagon.” Margaret Lord was from a wealthy family, and the wagon also carried her beautiful clothes, along with valuable rugs, mirrors, paintings, and other household furnishings. Before leaving Vicksburg, she had the house slaves bury the heavy family silver in the churchyard.
At the Flowers plantation, the Lords received, in Willie’s words, “a planter’s cordial welcome … Here we were most pleasantly domiciled, to remain undisturbed, as my father hoped, as long as the siege should last.”
L UCY ’ S FAMILY also sought refuge outside Vicksburg. The day after the Federal troops ran past the blockade, her parents decided that her father would stay behind so he could look after business interests, while her mother would take the children to the comfortable home they owned just outside the small town of Bolton’s Depot, thirty miles from Vicksburg. Like the Lords, they took along their most valuable household furniture and treasures for safekeeping. Their slaves, Rice and Mary Ann, went with them.
Whatever the task, Rice obediently did what he was told, but Lucy could see his growing reluctance. She didn’t believe for a moment that Yankees would
ever
set foot in Vicksburg, but they
were
nearby, and lots of slaves were running away from their masters to find refuge with the Union troops and claim their freedom.
How would her family ever get along if Rice left them? And what would he do if he were free?
AT THE BATTLE FRONT
Late Spring 1863
W hen Fred woke up the morning of May 1, his father was not in the cabin the two of them shared belowdecks, nor could Fred find him anywhere on the ship. General Lorenzo Thomas, who
When the shelling stopped after two impossibly long hours, Mary and the others cautiously emerged, shaken but safe. They watched the river as the one Union boat that had been hit by Confederate fire slowly burned and sank. “We remained on the veranda an hour or more, the gentlemen speculating on the result of the successful run by the batteries,” Mary reported. “All were astonished and chagrined.”
The next day townspeople watched in disbelief as Union troops set up two large cannon on the Louisiana shore, directly across from the Vicksburg waterfront, and opened fire. A few shells reached land, and once again the earth rumbled and exploded.
Mary’s only thought was to get back to her little daughter in Jackson. At the station, where several shells had already fallen, she waited anxiously for the train to arrive. Finally “the glad sound of the whistle was heard, and, after our long suspense, we felt the motion of the cars again, and were glad to leave Vicksburg, with the sound of the cannon and noise of the shell still ringing in our ears.”
G RANT ’ S SUCCESS shook the little city to its very core. Townspeople had felt secure, even invincible. But with the Yankee fleet now below Vicksburg, they realized that Grant could easily transport his army across the river and would then be in a strong position to attack.
Knowing how risky it was to remain in Vicksburg, Willie’s parents faced a difficult decision. Dr. Lord was determined to stay to care for his congregation. But when word arrived from a friend who owned a largeplantation a few miles outside town that the family was welcome to come there, he and his wife decided that she and the children should go. The next day, according to Willie, “our entire household, excepting only my father … departed for Flowers’ plantation near the Big Black River, where shelter and entertainment had been offered us in anticipation of the shelling of the city. Our most valued household effects, including my father’s library … followed us in a canvas covered army wagon.” Margaret Lord was from a wealthy family, and the wagon also carried her beautiful clothes, along with valuable rugs, mirrors, paintings, and other household furnishings. Before leaving Vicksburg, she had the house slaves bury the heavy family silver in the churchyard.
At the Flowers plantation, the Lords received, in Willie’s words, “a planter’s cordial welcome … Here we were most pleasantly domiciled, to remain undisturbed, as my father hoped, as long as the siege should last.”
L UCY ’ S FAMILY also sought refuge outside Vicksburg. The day after the Federal troops ran past the blockade, her parents decided that her father would stay behind so he could look after business interests, while her mother would take the children to the comfortable home they owned just outside the small town of Bolton’s Depot, thirty miles from Vicksburg. Like the Lords, they took along their most valuable household furniture and treasures for safekeeping. Their slaves, Rice and Mary Ann, went with them.
Whatever the task, Rice obediently did what he was told, but Lucy could see his growing reluctance. She didn’t believe for a moment that Yankees would
ever
set foot in Vicksburg, but they
were
nearby, and lots of slaves were running away from their masters to find refuge with the Union troops and claim their freedom.
How would her family ever get along if Rice left them? And what would he do if he were free?
AT THE BATTLE FRONT
Late Spring 1863
W hen Fred woke up the morning of May 1, his father was not in the cabin the two of them shared belowdecks, nor could Fred find him anywhere on the ship. General Lorenzo Thomas, who
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