VIENNA, Va., January 18, 2012 — What Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s forces did not accomplish at Vicksburg, Mississippi in July 1863, "successors" to that hallowed ground are now trying to accomplish, slowly but surely. And they have four legs.
A significant number of wild hogs that were driven further inland by the flooding of the Mississippi River are attacking the battlefield and cemetery, making it look for all the world like an erratic plowing contest has been held there. The animals are taking over the 1,800-acre park and the future of monuments, earthworks, and trenches as well as grave markers is in peril. The porkers may be a more devastating enemy than Grant’s men ever were.
The area had been an important one in the war. Grant had barely beaten back the Confederate incursion into Kentucky and his attention turned again to the Mississippi River. If he could control the river, he could isolate the western theater from the eastern Confederate States, but to do this, he must first capture the city of Vicksburg. Confederate Gen. John C. Pemberton had been ordered by Gen. Robert E. Lee to defend Vicksburg at all costs.
Better Than Forty Richmonds
Highlighting the importance of this offensive, Grant’s commanding officer, Gen. Henry Halleck had said, “In my opinion, the opening of the Mississippi River will be to us more advantage [sic] than the capture of forty Richmonds.” However, it would not be an easy victory, the Rebels were equally aware of the importance of the city. It had become a fortress town and its accompanying high bluff provided a great defensive position for the big artillery stationed there.
Vicksburg battle lines
It also would not be possible to mount only a naval offensive; the guns above could control any riverine traffic. It would take a combination of naval and land forces if Vicksburg were to be captured.
Grant set up an advance base at the small town of Holly Springs into which he would move 40,000 troops down the railroad and who would then meet the 32,000 naval troops of Gen. William Sherman. This was not to be as easy as it sounded. CSA General Earl Van Dorn brought his cavalry quietly down the roads and surprised the 8th Wisconsin Regiment asleep in their tents. Van Dorn was said to have destroyed over a million dollars worth of supplies there, and he then went on to similarly hit a number of Union outposts.
Forrest Defeats Grant
Not to be left out of the fun, Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest led his cavalry against an inland enemy, the Mississippi Central Railroad, and he successfully destroyed some 60 miles of track. Thanks to those tactics, Grant was beaten before he had time to fully participate. The best comment of all comes from Sherman after the events of December 27-29, 1862, who said, “I reached Vicksburg at the time appointed, landed, assaulted, and failed.”
Grant next tried to avoid the river forces by digging a canal; stopped once by torrential rains, he tried again before deciding it would not be feasible. Black laborers impressed into service provided the canal work.
If twice didn’t work, he tried a third time, through Steele’s Bayou, which did permit Adm. David Porter to be able to bring 11 Union ships down the difficult waters, until they were stopped just north of the target city and the destruction of the fleet stopped with the assistance of Sherman. The wild haired one armed each of his men with a candle to be stuck in the barrels of their rifles, and with that as the only light, they proceeded through the swampy area.
Grant tried two more times, at Champion’s Hill and at Jackson, with his combined troops of some 32,000 Union soldiers, after which he settled in for a prolonged battle that continued from late May to the beginning of July 1863. With this continuous onslaught of artillery and mortar charges, a bewildering firestorm of weaponry, the damage was terrible to behold.
General John C.Pemberton
Cave Dwellers Barely Survived
The citizens of Vicksburg evacuated their town, and dug caves into the hillside around it, removing from their homes the goods they wished to protect. However, this went on for weeks, reducing the citizenry to near starvation; when there was no other food left, they resorted to eating their dogs, horses, and mules. One can only imagine the unbearable sense of loss and deprivation felt by those brave folks until their surrender on July 4, 1863, one day after the Battle of Gettysburg up in Pennsylvania.
A wonderful quote from an unknown Northern woman, who lived in Vicksburg during that time, came from her diary:
May 28 – We are utterly cut off from the world, surrounded by a circle of fire. Would it be wise like the scorpion to sting ourselves to death? The fiery shower of shells goes on day and night…. People do nothing but eat what they can get, sleep when they can, and dodge the shells…. At all the caves I could see…people…sitting, eating their poor suppers at the cave doors, ready to plunge in again. As the first shell again flew, they dived, and not a human being was visible…. I think all the dogs and rats must be killed or starved; we don’t see any more pitiful animals prowling around….”
The entire campaign, from May 29 through July 4, 1863, claimed 10,142 Union killed and 9,091 Confederates killed and wounded. Of almost equal importance, General Pemberton turned over to Grant 172 cannons and 50,000 rifles in addition to the men captured.
No one can blame the Vicksburg people for refusing to celebrate Independence Day for the next 80 years.
The war having been over for some 150 years, the battlefield where many gave their lives is now being taken over by not only the usual deer and alligators but by wild hogs. The same Mississippi River that proved such an obstacle to the Civil War participants now has driven the porcine contingent to wreak damage to the area.
Vicksburg gravestones
All this has transpired since May 19 when the river finally crested at 57.1 feet. It seems that the northern portion of the park has been the worst subject of animal penetration and the furrowing of the ground creeps nearer to the Indiana Regiment Marker. Vicksburg shares another trait with Gettysburg; a plethora of memorial markers dots the scene, 1,370 of them.
Feral hogs or wild boar are destructive omnivores that eat virtually anything they can find, digging furrows to find roots, small animals like moles, any kind of plants, small birds from ground level nests, and acorns. Thus in a battlefield situation, there is no absence of food materials.
“Ever See A Rototilled Field?”
Vicksburg National Military Park Superintendent Mike Madell, when asked how bad the affected areas were, said, “You ever see a rototilled field? That’s what it looks like. Large areas cut up and broken up, ditching six inches deep or more,” which is causing possible danger to many markers.
When he came to the park two years ago, Madell said, “There was a small number of what we termed feralish pigs, and then a nearby farmer got tired of raising them and turned a good number loose. Interbreeding has occurred and now there is a major problem.”
The hogs weigh from 150 to 200 pounds, he said, and do not have good dispositions. Plus they have long tusks that may run six to nine inches long.
As Madell said, “We thought we had dealt with” that incursion, but with the high waters of this past summer, it just escalated. He added that he is working with several agencies and organizations to see if it would be possible to have the hogs used for food as has been done in some areas. The meat is said to be more tender than commercial pork, but some studies indicate the possibility of swine brucellosis and pseudo-rabies, which could present a danger for that use.
As is true in many Southern states, there is a “shoot on sight” order for any of the feral animals, and they cannot be sold or transported from one state to the next.
Vicksburg Memorial Arch
Madell concluded, “Basically they [hogs] are all over the South, and it’s just a constant battle to try and eradicate them before the damage is too severe.”
For anyone interested in further reading on the Battle of Vicksburg in 1863, a good book is “Compelled to Appear in Print – the Vicksburg Manuscript of Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton,” edited by David M. Smith of Villa Hills, Kentucky. He is a knowledgeable author who has done an extensive work explaining the actions of Pemberton, long overlooked general.
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