Photo By Staff Sgt. Roger Ashley | Capt. Murray Shugars, 412th Theater Engineer Command, command historian from...... read more read more
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VICKSBURG, Miss. – Twenty-five Soldiers from the 412th Theater Engineer Command and down-trace toured Vicksburg National Military Park June 7, in Vicksburg, Mississippi, to gain professional insight into the engineering feats performed during the siege of Vicksburg.
“The engineering aspect of this siege operation of Vicksburg is still relevant,” said Capt. Murray Shugars, 412th TEC command historian, and Vicksburg native.
The staff ride allowed Soldiers of every rank to tour Vicksburg’s battlefield to gain an insight into Union and Confederate battle-planning, tactics and strategies.
“Every type of defense was employed here at Vicksburg by the Confederates and the offensive measures to undermine those defenses by the Union,” said Shugars. “These are all sapper and engineer missions and also the larger engineer efforts to destroy or build infrastructure, really this was an engineer war.”
Tim Kavanaugh, the supervisory park ranger for visitor services and interpretation at Vicksburg’s National Military Park served as the tour guide to give a better understanding of the extreme conditions, battles and the decision-making process made at Vicksburg and shed light on the events that shaped the entire war.
Vicksburg was referred to as the “Fortress City” or “Little Gibraltar.”
“It was almost a 12-mile kill-zone along the Mississippi River at Vicksburg. It was thought at the time, Vicksburg was impregnable,” said Kavanaugh “Because of the contour of the river; its strong current and water conditions; and those big Vicksburg guns capable of reaching from the near side to the far side of the river, Vicksburg was believed to be invincible.”
“When Vicksburg was first ordered to surrender in 1862 by the Union Navy the Vicksburg Mayor replied, ‘We don’t know the meaning of surrender, but you’re welcome to try and teach it to us,’” said Kavanaugh.
Vicksburg was one of the last Confederate strongholds along the Mississippi River and was certainly the hardest to defeat.
“Over 100,000 rounds were fired into Vicksburg from the Union Army and Navy,” said Kavanaugh.
Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton’s Confederate Army was soundly defeated five times by Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s Union Army until Vicksburg. At Vicksburg, Pemberton held Grant at bay for 46 days before surrendering on July 4, 1863.
“The difference between the battles before and at Vicksburg was the force multiplier of the topography,” said Kavanaugh.
The Union forces would either have to fight their way through deep ravines and gullies up the other side of the hill into a fortified Confederate areas or attack down rapid avenues of approach which were heavily reinforced and fortified by the Confederates into kill-zones.
“Mother Nature had done such a nice job with topography for Pemberton,” said Kavanaugh.
Kavanaugh has even reenacted some of the difficulties Union forces faced saying, “I’ve tried charging from one ridge across the valley floor and scaling the far hill at some of these battle-sites and I always ended up crawling on my hands and knees to get to the top. It was a suicide mission.”
Kavanaugh explained the importance of Vicksburg from the Confederate and Union point of view by making the Soldier’s first tour stop at what the Confederates called “Fort Hill,” a 350-foot bluff overlooking the river.
“In 1863, the Mississippi River hugged this [Fort Hill] bluff very closely,” said Kavanaugh. “Fort Hill was the northern anchor of the Confederate river batteries. They ran from Fort Hill to South Fort about six miles south.”
No attack was ever made against Fort Hill because of its sheer scale.
The 412th TEC Soldiers also visited tour stops “Thayer’s Approach,” the “Stockade Redan” and the “Railroad Redoubt” in the park where Union troops attacked Confederate lines, but were rebuffed. These Union losses pushed Grant’s decision to begin a formal siege of Vicksburg and avoid direct assault. “It was during the siege that every Soldier became an engineer; building, breaching and undermining fortifications, obstacles, trenches and stockades.” said Kavanaugh.
Every Soldier using engineering was only one tactic first used during the siege.
“Vicksburg is a key historical site for pioneering military achievements,” said Shugars. “On May 22, 1863, at Vicksburg was the first chronologically coordinated attack when Grant had everyone synchronize their watches. Vicksburg was also the first place with a true joint operations between the Union Navy and the Union Army.”
That joint operation paid dividends for the Union.
“The Union Navy and Army had both failed single handedly to take Vicksburg,” Kavanaugh said. “It’s when they combined forces that Vicksburg ultimately surrenders.”
Many of the 412th TEC Soldiers were able to ask questions, but the tour was on a tight time schedule so most of the park wasn’t visited. Some Soldiers said theyare already making plans to come again.
Capt. Ben Sloot, an Illinois native from the 401st Chemical Company out of Boston, said it was a lot to take in and he’d come back to tour Vicksburg again. Sloot was able to see the Illinois Monument in passing but didn’t have time to stop for a visit. Sloot said he’s coming back to see it and the rest of the park.
The tour was the final part of the 412th TEC’s Engineer Castle Ball and Leadership Development Conference weekend by the command. It allowed Soldiers to see first-hand the lessons learned during the American Civil War.
| Date Taken: | 06.07.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 06.22.2015 15:26 |
| Story ID: | 167665 |
| Location: | VICKSBURG, MS, US |
| Hometown: | VICKSBURG, MS, US |
| Web Views: | 50 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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