How I Got the Cotton by Annie Wittenmyer
After the Tigress sank while running the Vicksburg blockade, taking Annie Wittenmyer’s hospital supplies with her, an Iowa colonel offered to recover the cotton protecting its engine. Wittenmyer asked General Grant to grant the cotton for sanitary work if proper, and he promptly authorized it. The colonel’s men waded out and salvaged a heavy quantity. Sold in St. Louis for $1,950, the cotton enabled Wittenmyer to replace and more than double her lost supplies, including dried apples, onions, lemons, and other provisions for sick and wounded forces around Vicksburg. She remains grateful to the unnamed colonel and his men.
By Annie Wittenmyer · First published 1895 · Genre: Civil War memoir, Autobiographical nonfiction, War nonfiction · 724 words
First lines
A few days after the first fleet ran the blockade at Vicksburg, another fleet, composed entirely of wooden steamers, ran through that fiery channel.
The plans of the government coming to my knowledge, I sent a note to the medical director, offering to ship a lot of hospital supplies, and asking him to designate the boat on which I should ship them. My note came back indorsed, --
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Genres
- Civil War memoir — A first-person recollection of Union operations during the Vicksburg Campaign, centered on the 1863 blockade run and the recovery of cotton from the sunken Tigress.
- Autobiographical nonfiction — The narrator recounts her own actions, correspondence, financial records, decisions, and enduring gratitude for the soldiers who aided her work.
- War nonfiction — The account describes military logistics, naval danger, blockade-running, army supply movements, and the needs of troops, hospitals, and camps.
- Military history — It preserves a specific historical incident involving General Grant, Union steamers, Vicksburg, army supply transport, and wartime command authorization.
Tags
American Civil War · Vicksburg Campaign · 1863 · Mississippi River · Vicksburg, Mississippi · Louisiana riverbank · Union Army · Union blockade running · military steamships · the sinking of the Tigress · wartime hospital supplies · sanitary relief work
What this Textopian page supports
How I Got the Cotton is listed on Textopian as a historical account by Annie Wittenmyer, dated 1895 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Historical account
- Author: Annie Wittenmyer
- Date: 1895 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Civil War memoir, Autobiographical nonfiction, War nonfiction, Military history, Humanitarian aid narrative
- Length: 724 words
- Structure: 1 section, 17 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
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