Running the Blockade at Vicksburg

Name: Running the Blockade at Vicksburg
Author: Annie Wittenmyer

In “Running the Blockade at Vicksburg,” Annie Wittenmyer recounts General Grant’s decision to send seven gunboats and three wooden steamers past Vicksburg after other plans for transporting troops across the Mississippi River failed. The vessels are secretly prepared: gunboats are treated with coal-oil and whitewash for night fighting, while the steamers’ machinery is shielded with cotton and hay. Volunteers eagerly offer themselves for the hazardous duty, though only a few are selected by lot. On a dark, rainy night, Wittenmyer joins Mrs. General Grant, General Grant, and leading officers aboard a steamer positioned near the batteries. They watch the fleet slip silently toward Vicksburg. Admiral Porter’s Benton leads, followed by the Carondelet and Tuscumbia; the Forest Queen, Henry Clay, and Silver Wave carry heavily laden scows or barges. After the vessels pass the first batteries unnoticed, Vicksburg’s guns erupt. Bonfires illuminate the river, artillery and musket fire fill the night, and sharpshooters target exposed pilots and captains. Grant restrains the excited captain of the observing boat from retreating upstream. The gunboats fire broadsides near the Vicksburg shore while the wooden steamers race along the Louisiana side. The Henry Clay burns to the water’s edge amid shells and flame. Wittenmyer and Mrs. Grant, distressed for the men rather than themselves, fear the fleet has been destroyed. At last, after two hours, Grant reports that signals show every boat except the Henry Clay has passed safely through. The observing party returns to Milliken’s Bend at daylight.

By Annie Wittenmyer · First published 1895 · Genre: Civil War History, Military History, Historical Nonfiction · 1,484 words

First lines

The ship canal, and all other plans for getting below Vicksburg with enough boats to transport his troops across the Mississippi River, having failed, General Grant determined to run the blockade. Seven gunboats and three wooden steamers were put in condition to make the perilous trip.

The iron sides of the gunboats were drenched with coal-oil, and the floors were whitewashed, that the gunners might load their guns by the light of the whitewash.

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Running the Blockade at Vicksburg is listed on Textopian as a historical account by Annie Wittenmyer, dated 1895 CE.

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Work type: Historical account
Author: Annie Wittenmyer
Date: 1895 CE
Language: English
Genres: Civil War History, Military History, Historical Nonfiction, Personal Narrative, War Memoir
Length: 1,484 words
Structure: 1 section, 23 paragraphs
Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)

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Genres

Civil War History — The work recounts a specific Union naval operation during the Vicksburg Campaign in April 1863, naming historical figures, vessels, military preparations, and battlefield events.
Military History — Its central subject is the planning and execution of a hazardous military river passage, including artillery fire, naval tactics, fortifications, volunteers, and command decisions.
Historical Nonfiction — The narrative presents an account of a real event and treats its people, locations, actions, and outcome as historical fact.
Personal Narrative — Wittenmyer writes as an eyewitness, using first-person narration to describe receiving Mrs. Grant's invitation and observing the blockade run.