Miscellaneous document sources

VICKSBURG May 22, 1863 – Climbing into a hail of Confederate minie balls and grapeshot, a sergeant of the 22nd Iowa advances to plant a flag atop the Confederate breastworks at Vicksburg. The attackers were driven back with heavy loss each time such an advance was attempted. Undaunted by his failure on the 19th, but realizing that he had been too hasty, Gen. Ulysses Grant made a more thorough reconnaissance of the Vicksburg defenses prior to ordering another assault. Early on the morning of May 22, Union artillery opened fire, and for four hours bombarded the city’s defenses. Then, at 10:00 a.m. the guns fell silent along the entire Federal, and Union infantry was thrown forward along a three-mile front. Sherman attacked once again down the Graveyard Road, Gen. James McPherson in the center along the Jackson Road, and Gen. John McClernand on the south along the Baldwin Ferry Road and each side of the Southern Railroad of Mississippi. Although flags of all three corps were planted at different points along the exterior slopes of the Confederate fortifications, and Gen. McClernand’s troops were able to make a short-lived penetration at Railroad Redoubt, the Federals were again driven back, sustaining losses in excess of 3,000 men.

The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tennessee

Tour Stop 13 – Railroad Redoubt

The Railroad Redoubt was a Confederate fortification built to protect a vital entrance to the city — in this case the Southern Railroad of Mississippi.

On May 22, General Grant ordered a second major assault against the formidable Confederate positions. Union forces began their carefully planned attack with a fierce artillery bombardment, followed by the advance of the infantry.

Unlike other points along the Confederate defense line, the blue-clad soldiers found that the redoubt’s southeast angle had been partially destroyed by the artillery bombardment. Union soldiers commanded by Sgt. Joseph E. Griffith of the 22d Iowa were able to exploit this brief breakthrough and quickly entered the redoubt in an attempt to storm the Confederate earthworks. The Confederates counterattacked and called up reinforcements. Waul’s Texas Legion arrived to drive out the Federals and “seal the breach.”

Although Union forces sustained heavy losses, Griffith managed to withdraw, taking a dozen prisoners with him. By evening, the Federals had returned to their lines. There were no further attacks on the Railroad Redoubt, and mining operations commenced. By the time of the surrender on July 4, 1863, approach trenches had reached the redoubt’s outer ditch.

National Park Service,
Vicksburg National Military Park

This painting, by Thure de Thulstrup, is attributed online to several different engagements at Vicksburg, including two different National Park Service pages.

Confederate flag captured by the 4th Minnesota at the Battle of Jackson, Mississippi.

A newspaper correspondent says: “Captain L. B. Martin, of the 4th Minnesota, A. A. G. to Colonel Sanborn, seized the flag of the 59th Indiana Infantry, rode rapidly beyond the skirmishers (Company H of 4th Minnesota, Lieutenant George A. Clark), and raised it over the dome of the capitol. Lieutenant Donaldson of the 4th, also riding in advance, captured a flag made of silk; on one side was inscribed ‘Claiborne Rangers,’ and on the other ‘Our Rights.’ – Concise History of the State of Minnesota

Minnesota Historical Society image.

Confederate Lines, Vicksburg, Mississippi, 19 May 1863. In this assault against bitter resistance the 1st Battalion, 13th Infantry, lost forty-three percent of its men, but of the attacking force, it alone fought its color up the steep slope to the top. General Sherman called its performance “unequalled in the Army” and authorized the 13th Infantry to inscribe “First at Vicksburg” on its color. Although it took two more months of hard fighting to capture Vicksburg and split the Confederacy, no episode illustrates better the indomitable spirit of Americans on both sides.

U.S. Army Center of Military History image.