The 19th Iowa Infantry was sent downriver from Missouri in June 1863 to join the Union forces investing Vicksburg and assigned to the Seventeenth Corps, commanded by Major General James B. McPherson. William Henry Harrison Clayton, the clerk of Company H, described the siege to his parents and to his younger brothers.
Camp of 19th Iowa Infantry
In the rear of Vicksburg
June 18th, 1863
Dear Father & Mother:
Having a few spare moments, I thought that I would improve them by writing and give you an account of our movements since leaving Young’s Point, LA. at which point I last wrote.
We left there on the 12th, marching across the bend, and reached the river 3 or 4 miles below Vicksburg and in full view of the town.
We have 5 or 6 steamboats below Vicksburg that are used for carrying troops, supplies, etc. across to Warrenton. Some of these run the blockade and are pretty well used up. The Forest Queen is a nice sidewheel boat, the others are stern-wheelers. The ram Switzerland was there and is as good as ever. When running the blockade a ball passed into one of her boilers and let the steam out in a hurry but did no other damage. Several gunboats are stationed there to watch the river. The Tuscumbia is a large boat and looks like a large turtle with its back out of water.
We crossed to Warrenton 6 or 8 miles below Vicksburg, on the Silver Wave. Her guards had been nearly all torn off some how and was a hard looking boat.
At Warrenton we remained over night. Here I saw 3 large guns that were captured by our forces at Grand Gulf. They are having them brought up and will soon have them planted opposite some of the Rebel forts here. The Rebels had a pretty strong earthwork at Warrenton & places fixed with railroad iron and logs to protect the men. All is destroyed now.
We first used our shelter tents at Warrenton. They do well enough to keep off the sun but will not turn much rain. Each tent is composed of two pieces about 3 yards square and is for two men each of whom carries his piece and one pole each about 4 ft. long, when the two pieces composing it are put together. When we pitch tents we button the two pieces together, fix the “sticks” in the center and stake down two ends. The sides are open and permit the air to circulate freely!
On the 13th we marched 3 or 4 miles towards our lines and camped that night. On the 14th we took our present position, to the left of the center. We are camped under a hill side, to shelter us from the Rebel shells which come over occasionally. It is not a mile straight across to the Rebel line. We, that is Co. “H” and 5 other companies of the 19th were on picket yesterday & last night.
We acted more as skirmishers than anything else. We were strung along behind logs and stumps and kept popping away whenever we would see a shadow of a Rebel, our guns with the sights raised to 300 yards would strike their outer works every time, some of their pickets were not more than 150 yards from us, but they had holes in the ground so that we would not see them and could only tell where they were by the smoke when they discharged their guns. The discharge of small arms is almost constant along the line, but they don’t do much damage on either side. A fellow has to keep his head pretty low though, for some ball would whistle by, very close. Occasionally the heavy artillery takes a turn and makes things “git.”
I and one of our boys yesterday, saw 5 or 6 “Rebs” on their works some distance off, and thought that we would see how close we could shoot to them. We raised the gun sights to 800 yards. He shot and we could notice that one got out of that place in a hurry. I then shot at them standing all together in an embrasure of a fort, the dust flew up close by them. It was not more than 2 minutes before boom went a gun and a shell came crashing over us. They fired three times but hit no one.
Our forces along this part of the line have advanced several hundred yards, and will be apt to go farther, not however without digging in on the right and center. Our boys are close under their guns, so close that they cannot fire them. Some of the 15th Iowa boys have been down to see their friends. They said that they had worked in the trenches not more than 20 yds. from their forts.
I expect the people of the North are getting impatient because Grant does not take Vicksburg, but if they were here for themselves they would not wonder at the delay. It is certainly the roughest country I ever seen. The hills are not so very high, but the whole country is nothing but a succession of hills and hollows about like some places on the Buckles farm.
The Rebels have forts thrown up about 200 or 300 yds. apart all along their line, with heavy guns mounted and forts in the rear of these, making the place almost impregnable. I do not believe that another place in the country could be found that is so naturally fortified. They had forts outside of our present lines that they evacuated, that would have been hard to take. The hills in places rise abruptly, and look almost as though they had been drawn up purposefully for a fort. The boys who have been here since the siege began appear to be in good spirits. They say that it will be almost impossible for Johnston to get in with reinforcements. The timber has been cut down for miles and we have a large force on Big Black watching him. I don’t see what Pemberton is holding out so long for. It looks almost impossible for reinforcements to reach him. I suppose he will hold out until his provisions give out, and that may be sometime longer. Deserters say that they are living on quarter rations. The weather here is right warm. The magnolia trees are in full bloom. There is lots of them in the woods. I saw some green figs a day or two ago. Peaches are nearly full size. The blackberries are ripe in this part of the world. Corn is out in tassel in places. I have not seen much around here but I suppose there is plenty of it growing further back.
I was a good deal surprised to see the cane here grow where it does. I always thought that grew in swamps or in the low grounds, but here it grows on the hills. Where we are camped it is thick, some of it 25 or 30 feet long.
The boys are all well at present. I had an idea that the change would make us sick, but it has not made much of a difference in the sick list yet. John Stone is one of our company cooks. The cooks do nothing but get our “grub” ready for eating, have no other duty to perform. Mooney is cooking for the col. and captain. He is a very good hand at the business. There is a little insect that bothers us a great deal. They are called “jiggers,” “chickers,” or something like it. They are little red things not bigger than a pin point. They stick like a tick and raise little places like muskuits bites. As I expected the furlough business has played out, I suppose no more will be granted until after Vicksburg is taken.
Give my respects to all friends.
I remain your affectionate son,
W. H. H. Clayton
Camp of the 19th Iowa
In the rear of Vicksburg
June 28, 1863
Dear Brothers:
I received John’s letter of the 7th a few days ago and was glad to hear from you again.
I have nothing of interest to write, but thought that I would send a few lines to let you know that I am well and getting along finely.
We have been here two weeks. Nothing of especial importance has transpired along our part of the line.
We have mounted several siege guns since we came here. They fire on the Rebels occasionally and make them hunt their holes. The Rebels fired at us considerably for a few days after our arrival here but since then have not fired much, only when our guns opened upon them, and for some days past they fired none at all.
Yesterday however they opened on our battery from a mortar that they had planted under a hill so that our guns could not reach them. Our camp is in range of their shells and some that came over the battery made us lay “kinder” close. The pieces flew around considerably but luckily no one was hurt.
There has been no firing on either side today. It is said that our gun boats got range of the mortar that disturbed us and silenced it. I hope it is so for it is not pleasant to hear shells buzzing around. The blamed things are apt to burst and the pieces go every direction. We have been on picket 4 times since we came here. The last two times we were up or awake all night. One night it rained the whole night slowly. I tell you, I would not have taken a good deal for my gum blanket that night. We laid within a few hundred yards of a brigade of Rebels, so we have learned since from prisoners. There was nearly two companies of us, we were there to prevent a movement on our guns. The 94th Ill. and 20th Wis. have taken 20 or 30 prisoners since we came here by charging upon their (the Rebels) rifle pits. But such work don’t pay. The last sortie of this kind was by a company of the 94th. They took 8 men, and had one mortally wounded, he died an hour or two later, and another wounded so that it will render him unfit for service. The Rebels could have the rifle-pit defended by eight more men, right away, for it was not held by our men. Thus by the operation we lost two men and the Rebels got rid of feeding 8. I think the more men we can keep in there, the sooner will it surrender. There is no telling anything about how long it will hold out. Some prisoners & deserters say that they have not got much provision and others that they have enough to last 2 or 3 months. There has been no mail received here for several days. It is reported in camp that letters from here do not go further than Memphis. I think if such was the case we would not be allowed to send them from camp. I would like very much to hear how the Rebel raid into Pennsylvania terminated. We have no news later than June 17th. It takes a letter at least 10 days to come from Iowa here. We are in as bad a position to get news as we were when at Forsyth away down in Missouri. It is 10 or 12 miles around our line and we know no more what is going on at the other end of the line than you do. Sometimes it is reported that they have had a big fight on the right or in the center, and they have heard that we have had a battle here when there was nothing of the kind. We would like to get the St. Louis daily papers so that we could get news from Vicksburg!
The weather is very warm especially so in the sun. We lay around in the shade the most of the time when not on duty. The boys stand the change much better than I expected, but of course the sick list is larger than it was at Salem. Co. “H” has 47 men for duty, and 7 or 8 sick. The water here is not very good. We get it by digging 10 ft. It goes rather hard after being used to good spring water. The Chequest boys stand it “Bully” all being able for their rations.
There has been an oven erected here, and all our flour is baked and issued in loaves by the quartermaster. I like it much better than the biscuits our cooks make. I never did like hot or warm bread, but have had to get used to it, and sometimes glad to get anything in the bread line. We get half our bread rations in hard crackers.
Col. Kent was honored today by a visit from Mrs. Wittemeyer, U.S. Sanitary Commission agent, from Iowa. I suppose she is on a tour of inspection. Gen. Herron was also here today.
Well I must quit writing for the present. I want you to write whenever you can.
I remain your affectionate brother,
W. H. H. Clayton