The Gunboat Lafayette and Siege of Vicksburg - 1863

My great-great-grandfather Alexander served on the gunboat Lafayette during the Vicksburg campaign of 1863. According to a certificate that Alexander had made for his wife Mary, he served on the Lafayette, which was manned by soldiers from Company H of the 101st Illinois Infantry. However; his official Civil War records state that he was assigned to Company G of the 101st. This would mean he would have served on the ram Switzerland during the run past the Vicksburg fortifications on April, 16, 1863.

This confusion can perhaps be cleared up by looking at the official war records of the 101st Illinois Infantry. Part of the regiment ; Companies B, C, E, F, and I; had been captured at Holly Springs, Miss. in Dec. 1862. The other part of the regiment; Companies D, G, H, and K; had been guarding a railroad and were not captured. The companies which were captured were paroled by the Confederates. These companies were formed into a separate battalion and sent home. Companies D, G, H, and K were formed into another battalion and temporarily attached to the 14th Illinois Infantry until March 1863. It is interesting to note that the 14th Ill. Inf. was the unit Alexander had originally joined in 1861.

According to the official history the battalion was broken up in March 1863 and the companies assigned as follows: "Company "K" assigned as provost guard at General Grant's headquarters, Company "G" to ram "Switzerland," Company "D" to "Rattler" and "Cricket," Company "A" to "General Bragg," Company "H" to "Lafayette," so serving until September, 1863." The official history also states that the 101st served with the Ram Fleet, Mississippi Squadron from March to June 1863.

On the night of April 16, 1863 Admiral David Porter took 12 ships past Vicksburg. He directed that the ships hug the east bank directly under the guns and cannon that defended Vicksburg. This was a very wise move because the Confederate artillerymen could not depress their guns enough to get an accurate shot at the Union vessels. Veterans report that they were close enough to hear the Confederate artillery officers giving the commands to fire!

Only one vessel was lost, the Lancaster, although quite luckily only one man died. Perhaps even more interesting is how Porter lashed some vessels together to allow ironclads to protect less armored ships. Two of these were the Lafayette and the General Sterling Price. The Lafayette was positioned closest to the Confederate defenses, thereby protecting the more vulnerable Price. A link to a Currier and Ives print of the ships is posted below which clearly indicates these two vessels.

I believe that Alexander did serve on the Lafayette even though his records indicate that he was in Company G and would have been on the Switzerland. Soldiers remember the units they served with, especially in combat. It would have been a matter of soldierly pride for Alexander to say he served on the Lafayette when they "ran the gauntlet" past Vicksburg that night in April 1863.

Here are photos of the Lafayette, Switzerland, and the General Sterling Price.

Source: http://www.scattercreek.com/~normw/lafayette.jpg

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_Ram_Switzerland_%281854%29_nh55829.jpg

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:USSSterlingPrice.jpg

As shown in the official record the companies of the 101st Ill. Inf. remained with the Ram Fleet, Mississippi Squadron until June 1863. There were other "marine" operations the fleet engaged in, which can be read about on numerous Internet sites. Here are links to the main Vicksburg Campaign article at Wikipedia, the Vicksburg National Military Park website, and a few Civil War history sites as indicated below:

Wikipedia:
USS Lafayette

USS Switzerland

USS General Sterling Price

United States Ram Fleet

Currier and Ives Lithograph of the fleet running past Vicksburg

Other Websites
A digital issue of Harper's Weekly April 18, 1863 with an article about the Vicksburg battle

Norm Witherbee's Web Page about Morgan County, Ill. Civil War Soldiers

Civil War Reminiscences of Daniel F. Kemp

Shotgun's Home of the American Civil War - Vicksburg

It was some months after this event that Alexander took ill and was discharged. In July 1863 he was transferred to Company A, then was transferred to a Union hospital in New Albany, Ind. in Sept. By December 1863 Alexander was medically discharged and returned home to Waverly, Ill. He was deemed too unfit to serve in the Union Invalid Corps. These were soldiers who were wounded too severely or too ill to fight, but could work at jobs in logistics, administration, or medicine. This freed up healthy men to fight. I imagine it had to be bittersweet for Alexander to be declared unfit to continue to serve his country, but he was allowed to return home, a dream that too many soldiers would never realize.