Download 8 Vicksburg

Now our hope is all gone! The Union has taken the entire Mississippi
River and cut our glorious country in half. Though we will continue
fighting valiantly1, it will probably only be a matter of time before we
are forced to completely surrender to the Yankees 2 (Northerners).
After the darn Yankees took New Orleans from us, we only had one
place left on the Mississippi River: Vicksburg, Mississippi. We knew that
if the Yankees took Vicksburg from us, they would control the entire
Mississippi River and our blessed country would be cut in half.
The Yankee general, Ulysses S. Grant, started attacking our city in May
of this year,
1863. His
army stood a
few miles
outside of
Vicksburg
and
surrounded
us. He
constantly
sent artillery
shells3, day
and night,
into the city.
This picture is called the Siege of Vicksburg. A siege is where an army
The
attacks a city by blasting them with artillery shells from miles away.
1
valiantly: bravely and with honor and determination
Yankee: a negative name for someone from the North. People in the South often called
Northerners Yankees.
3
artillery shells: giant, exploding bullets that are shot from a cannon. They can travel several
miles.
2
explosions prevented anyone from getting any sleep, and people were
constantly hit by the artillery shells and killed. No one was safe, but we
couldn’t escape, because we were surrounded, and we didn’t want to
give up because we didn’t want the North to control the entire
Mississippi River. And so we stayed, even though it was difficult for us.
Because the Yankees had us surrounded, we couldn’t leave and also
people couldn’t get in to deliver us supplies like food. We eventually
ran out of food, but we still didn’t want to give up our city to the North,
so we ate mules, dogs, and rats to keep ourselves alive.
Finally, after a month and a half, we had had enough. We sadly
surrendered Vicksburg to the Union, and now our country is cut in half.
It will take a miracle now to win this war, and I’m not sure that one is
going to happen.
1. Why was the victory at Vicksburg so important to the Union?
2. Imagine that you lived in Vicksburg during this battle. Would you be
willing to go through what the Southerners went through to save your
city? Why or why not?