HelPeR - BYU Idaho Special Collections and Family History

Ancestor Stories for the Soul
combat as an infantryman, as had John. I felt a bond
forming between us as so often occurs between soldiers.
Corny as it may sound, it was very real to me.
And this is the point at which I thought the information
stopped. I assumed that he became one of the
approximately 300,000 Civil War dead whose bodies
were placed in various national cemeteries after the
War, 54 percent of which are listed as “Unknown.” I
assumed that John was one of these Unknowns.
How It Continued (the Later Years)
Time passed and then it was late in 2003. I was attending
a computer special interest group (called a
“SIG” by those in the computer world). This particular
group focused on using the Internet for genealogy.
The leader proved himself as helpful as he was
knowledgeable. When I mentioned my ancestor John
and Vicksburg, he set off to find if he was buried
there. We discovered that some cemeteries are administered
by Veteran’s Affairs, and some fall under the
National Park Service. The latter has responsibility
for the National Cemetery at Vicksburg because the
site is classified as a National Military Park.
After some searching around on the Internet, we
found the information we were looking for: a grave
number for John. I was flabbergasted! There was yet
more to the quest than I had imagined! And little did
I know at that time how exceptional it was for the
specific location of John’s grave to be known. That
was truly the exception rather than the rule at Vicksburg.
I vowed to go there.
How it Ended (Vicksburg)
It was now the summer of the next year, 2004. My
wife and I were taking a trip
through the Midwest and on the
way back home to Florida made
good on my vow: we stopped at
Vicksburg with the intent of finding
John’s grave.
A short history of the battle of
Vicksburg may be of value here.
It was a siege, actually, that lasted
47 days (from late May to early
July of 1863), and was punctuated
with nearly constant fights and
skirmishes between the Union
and Rebel forces. Based on John’s
date of death, it was one of these
Union assaults during which he
was killed.
The Military Park itself surrounds
the city of Vicksburg,
much as the Union forces did in
the summer of 1863. One end of
the park is anchored on the Mississippi River south
of the city. It runs east and north in almost a perfect
semicircle to terminate at the river north of the city.
A one-way road follows the outside of that semicircle
from south to north past the location of the Union
forces, and then doubles back concentrically on the
inside of the semicircle to trace the locations of the
Confederate forces.
The terrain is rough, following high bluffs above
the city, and is cut by severe gorges caused by drainage
to the river below. That terrain is cut again by the
remnants of trenches and barriers erected for protection,
assault, and defense. To the casual observer
the ground today is simply rough and wooded and
beautiful; to the person with some military experience,
the importance of terrain to tactics and strategy
is undeniable. One can see why the siege lasted as
long as it did; how the ground favors defense; how
the Union troops had to fight the rugged terrain as
well as the Confederate defenders.
A tape is available to guide the visitor along the
park road and explain the events that occurred there.
Should you visit the battlefield, I highly recommend
the tape. It takes you beyond the simple but undeniable
beauty of the park to the human struggle that
took place. It makes the ground “come alive” as it
describes various clashes and feats of heroism and
futility alike.
Each state with sons who fought there has erected
a monument to them. There are large state monuments,
some actually entire buildings, as well as
smaller markers to show where individual units
were located in the line. All told, there are over 1300
historic monuments and markers.
Ja n ua ry/Fe b r u a r y 2009 Ev e r t o n’s Ge n e a l o g i c a l He l p e r © 53