Chapter 5 Memories not to be lost - Visit Vicksburg II

Recalling the two trips to the Mississippi River that were separated by several years, and looking at the photos during the trip, it seems that the story of Vicksburg has not yet been told. one The story of the siege of Vicksburg is only a symbol of the conflict between the North and the South in the Mississippi Valley 140 years ago. The Mississippi is a very rich river.Its richness has to do with the stories of the South that surround it, but also with the North-South conflict.Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" took place here, and "Uncle Tom's Cabin" also took place here. Until now, standing by the Mississippi River, I can't help but hear the low male middle sound:

"Old Mississippi, manyyouhaveseen, (Old Mississippi, you've seen it all,) Old Mississippi, good friend we have been, (Old Mississippi, good friend we have been,) Oh, youknowmyyearning, burninginmyheart, (Oh, you know the burning desire in my heart,) Andyouknowmysadnesswhenwepart." (You also know how sad I am when we part.) The Mississippi River is not only one of the longest rivers in the world, but also the most curved river in the world.In a straight-line distance of hundreds of miles, it can walk more than double the distance with nine bends and eighteen bends.These bends are also often abandoned by the river. I don't know when it will suddenly take another shortcut, throwing a large piece of land in the bend to the land on the other side of the river.

Near Vicksburg, such a diversion of the river took place, throwing a town three miles below Vicksburg upstream.The states along the river are often bounded by the Mississippi River.A river diversion throws a small town from state to state.Mark Twain once described the North-South conflict of his day this way: "If such a thing had happened in the upper reaches of the river in the early years, then a slave in Missouri might wake up one day and be sent to Illinois by the diverted river, and become a free man." Mark Twain not only spent his childhood on the banks of the Mississippi River, the 26-year-old Mark Twain was also a soldier in the Confederate Army during the Civil War.His participation in the war in just two weeks is said to be the result of unemployment. This is rarely mentioned. During the American Civil War, politics was basically the business of politicians, especially in the North. Many people were just for military pay.

at war.Two weeks later, Mark Twain found a new livelihood, went to Nevada with his brother to pan for gold, and left the army.But before long, he returned to the South and became a wartime reporter. Until many years later, when Mark Twain revisited the Mississippi River, he still couldn't forget the story of the siege of Vicksburg.Twenty years had passed by then, but the wounds of Vicksburg's "earth-shattering" battle, according to Mark Twain, were still there: the fort was still there, the stump of the giant tree broken by the shells was still there , the cave to avoid the shells is still there.A black man boastfully pointed out to Mark Twain that in his own yard there was still an unexploded cannonball twenty years ago.He told Mark Twain that it had not moved from its nest since it fell into this yard during the siege.He said that when the shell came, "I was there, and so was my dog. The dog rushed to it, but I didn't. I just said to it: You are welcome, just lie there, don't move." Yes. If you want to blow up, just blow up my place, I don’t have that much free time, I still have work to do in the woods, I still have a lot of work waiting for me to do.”

Vicksburgers tell Mark Twain their vivid memories of twenty years ago.How they were isolated from the outside world, was surrounded by the northern army into a dead city. "The gunboats are in front, and the army and artillery are behind." The city no longer has news, the station no longer has trains and passengers, and the Mississippi River is no longer bustling with boats.Everything is static, only roaring shells and soaring prices.Even at three o'clock in the morning, people may still be awakened by bombs, and people are forced out of bed, rushing to the stuffy and narrow cave, with soldiers shouting with laughter behind them: "Drill the hole, rats!"

War is mind-numbing.With nothing to do during the full six weeks of the siege, Mark Twain asked, did they keep diaries?The answer was: No, they only write for the first six days. "First day, eight full pages; second day, five pages; third day, one page—loose; fourth day, three or four lines; fifth and sixth days, one or two OK; on the seventh day, the diary was interrupted." The horrible Vicksburg war life has become "ordinary". Vicksburg "has seen all that war has to offer, battles by land and water, sieges, mines, raids, retreats, bombardments, disease, captives, famine, and much more." Sunday Mass continued as usual held.There were not many people at first, but gradually increased.When the cannonballs whizzed over the roofs, everything was still and silent, as if people were attending a funeral.Then, someone uttered a sound, and the mass continued, and the sound of explosions and organ hymns sounded together.

When Vicksburg surrendered on July 4, out of ammunition and food, life seemed to return to normal.Yet, under the mask of normalcy, the Vicksburg man had been transformed. Not only do they no longer celebrate the National Day of July 4th, but there are also all kinds of invisible hurts hidden deep in their hearts. I remember the scariest story: A man from Vicksburg told Mark Twain that one Sunday in the middle of the war, he came out of church and met a long-lost friend.When we met in this extraordinary period, we were full of emotions. He shook his old friend's hand warmly and said, "The bombing is over tonight. Go to my cave. I'll get a bottle of original whiskey..."

Whiskey back then was as expensive as diamonds.Before the words were finished, a shell flew over, and the shrapnel cut off the old friend's shoulder. Before he could let go of the hand he was holding, the shoulder hung upside down on his hand.From then on, he could no longer be at peace, because he clearly remembered that at that moment, a thought subconsciously appeared in his mind: This wine was saved... For the next twenty years, it was actually this kind of thing that haunted him. One question: how can I be so mean?How could I come up with such an idea? He can never think of peace in this life....How many other Vicksburgers have no peace of mind?

By the time Mark Twain revisited Vicksburg, the federal government had erected a second monument commemorating General Pebelton's surrender to General Grant of the Union Army on Vicksburg's behalf.It was a metal monument.The first marble monument, already fragmented, like Vicksburg's deeply hidden heart. Mark Twain also visited the national cemetery we see today. Thousands of Confederate soldiers who defended Vicksburg, except for a few who were misidentified, were not buried in this cemetery. At that time, above the gate were the soldiers of the Northern Army who were buried here, engraved with the words: "1861-1865, 16,600 heroic souls who died for the country rest here".Another hundred and twenty years have passed since Mark Twain left.When we came to this cemetery, the buried souls were still there, but the lintel was gone.Under today's sunset, we can see that several tombstones have grown into the trunk and old roots of the big tree.Back then, when Mark Twain saw it, it was still a young tree, right?

two How do you define "die for the country" in a civil war? Civil war is the most unassuming thing in the world, like this vague "die for the country" saying.So far, all very clear statements are the result of simplification.At that time, slavery still existed in the South of the United States. At that time, the mainstream American society represented by the North hated and opposed slavery, but it did not hesitate to start a war just to "liberate the slaves."Some southern states, tired of the North's frequent attacks on slavery, decided to secede from the United States and live on their own.However, Lincoln only saw that the South had no troops, underestimated the cost of the war, and decided to use a war to hold back the South he had already decided on.

At that time, the South had established its own country, the Confederate States of America.The worst is actually a few intermediate states like Virginia, and a large number of their politicians.They were against slavery, they were against secession, and they were against a civil war.In their hearts, they hope that the institutional issues left over from history can change gradually over time and complete the historical evolution.However, the south wants to go, the north wants to fight, and there is no place for them to stand.It was the North's military attack on their homeland that drove them into the South's camp. This is the reason why the southerners are still brooding.Lincoln expected to "solve" the problem with a few thousand conscripts and three months of fighting, and finally fought for four full years.610,000 American youths fought among themselves and died on the soil of the South.What a "die for the country"! American democracy evolved naturally, as did the South.It changes step by step under the burden of history.But never before has there been a foreign government that enforces the will of the majority.For the southerners who have always regarded the "state" as their own "country", during the so-called "reconstruction period" after the war, they lost their democratic rights and felt as if they were "ruled" by the military government of "foreign" invaders. The "Reconstruction Period" in the South has always been a special period in American history that I am very interested in.During that period, many things were abnormal. We also spent a few hours in the old Vicksburg courthouse converted into a museum before reading the yellowing original source with relish. This is our second time here, having been here a few years ago.It was a sparsely populated museum, and the original staff was still selling tickets.He created a historic environment for himself, a small nook with hanging incandescent lamps with old-fashioned lampshades.Under the dim light, there was a finely crafted antique cash register. With a bang, our ticket money was collected into this beautiful antique. We looked at each other and smiled, and he smiled too.He is still thin and wears glasses. Most of the time when there are no visitors, he just holds a history book and reads it intently.The gray wild cat with black stripes that he adopted outside the door was still lazily guarding there. The means of display there are the most primitive.Due to the cramped space, all the exhibits are crowded with old fashioned glass cabinets.But those materials are rare and precious. For example, there is one such handwritten notice there, dated August 11, 1865, exactly two years after the surrender of Vicksburg, by the military government occupying the Vicksburg area to a lady in the neighboring town of Port Gibson Notice.The original letter is as follows: Mrs. Blasco: You are hereby told to come to me at ten o'clock tomorrow morning to take the Oath of Allegiance to the Federal Government or be prosecuted as an enemy of the Government. According to historical records, this Mrs. Blasco finally refused the "Oath of Loyalty" and ended up in prison.At that time, all southerners were required to take the "Oath of Loyalty", which was the actual core of "anti-separation" concealed in the declared goal of "liberating the slaves".Although, compared to the subsequent killing of "rebellion" enemies by many other countries, the "signing of allegiance" and "loyalty oath" required by the US federal government 140 years ago were quite modest measures, but , For the southerners, it is always an unforgettable humiliation. The fighting took place in the South, and the surrender of Vicksburg, though humiliating, was far from the worst outcome, for the entire South was a scorched earth.Even in the Vicksburg area, its entire economic system, like the rest of the South, was completely destroyed, and the original system of rule of law was also destroyed.At that time, the provisional military government from the north controlled everything, and the southerners lost many of the freedoms they were accustomed to. Even funerals had to be approved by the military government.In this old courthouse museum, there is a funeral approval issued by the federal military government in Vicksburg on March 24, 1865. Black slaves were suddenly freed.However, they also went through a very difficult time, because they suddenly lost their residence and means of livelihood. If the transformation of the system is peaceful, then the manor economy is still there, and the former slaves may be transformed into hired workers with wages, and gradually adapt to a life of freedom to earn a living, and gradually change their situation.However, the war completely destroyed the manor economy on which the south depended for survival. After the war, the manor owners generally became destitute and could not provide any job opportunities at all. Due to the war goal of liberating slaves, it was switched in the middle of the war. The federal government made no provision for the livelihood of these suddenly freed slaves. Although, on the corner of Washington Street and Grove Street in Vicksburg, the first black-owned bank in the United States was symbolically opened.However, the life of a large number of former black slaves in the south fell into an unprecedented desperate situation due to the destruction of the southern economy. At the same time, there are also a large number of speculators in the north who take advantage of the crisis in the south, mainly taking advantage of the economic disorder, to come to reap extraordinary benefits, causing the southern economy, which has been hit hard, to suffer the final blow.Since then, the word "carpetbaggers" appeared in the south. "Carpet bag" was the largest backpack that could be found at that time. knapsack to carry what they've scavenged from the south.At one point the title became synonymous with "Yankees". three Stepping on the creaking wooden stairs, we went up to the second floor of the Old Court Museum.A large part of it still maintains the original appearance of the original court today.The building itself is a testimony to the war. The court first opened in June 1859.At that time, the entire building had not yet been completed, and only some simple wooden benches were placed in the court hall.During the siege, the courthouse itself was hit by shells, killing four soldiers of the 5th Mississippi Infantry instantly and wounding a dozen others.During the Siege of Vicksburg, it was mainly used to hold Union prisoners of war. After the surrender of Vicksburg, the courthouse was occupied by Union troops for a long time. After the war, court trials gradually resumed, and some of the trials that took place here also reflected the chaos and confusion of the Reconstruction period in the South. The greatest catastrophe in Vicksburg after the war was a shipwreck. On April 24, 1865, a steamship named "Sultana" left Vicksburg to transport Union soldiers home after the war.At that time, the "Sultana", which had a capacity of only 376 passengers, was seriously overloaded, with 2,600 passengers on board, of which 1,886 were North Koreans who had just been released from various places. Army prisoners of war.During the Civil War, the conditions in the prisoner-of-war camps were very bad, and the death rate was very high. It was not easy to survive in the prisoner-of-war camps.