BGuthrie Photos: MS -- Grand Gulf -- Grand Gulf Military Monument Park

MS -- Grand Gulf -- Grand Gulf Military Monument Park:

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. GGULF_070126_009.JPG: Grand Gulf Jail: Original jail for town of Grand Gulf during 1800s. Note riveted construction.
2. GGULF_070126_048.JPG: Rodney Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church
3. GGULF_070126_052.JPG: One man submarine: The submarine was powered by a Model T Ford engine and used during the early prohibition period to bootleg whiskey and rum from Davis Island to Vicksburg.
4. GGULF_070126_065.JPG: Second Grand Gulf Naval Battle: In April, 1863, Major General Ulysses Grant decided to alter his Vicksburg strategy by moving his troops down the Mississippi River. On April 29, 1863, the Federals launched a determined assault on Grand Gulf. The Confederates made a vigorous reply to the Union attack with their eight heavy field pieces. For six and a half hours, the two forts were shelled by the gunboats. Realizing how capable the Confederate batteries were at withstanding the assault, the gunboats were signaled to withdraw. General Grant, who witnessed the encounter on board a tug in the Mississippi River, decided against trying to run the unarmed transports, loaded to the gunwales with men, past the Confederate batteries. Instead, Grant executed his alternate plan of disembarking his men and marching them down the Louisiana side of the river to Disharoon's Plantation, about three miles down the river.
5. GGULF_070126_071.JPG: First Grand Gulf Naval Battle: In May, 1862, cannoneers of Brookhaven Light Artillery, commanded by Captain James Hoskins, reached Grand Gulf. Hoskins had gunners emplace and mask four 6-pounders on bluffs behind the village. The task was to harass the Federal fleet commanded by Flag Officer Commodore David Farragut. On May 26, 1862 the Confederate artillerists wisely let three warships pass undisturbed, but as unarmed transports drew abreast, the four 6-pounders roared into action scoring hits on the "Laurel Hill." Before the warships could get into a position to return the fire, the flying battery was gone. Captain Thomas Craven, commander of the warship "Brooklyn," determined to teach the Confederates a lesson by bombarding the town of Grand Gulf. Captain Craven, intent on burning the town, conferred with Brigadier General Thomas Williams and agreed to spare the town, but to send Federal forces to levy a forced contribution of cattle, pigs, poultry, and wood upon the populace. Under cover of darkness on the night of June 3, 1862, the Confederates moved 6- and 12-pounders into position on the ridge behind Grand Gulf. The next morning, crews of these guns struck the "Wissahicken" and "Itasca" while these vessels were passing the batteries.
6. GGULF_070126_072.JPG: Victories and Defeats -- The Cost of War: Despite the estimated more than 2,500 heavy projectiles fired into the Confederate forts, there was little damage. The Confederates suffered three dead, including Colonel Wade, and eighteen wounded. The "Benton" was rendered inactive by a shot through the control house. Two Confederate forts with thirteen guns had held off seven Federal gunboats. Ships of this squadron amassed eighty-one guns, many of which were 11-inch Dahlgrens. Defeat of Brigadier General John Bowen's army in engagements west of Port Gibson on May 1, 1863, made the fortifications at Grand Gulf untenable, and the Confederates decided to spike the guns, destroy ammunition, and abandon the works. Grand Gulf was then occupied by Union forces who used the site as a temporary base of supplies.
7. GGULF_070126_075.JPG: 13-inch mortar
8. GGULF_070126_079.JPG: This XIII-Inch Mortar was probably used by the Union in the fight for Vicksburg. In the early 1900s, it was seen partially buried in the levee on Davis Island. These mortars were mounted on schooners or box-like boats. The mortars weighed 17,000 pounds and fired 200 pound explosive "bombs".
9. GGULF_070126_085.JPG: Fort Wade: On a shelf overlooking the charred ruins of Grand Gulf, the Confederate engineers built Fort Wade. Guibor's and Wade's Missouri Batteries manned its four big guns. When Admiral David G. Farragut's squadron passed Grand Gulf on March 31, the guns of Fort Wade roared into action. General John S. Bowen, the Confederate commander of Grand Gulf, had a narrow escape when one of the 20-pounder Parrott's burst as he entered the emplacement. On April 29, four of Admiral David D. Porter's "City Series" ironclads came down river, and took position one-fourth of a mile from Fort Wade. A terrible artillery duel ensued. They were joined by the mighty "Lafayette." Fort Wade was smothered by the storm of shot and shell delivered by the five gunboats. Two 32-pounder rifles were dismounted, and the parapet knocked to pieces. Colonel William Wade had his head torn off. By 11am, Fort Wade had been silenced and Porter's entire squadron concentrated its fire on Fort Cobun.
10. GGULF_070126_086.JPG: Fort Wade Ammunition Magazine: Destroyed by the Confederates on the morning of May 3, 1863 when Grand Gulf could no longer be held against the Federal army approaching from Port Gibson. The large sections of iron grate are the remains of the town's jail which was moved into the fort to house the ammunition.
11. GGULF_070126_089.JPG: Fort Wade Ammunition Magazine
12. GGULF_070126_117.JPG: Confederate Rifle Pits: During the April 29, 1863 bombardment of Grand Gulf these rifle pits and the "covered way" which linked Forts Wade and Cobun were held by the 3d Missouri (Confederate).
13. GGULF_070126_132.JPG: The Spanish House: This house was built in the late 1790s of cypress, poplar, and heart pine and put together with wooden pegs instead of nails. The Spanish built structure represents one of several homesteads erected by five different groups of "Conquerors" who occupied and raised their flag over this area. The proximity of the house to Fort Wade caused considerable damage from Federal shells in 1863. It was repaired after the war and restored to its original condition in 1958 by replacing deteriorated timbers with new ones hewn from local forests. It is a jewel of the past and will be preserved for the pleasure of the future.
14. GGULF_070126_134.JPG: Spanish House
15. GGULF_070126_148.JPG: Water Wheel
16. GGULF_070126_175.JPG: View of the Mississippi from the observation tower
17. GGULF_070126_216.JPG: Rodney Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church: 1890-1957: During 1890, the priest's house was constructed and the mission received a Christmas gift from the Society of Brussels for "Poor Churches" as one of the most destitute churches of the diocese. This gift probably contained the vestments and altar hangings. In 1871, Father Huber reported to Bishop Elder that the value of the church, lot, and house, was approximately $3,500. For the next eight years, the mission was occasionally served by several priests. In late 1870s, a school operated at the church. The school created a financial drain on the church treasury, so parents were charged a monthly tuition to meet the cost, an increasing hardship on families in a declining community economy and population. During the 1927 flood, the church was damaged but repaired the following year. By 1933, the population of Rodney had diminished to less than 100. By 1957, only seven communicants remained at Sacred Heart, and services were that year discontinued. In February, 1969, the Natchez-Jackson Diocese deeded the property to the Rodney Foundation for the most outstanding of the few remaining examples in Mississippi of carpenter Gothic church architecture.
18. GGULF_070126_218.JPG: Rodney Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church: 1868-1870: Listed in National Register of Historic Places, the church building was constructed in 1868, as the once flourishing river town was declining. Church completion was in the year preceding the disastrous 1869 fire. Although there is no recorded organized activity of the Rodney Catholics until 1867, the apparently were served by the priest in Port Gibson. In January, 1861, Bishop William Elder requested Father Philip Huber of Port Gibson to visit two Catholic families in Rodney. Father Charles Van Queckelberge of Port Gibson assisted in acquiring land and building the church, which was constructed by Patrick Murphy. The property was purchased by Bishop Elder in 1867 for $500 and construction was initiate shortly thereafter. The church was completed in 1868. A bell was purchased for $300 in 1869. Father Van Queckelberge was transferred due to bad health, an action which so provoked the Rodney congregation that a petition was sent to Bishop Elder to retain Father Van Queckelberge. In 1870, Father Huber returned to serve for a year.
19. GGULF_070126_221.JPG: Confederate Memorial Chapel: The building was donated by the State of Mississippi by the Rodney Foundation. It was moved to this site in 1893, and has been restored to its original condition. It will be used as a non-denominational chapel by religious and other groups approved by the Park. It is expected that its use will be on the same high level of conduct and purpose as exemplified by its original users.
20. GGULF_070126_224.JPG: Confederate Memorial Chapel Dedicated in 1983, to the memory of those who worked, fought and died for a cause during the Civil War, but the Grand Gulf Military Monument Commission.
21. GGULF_070126_250.JPG: Scotia
22. GGULF_070126_254.JPG: Scotia: Built by Thomas Foster as a one room big house in 1768 in the community of Scotia, located 5 miles south of the present town of Roxie in Franklin County, Mississippi. About 1789, a "dog trot" was added to connect a second room. The upstairs was added for families living quarters and the downstairs was used as a stage stop accommodation for travelers. The construction of the building was of hand-hewn yellow pine put together by the dove-tail method. The timbers above the front door are 52 feet in length cut from heart pine and still in perfect condition. Mrs. and Mrs. J.A. Faulk purchased "Scotia" from the Robert Ferrells and moved it to Warren County, log by log. It was moved to this location in 1976 and donated in memory of the Faulk, Foster and Johnston families of Claiborne County.
23. GGULF_070126_277.JPG: Water Wheel: This water wheel was originally built for Mr. and Mrs. J.L. Peacock of Mendenhall, MS in 1948 and was donated by them to this park in 1971. The wheel was built for the purpose of generating electricity by water power that operated a Delco generator. This electricity was utilized to light nine 50-watt bulbs over five small minnow ponds located below a large lake the furnished the water to turn the wheel. The energy produced here is intended to be used to operate the grist-mill.
24. GGULF_070126_312.JPG: One-man submarine
25. GGULF_070126_341.JPG: Town of Grand Gulf: The town of Grand Gulf began in the 18th century as a small British settlement. By 1828 it had grown to a village of three stores, one tavern, and several houses. There was a stage line to Port Gibson and steamboats stopped at its wharves Incorporated in 1833, Grand Gulf received its name from a large whirlpool formed as the Mississippi River struck a great rock formation. By the late 1830s, Grand Gulf had become an important port and trading center with seventy-six city blocks and about 1,000 people. Grand Gulf's decline began in 1843 with a yellow fever epidemic. In 1853, a tornado devastated a large portion of the town. Yellow fever and cholera epidemics resulted in further population losses. To make matters worse, the Mississippi River changed it course and began eating into the land on which the town was built. Between 1855 and 1860 fifty-five city blocks were destroyed by the river. By 1860, only one hundred fifty-eight lived there. During the Civil War, Federal troops and gunboats destroyed the remainder of the town. The town was never rebuilt after the war and today even the river has deserted what was once a bustling river port. All that remains are a few antebellum buildings scattered along what was once the outskirts of the town.
Wikipedia Description: Battle of Grand Gulf
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Battle of Grand Gulf was fought on April 29, 1863, during the American Civil War. In the Vicksburg Campaign of Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, Union naval forces under Rear Adm. David D. Porter led seven ironclads in an attack on the Confederate fortifications and batteries at Grand Gulf, downriver from Vicksburg, Mississippi. Although the Confederates withstood the Union bombardment and prevented infantry from landing against their fortification, the victory was only a minor setback to Grant's plan to cross the Mississippi River and advance against Vicksburg.

Battle:

Admiral Porter led seven ironclads in an attack on the fortifications and batteries at Grand Gulf, Mississippi, with the intention of silencing the Confederate guns and then securing the area with troops of Maj. Gen. John A. McClernand's XIII Corps who were on the accompanying transports and barges. The attack by the seven ironclads began at 8 a.m. and continued until about 1:30 p.m. During the fight, the ironclads moved within 100 yards of the Confederate guns and silenced the lower batteries of Fort Wade; the Confederate upper batteries at Fort Cobun remained out of reach and continued to fire. The Union ironclads (one of which, the Tuscumbia, had been put out of action) and the transports drew off. After dark, however, the ironclads engaged the Confederate guns again while the steamboats and barges ran the gauntlet. Grant marched his men overland across Coffee Point to below the Gulf. After the transports had passed Grand Gulf, they embarked the troops at Disharoon's plantation and disembarked them on the Mississippi shore at Bruinsburg, below Grand Gulf. The men immediately began marching overland towards Port Gibson, Mississippi. The Confederates had won a hollow victory; the loss at Grand Gulf caused just a slight change in Grant's offensive.
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