On View
Not on viewRelics
Dateca. 1863
Terms
- Relics
- Wood
- United States
Dimensions5.08 × 7.62 cm (2 × 3 in.)
Credit LineGift of Miss Julia D. Wheeler (1953)
Object numberF2134D
DescriptionF2134d: wood fragment wrapped in 19th century newspaper page. Civil War souvenir or relic. Inscribed in pencil on margin: "A piece of the 'Grant Pemberten' tree/ [war?] of Vicksburg 1863". Commemorating the surrender of the Confederate army, which was formalized by an old oak tree, "made historical by the event." In his Personal Memoirs, Grant described the fate of this luckless tree:
It was but a short time before the last vestige of its body, root and limb had disappeared, the fragments taken as trophies. Since then the same tree has furnished as many cords of wood, in the shape of trophies, as the "True Cross." (http://www.mycivilwar.com/battles/630518.htm)
Information on Battle of Vicksburg, American Civil War: During the summer of 1862, the honor of capturing the mighty Confederate garrison at Vicksburg, Mississippi was so enticing that Maj. Gen. John A. McClernand, a war Democratic politician, managed to convince President Lincoln that he could muster an army to take the fortress city. Lincoln approved his plan and wanted Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks to advance up river from New Orleans at the same time. In October, McClernand, under Lincoln's authority, began organizing regiments, sending the new recruits to Memphis. By December, thousands of troops from the Union states were coming into Memphis giving the Union Army in the west needed reinforcements to capture Vicksburg. However, Halleck, who considered McClernand vainglorious and unskilled, decided to give Grant control of all troops in his own department, which included the new recruits in Memphis, and gave him permission to move as far south as possible. A personal rivalry began between Grant and McClernand that continued throughout the Mississippi campaign.
In a two-pronged approach to capture the Vicksburg fortress, Grant's army, starting from Grand Junction, Tennessee, moved into Mississippi as far south as Oxford, establishing a large supply depot in Holly Springs to the north. Grant was to approach the fortress from the northwest on the Mississippi Central Railroad while Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman would attack approaching from northeast on the Yazoo River. However, in December 1862, Grant's plans were thwarted by two Confederate generals, Earl Van Dorn and Nathan B. Forrest. Starting on December 10 Forrest cut off Grant's supply chain by destroying 60 miles of the Mobile & Ohio Railroad, captured supply and ammunition dumps and weapons. On December 20, Van Dorn captured $1,500,000 worth of food, ammunition and equipment at Holly Springs, Mississippi. These raids allowed Confederate Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton to reinforce Vicksburg, just in time to stop the Union assault by Sherman's corps at the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou on December 28. Sherman's frontal assault across swampy ground against well-fortified Confederate lines was repulsed, and he was forced to withdraw.
McClernand arrived at Milliken's Bend, Grant's new headquarters, on January 4, 1863, and claimed to be in charge of 30,000 Union soldiers, defying Grant's earlier published orders assigning McClernand to command only one corps, the XIII. McClernand, at the suggestion of Sherman, took his force, which he referred to as the Army of the Mississippi and captured Fort Hindman at Arkansas Post. This helped the Union open the Arkansas River as it met the Mississippi, protect Federal supply lines, and capture 4,800 prisoners at the cost of 1,000 Union casualties.
Grant remained determined to capture Vicksburg and in the first three months of 1863 conducted a series of operations to gain access to the city through the region's bayous, all of which ended in failure. One newspaper complained that "the army was being ruined in mud-turtle expeditions, under the leadership of a drunkard, whose confidential adviser [Sherman] was a lunatic." These attempts to reach Vicksburg from different directions confused Pemberton, who was at a loss as to where the Union army was going to strike. He reported "Enemy is constantly in motion in all directions".
Grant's Operations against Vicksburg, April-July 1863.In the spring of 1863, Grant finally devised a strategy that would successfully capture Vicksburg. Starting from Milliken's Bend, the General marched his army, leading with the corps of McClernand and Brig. Gen. James B. McPherson, down the west bank of the Mississippi and crossed the river at Bruinsburg, nine miles south of Grand Gulf, by using United States Navy ships that had run the guns at Vicksburg. To keep Pemberton guessing, he ordered Col. Benjamin F. Grierson, a first rate cavalryman, to raid through central Mississippi. In addition, he had ordered Sherman on April 29 and May 1 to stage a diversionary attack on Pemberton's line at Snyder's Bluff. After crossing at Bruinsburg with 23,000 troops, the Army of the Mississippi moved inland, repulsed Confederate Brig. Gen. John S. Bowen at Port Gibson, a battle that left Grand Gulf open for Sherman's corps to meet up with Grant on May 7. Then, in a move that defied conventional military principles, Grant cut loose from his supply lines of food, feeding off the land in enemy territory. His troops drove northeastward and captured the city of Jackson, severing the rail line to Vicksburg. The General moved swiftly, never giving the Confederates, under the command of John C. Pemberton and Joseph E. Johnston, an opportunity to concentrate their forces against him.
Knowing that the Confederates could no longer send reinforcements to the Vicksburg garrison, Grant turned west and won the Battle of Champion Hill. The Confederates retreated within their fortifications, and Grant quickly surrounded the city. After two costly assaults against the impregnable breastworks had failed, he and Sherman settled in for the six-week Siege of Vicksburg. Cut off and with no hope of relief, Pemberton surrendered to the Union General on July 4, 1863. It was a stinging defeat for the Southern cause, splitting the Confederacy in two, and, in conjunction with the Union victory at Gettysburg the previous day, is widely considered the turning point of the war. For this victory, President Lincoln promoted Grant to the rank of major general in the regular army, effective July 4. This was the second time a full Confederate army surrendered, the first one was at Fort Donelson in 1862.
Grant and Pemberton discuss surrender terms at Vicksburg on July 3, 1863, as drawn by a young newspaper correspondent who witnessed the event. Historian Francis V. Greene wrote that "We must go back to the campaigns of Napoleon to find equally brilliant results accomplished in the same space of time with such a small loss." Anticipating that Grant would soon capture Vicksburg, Abraham Lincoln declared that "if Grant only does this thing down there ..., why, Grant is my man and I am his the rest of this war."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulysses_S._Grant (accessed 4/6/10)
It was but a short time before the last vestige of its body, root and limb had disappeared, the fragments taken as trophies. Since then the same tree has furnished as many cords of wood, in the shape of trophies, as the "True Cross." (http://www.mycivilwar.com/battles/630518.htm)
Information on Battle of Vicksburg, American Civil War: During the summer of 1862, the honor of capturing the mighty Confederate garrison at Vicksburg, Mississippi was so enticing that Maj. Gen. John A. McClernand, a war Democratic politician, managed to convince President Lincoln that he could muster an army to take the fortress city. Lincoln approved his plan and wanted Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks to advance up river from New Orleans at the same time. In October, McClernand, under Lincoln's authority, began organizing regiments, sending the new recruits to Memphis. By December, thousands of troops from the Union states were coming into Memphis giving the Union Army in the west needed reinforcements to capture Vicksburg. However, Halleck, who considered McClernand vainglorious and unskilled, decided to give Grant control of all troops in his own department, which included the new recruits in Memphis, and gave him permission to move as far south as possible. A personal rivalry began between Grant and McClernand that continued throughout the Mississippi campaign.
In a two-pronged approach to capture the Vicksburg fortress, Grant's army, starting from Grand Junction, Tennessee, moved into Mississippi as far south as Oxford, establishing a large supply depot in Holly Springs to the north. Grant was to approach the fortress from the northwest on the Mississippi Central Railroad while Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman would attack approaching from northeast on the Yazoo River. However, in December 1862, Grant's plans were thwarted by two Confederate generals, Earl Van Dorn and Nathan B. Forrest. Starting on December 10 Forrest cut off Grant's supply chain by destroying 60 miles of the Mobile & Ohio Railroad, captured supply and ammunition dumps and weapons. On December 20, Van Dorn captured $1,500,000 worth of food, ammunition and equipment at Holly Springs, Mississippi. These raids allowed Confederate Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton to reinforce Vicksburg, just in time to stop the Union assault by Sherman's corps at the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou on December 28. Sherman's frontal assault across swampy ground against well-fortified Confederate lines was repulsed, and he was forced to withdraw.
McClernand arrived at Milliken's Bend, Grant's new headquarters, on January 4, 1863, and claimed to be in charge of 30,000 Union soldiers, defying Grant's earlier published orders assigning McClernand to command only one corps, the XIII. McClernand, at the suggestion of Sherman, took his force, which he referred to as the Army of the Mississippi and captured Fort Hindman at Arkansas Post. This helped the Union open the Arkansas River as it met the Mississippi, protect Federal supply lines, and capture 4,800 prisoners at the cost of 1,000 Union casualties.
Grant remained determined to capture Vicksburg and in the first three months of 1863 conducted a series of operations to gain access to the city through the region's bayous, all of which ended in failure. One newspaper complained that "the army was being ruined in mud-turtle expeditions, under the leadership of a drunkard, whose confidential adviser [Sherman] was a lunatic." These attempts to reach Vicksburg from different directions confused Pemberton, who was at a loss as to where the Union army was going to strike. He reported "Enemy is constantly in motion in all directions".
Grant's Operations against Vicksburg, April-July 1863.In the spring of 1863, Grant finally devised a strategy that would successfully capture Vicksburg. Starting from Milliken's Bend, the General marched his army, leading with the corps of McClernand and Brig. Gen. James B. McPherson, down the west bank of the Mississippi and crossed the river at Bruinsburg, nine miles south of Grand Gulf, by using United States Navy ships that had run the guns at Vicksburg. To keep Pemberton guessing, he ordered Col. Benjamin F. Grierson, a first rate cavalryman, to raid through central Mississippi. In addition, he had ordered Sherman on April 29 and May 1 to stage a diversionary attack on Pemberton's line at Snyder's Bluff. After crossing at Bruinsburg with 23,000 troops, the Army of the Mississippi moved inland, repulsed Confederate Brig. Gen. John S. Bowen at Port Gibson, a battle that left Grand Gulf open for Sherman's corps to meet up with Grant on May 7. Then, in a move that defied conventional military principles, Grant cut loose from his supply lines of food, feeding off the land in enemy territory. His troops drove northeastward and captured the city of Jackson, severing the rail line to Vicksburg. The General moved swiftly, never giving the Confederates, under the command of John C. Pemberton and Joseph E. Johnston, an opportunity to concentrate their forces against him.
Knowing that the Confederates could no longer send reinforcements to the Vicksburg garrison, Grant turned west and won the Battle of Champion Hill. The Confederates retreated within their fortifications, and Grant quickly surrounded the city. After two costly assaults against the impregnable breastworks had failed, he and Sherman settled in for the six-week Siege of Vicksburg. Cut off and with no hope of relief, Pemberton surrendered to the Union General on July 4, 1863. It was a stinging defeat for the Southern cause, splitting the Confederacy in two, and, in conjunction with the Union victory at Gettysburg the previous day, is widely considered the turning point of the war. For this victory, President Lincoln promoted Grant to the rank of major general in the regular army, effective July 4. This was the second time a full Confederate army surrendered, the first one was at Fort Donelson in 1862.
Grant and Pemberton discuss surrender terms at Vicksburg on July 3, 1863, as drawn by a young newspaper correspondent who witnessed the event. Historian Francis V. Greene wrote that "We must go back to the campaigns of Napoleon to find equally brilliant results accomplished in the same space of time with such a small loss." Anticipating that Grant would soon capture Vicksburg, Abraham Lincoln declared that "if Grant only does this thing down there ..., why, Grant is my man and I am his the rest of this war."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulysses_S._Grant (accessed 4/6/10)
Object number: D1710
![[President Grant and his Cabinet]](/internal/media/dispatcher/364/thumbnail)
Object number: 2023.18.1.86
Object number: T1161.1
Object number: T1161.3