Abraham: The Only Southern Winner in Vicksburg, Mississippi

On June 25, 1863, the great siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi had been underway for a month. However, the tedium of siege warfare was about to be broken by a surprising incident that occurred when a tunnel was dug under Vicksburg’s defenses. Mines were laid inside, soon to explode. No one could have foreseen the unexpected result of this military action.

General Ulysses S. Grant had led his troops across the Mississippi River at Bruinsburg and, after a series of battles, had pursued Confederate troops under General Pemberton within the Vicksburg limits. Due to both natural and man-made defenses, the riverfront city was nearly impregnable. The fortifications stretched for seven miles along the ridges, each end of which was anchored to 200-foot river cliffs. The forts themselves were connected by trenches. The South had worked on the city’s defenses for a year, and the Federals were going to have a hard time taking it by force.

Inside the besieged city, residents abandoned their homes and barricaded themselves in the hills. Using primarily the labor of their slaves, they created multi-room houses, often bringing in rugs and furniture to increase their comfort. Northern soldiers called the area “prairie dog town.” Shells fired by land batteries and ships on the great river fell harmlessly past the houses on the hills. The seat stretched with little action.

Fortunately for the North, an ancient weapon was at their disposal: hunger. In June, Vicksburg residents were limited to half and then a quarter of their rations. Eventually they were reduced to eating mule meat and peas. Many felt that mule meat was demeaning to eat. The peas were mixed with cornmeal and shaped into bread that had a texture like gunpowder. When baked, the peas took twice as long to cook as cornmeal, producing a medium-rare loaf. Despondent residents later said that the bread resembled India gum and was also very well digested.

Finally, Grant grew impatient with the wait and ordered the engineers to dig the aforementioned tunnel. The mines were carefully placed under the fortifications where the oblivious Confederate soldiers were stationed, and the engineers left the tunnel, uncoiling long fuses as they went. When everything was ready, the fuses were lit and a huge crater was opened in the walls. Union soldiers rushing in were soon locked in deadly combat with the shocked Confederates.

The big bang had an unintended consequence. A South Slav named Abraham took to the air and sailed right over the Union lines, landing with a thud among the astonished soldiers. He was unharmed and looked around, realizing that, in an instant, he was free. An Iowa unit quickly claimed it as “spoils of war” and set it up inside a tent. Curious soldiers were charged five cents to see the “flying black.” He was grateful to be freed and to be fed much better. Abraham became something of a celebrity and eventually served in the US Quartermaster’s Department.

The explosion itself was unsuccessful, as southern soldiers fired on northerners in the crater. They were soon called away, and Pemberton gave Grant permission to collect his dead and wounded. After a second mine exploded, Grant returned to his waiting game, enriched by an inadvertently acquired slave. Vicksburg finally surrendered on July 4, 1863.

Despite all the loss of life and misery, one man in particular came out on top at Vicksburg. By sheer luck, Abraham, a black slave, won his freedom in spectacular fashion. Being literally set free, his emancipation came before the Lincoln Proclamation had gone into effect.