Civil War message opened, decoded: No help coming

RICHMOND (AP) —
A glass vial stopped with a cork during the Civil War has been opened, revealing a coded message to the desperate Confederate commander in Vicksburg on the day the Mississippi city fell to Union forces 147 years ago. The dispatch offered no hope to doomed Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton: Reinforcements are not on the way.

The encrypted six-line message was dated July 4, 1863, the date of Pemberton's surrender to Union forces led by Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, ending the Siege of Vicksburg, in what historians say was a turning point midway through the Civil War. The message is from a Confederate commander on the west side of the Mississippi River across from Pemberton.

"He's saying: 'I can't help you. I have no troops; I have no supplies; I have no way to get over there,'" Catherine M. Wright, collections manager of the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, said of the author of the dispiriting message. "It was just another punctuation mark to just how desperate and dire everything was..."

Full Article can be found HERE.

I love reading stories like this. Nothing fascinates me more than the mysteries surrounding the Civil War.

Not sure if this belongs under Current Events, but I couldn't find a section for Civil War info.

Thanks for sharing! Another example of the desperation of war......

Ah yes, the american civil war

when we finally caved in to the vatican

Here is the section that made me cringe...

The message was dispatched during an especially terrible time in Vicksburg. Grant was unsuccessful in defeating Pemberton's troops on two occasions, so the Union commander instead decided to encircle the city and block the flow of supplies or support.

Many in the city resorted to eating cats, dogs and leather. Soup was made from wallpaper paste.

... People forget how devastating the War truly was.

Some info on the Battle discrbed in the article

reply to post by Areveli


Thank you so much for posting this. I'm a Civil War reenactor and find this fascinating.

S&F

Here is the section that made me cringe... The message was dispatched during an especially terrible time in Vicksburg. Grant was unsuccessful in defeating Pemberton's troops on two occasions, so the Union commander instead decided to encircle the city and block the flow of supplies or support. Many in the city resorted to eating cats, dogs and leather. Soup was made from wallpaper paste. ... People forget how devastating the War truly was.

reply to post by Areveli


Devastating indeed. I often take my chihuahua to reenactments with me. Never fails that a Yankee reenactor makes a joke about keeping a close eye on her because a rebel will come along and have her for dinner. Its funny now, but back then, it was reality. People did what they had to do to survive. I'm always amazed that there were as many survivors of the war as their actually were.

reply to post by gemineye


As a Virginian, I still feel the echoes of the War. Most people are unaware of the impact it had on our ancestors; primarily the Railroad infrastructure.

Wytheville

Long Description:
Battle of Wytheville – A series of five Civil War Trails interpretive signs describes the action on July 18, 1863, as a Federal raiding party marched to the Wytheville area intending to destroy the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad tracks and bridges. In addition, the force planned to destroy telegraph lines and the salt and lead mines nearby. After some skirmishing and confusion on the advance, Union Col. John Toland ordered his men into Wytheville. Hastily organized Confederate resistance succeeded in killing Toland in the street and limiting the damage to the railroad track and stock. The raid did not succeed in its mission as the track was quickly repaired. Landmarks of the battle and its aftermath are noted in the Trails tour. The tour begins near the intersection of I-77 and I-81 on State Route 52 at Route 680.

It is worth pointing out that during the War; more battles where fought in Virginia than any other state.