BGuthrie Photos: MS -- Vicksburg -- Pemberton HQ

MS -- Vicksburg -- Pemberton HQ:

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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. VICKPE_130601_006.JPG: CS Headquarters Dept. of Mississippi and East Louisiana Lieut. Gen. John C. Pemberton May 23 - July 4 1863
2. VICKPE_130601_019.JPG: Can slavery be uprooted? "I have always hated slavery," Lincoln said. But slavery was deeply rooted in the Constitution. He had understood that it could not be uprooted overnight. Lincoln had won the presidency in 1860 vowing to stop slavery from spreading. Free territories would one day ripen into free states, and slavery would be surrounded. With its roots choked off, slavery would eventually die out. For much of his first year, Lincoln had focused on ending the Southern rebellion. Somehow, he had to address the root cause. The Constitution offered little help. It had left slavery in the hands of individual states. But the war opened up new possibilities. Lincoln believed the Constitution allowed the President to do in wartime what he could never do in times of peace. "I do not speak of emancipation at once, but of a decision at once to emancipate gradually." -– Lincoln's appeal to representatives of Delaware, Maryland, Missouri and Kentucky, July 12, 1862 Note: Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War, an exhibit created by the National Constitution Center, illuminates how President Abraham Lincoln's leadership and constitutional vision steered the nation through its most turbulent years and into a future that forever changed America. The exhibition explores how Lincoln used the Constitution to confront three intertwined crises of the war: the secession of Southern states, slavery, and wartime civil liberties. Visitors will leave the exhibition with a more complete understanding of Lincoln as president and the Civil War as the nation's gravest constitutional crisis. NCC info about the exhibit: http://constitutioncenter.org/experience/exhibitions/traveling-exhibitions/lincoln-the-constitution-and-the-civil-war-traveling-exhibit
3. VICKPE_130601_026.JPG: The President has a plan "I do not speak of emancipation at once, but of a decision at once to emancipate gradually." -– Lincoln's appeal to representatives of Delaware, Maryland, Missouri and Kentucky, July 12, 1862 In March 1862, Lincoln had invited abolitionist Wendell Philips to the White House to hear about his plan to end slavery voluntarily -- the only way, Lincoln believed, the Constitution allowed. First, the government would offer federal aid for states to compensate slave-owners. Second, it would pay to resettle free blacks who agreed to leave the United States. If the slave states still in the Union could be convinced to move toward abolishing slavery voluntarily, then Southerners might be willing to return to the Union and adopt similar plans. But, Phillips objected, that would leave millions in bondage. For months Lincoln lobbied congressmen from the loyal slave states. But they wanted nothing to do with abolition. By July, he concluded, slavery must be completely destroyed for the Union to survive. "[U]pon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God." – Lincoln's Final Emancipation Proclamation, January 1, 1863
4. VICKPE_130601_030.JPG: The war leads Lincoln down a new path "[U]pon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God." – Lincoln's Final Emancipation Proclamation, January 1, 1863 The President had grasped so many hands on New Year's Day, 1863, that he could hardly hold the pen. But slowly he signed the Emancipation Proclamation. "If my name goes into history," he said, "it will be for this act." Emancipation would restore the spirits of those who wanted a moral crusade. It would electrify lovers of freedom. And it would open the way to recruit thousands of black soldiers clamoring to serve. He told his Cabinet that emancipation was a "military necessity absolutely essential for the salvation of the Union." On January 1, 1863, the war became a struggle for Union and freedom.
5. VICKPE_130601_034.JPG: Pemberton's Choice "Vicksburg is the nail head that holds the South's two halves together." -- Jefferson Davis
6. VICKPE_130601_051.JPG: Pemberton's Headquarters: The Willis-Cowan House: Built in 1836, this spacious Greek revival style house bespoke the wealth and influence found in many of the homes in antebellum Vicksburg. Perched high upon the airy bluffs well away from the stagnant marshes and bustling riverfront, many of the city's prominent citizens called this neighborhood home. As the dark clouds of war gathered around Vicksburg, the cosmopolitan river city was transformed by the construction of defensive positions and placement of over one hundred and fifty cannon along the riverfront and around the city. Command Center: In October of 1862, Lt. General John C. Pemberton assumed command of the Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana, which consisted of five military districts, including the stronghold of Vicksburg. Pemberton's headquarters staff served as the administrative nerve-center for not only the Army of Vicksburg, but also the bulk of Confederate forces in the region. Following the defeat at the battle of Big Black River Bridge on May 17, 1863, Pemberton's army was forced to retreat into the defensive works surrounding Vicksburg. Within twenty-four hours, Major General Ulysses S. Grant's Army of the Tennessee began arrived on the ridges east of Vicksburg. Grant, eager to capture the city, launched assaults on May 19 and again on May 22. Both attempts failed to dislodge Pemberton's army and only served to bolster the morale of the steadfast defenders. Grant, hesitant to risk further casualties, proceeded to surround the city effectively cutting-off any Confederate communication from outside. On May 23, the Willis-Cowan House became Pemberton's headquarters. It was here that Pemberton's staff was reduced to providing for the needs of the defenders from the meager materials available within the besieged city. Overpowered by Numbers: In a meeting with his division commanders, Pemberton asked their counsel on Vicksburg's fate. Unless the siege of Vicksburg is raised or supplies are thrown in, it will become necessary very shortly to evacuate the place. I see no prospect of the former, and there are many great, if not insuperable, obstacles in the way of the latter. You are therefore requested to inform me with as little delay as possible as to the condition of your troops, and their ability to make the marches and undergo the fatigue necessary to accomplish a successful evacuation. The response was unanimous -- not one division commander thoguht that a successful evacuation was possible and the troops were -- "overpowered by numbers, word down with fatigue." With few options remaining, Pemberton reluctantly chose to surrender Vicksburg, nearly thirty-thousand Confederate troops, and for intents and purposes, the Mississippi River. Thus, in this room on the night of July 2, 1863, the fate of Vicksburg and the Confederacy was ulimately sealed. The following morning, Pemberton responded to the conclusion offered by his division commanders: -- my own preference would be to put myself at the head of my troops and make a desperate effort to cut our way through the enemy... But my duty is to sacrifice myself and save the army which has so nobly done its duty to defend Vicksburg. I therefore concur with you and shall offer to surrender the army on the 4th of July. -- Lt. General John C. Pemberton, July 3, 1863
7. VICKPE_130601_053.JPG: "The Journey to Freedom" In 1863, with the situation desperate, the Emancipation Proclamation announced that black men would "be received into the armed service of the United States." Thousands enlisted. These illustrated card present the journey of a slave from plantation life to the struggle for liberty, for which he gives his life, as a Union soldier during the Civil War.
8. VICKPE_130601_060.JPG: The nation reacts to emancipation Lincoln's Emancipation plan had brought a torrent of denunciation from many white Northerners. They would fight to save the Union but not to free the slaves. When news came that Lincoln had signed the final Proclamation, black Northerners filled churches, sang hymns, and danced in the streets. But Lincoln's critics charged him with going beyond his authority. And abolitionists complained that the Proclamation did not go far enough. They argued that it didn't actually free a single slave. Black Southerners had watched and waited as the day of emancipation drew near. Slaveholders tried to prevent slaves from learning about the Proclamation. But the word traveled from one plantation to another. By the end of 1864, nearly 500,000 enslaved people had left for Union camps.
9. VICKPE_130601_066.JPG: His signature registered his triumph Even though the Constitution does not give the president a say on constitutional amendments, Lincoln was so elated that he signed the Thirteenth Amendment before it went to the states for ratification. Dismayed senators passed a resolution declaring that his action should not be taken as a precedent. But Lincoln had not been able to resist the opportunity. It was a momentous occasion. Lincoln believed the Thirteenth Amendment would preserve for all time the emancipation he had ordered as a wartime measure. No piece of legislation received more of his attention. This is one of 13 copies he is known to have signed.
10. VICKPE_130601_075.JPG: The Thirteenth Amendment transforms the Constitution Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude... shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. -– Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution The clerk announced the tally – 119 ayes, 56 nays. The resolution had passed with two votes to spare. History had been made this final day of January 1865: Congress had approved a constitutional amendment abolishing slavery and sent it to the states for ratification. For a moment, there was a profound silence. Then the chamber erupted. Congressmen and visitors cheered, clapped, threw their hats in the air, embraced, wept, prayed. The next evening, the President addressed a crowd gathered out side the White House. The vote was a "great moral victory," he said. The Thirteenth Amendment transformed the U.S. Constitution. Ratified on December 6, 1865, eight months after his assassination, it is Lincoln's greatest constitutional legacy.
11. VICKPE_130601_085.JPG: Defender of Vicksburg: Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 10, 1814, John C. Pemberton graduated from West Point in 1837. He served in numerous military posts around the country and married into an influential Virginia family, which led him to resign his commission in the United States Army in April on 1861. Pemberton progressed rapidly to the rank of major general in January 1862, and lieutenant general by September the same year. Many of Pemberton's contemporaries felt that he had been promoted beyond his abilities and was unqualified to command his department. Any doubts about his abilities came to fruition after his defeat at the battle of Big Black on May 17, 1863, leading Pemberton to remark to Major Samuel M. Lockett soon after the battle -- Just thirty years ago, I began my cadetship at the United States Military Academy. Today, the same date, that career is ended in disaster and disgrace. -- Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton Following the defeat at the battle of Champion Hill, Pemberton moved his remaining troops to the relative safety of Vicksburg's defenses. Nearly one hundred and fifty years later, Pemberton's decision is still a point of contention and is considered by many a move that sealed the fate of Vicksburg and the Confederacy. Conflicting Orders: The fall on Vicksburg subjected Pemberton to painful criticism from those who held that a more resourceful commander might have saved the city and his army. Pemberton disregarded the orders of General Joseph E. Johnston by deciding to protect Vicksburg at all costs rather than join Johnston and risk loss of the city. It was, however, Jefferson F. Davis, President of the Confederate States of America, who repeatedly reminded Pemberton as to the importance of preserving Vicksburg. In the months that followed the surrender, Davis wrote Pemberton -- I thought and still think you did the right to risk an army for the purpose of keeping command of even a section of the Mississippi River. Had you succeeded, none would have blamed, had you not made the attempt, few would have defended your course. During the Siege: While his army suffered in the field, Pemberton struggled to reinforce and feed his starving troops. Despite his desperate please, there was no relief and the burden of blame rested solely upon Pemberton's shoulders. His troops, officers, and civilians openly criticized the beleaguered general. Pemberton endured criticisms and name calling silently until, urged by John S. Bowen, he finally responded -- You have heard that I was incompetent, and a traitor, and that it was my intention to sell Vicksburg. Follow me, and you will see the cost at which I will sell Vicksburg. When the last cow and hog and horse and dog shall have been consumed, and the last man shall have perished in the trenches, then, and only then, will I 'see Vicksburg.' " -- Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton After the Surrender: Following his release in a prisoner exchange, the disgraced Pemberton found no available positions suitable for his high rank. Frustrated, Pemberton offered to resign his commission and reenlist as a private. With Jefferson Davis's continued support, Pemberton was commissioned lieutenant colonel and served as an artillery officer for the remainder of the war. After the war, Pemberton farmed in Virginia, but eventually returned to his native Pennsylvania where he died on July 13, 1881, and was buried in Philadelphia. Controversial Figure: John C. Pemberton remained haunted by his debacle at Vicksburg for the remainder of his life, although he rarely offered explanations or blame for his failures in the Vicksburg campaign. Even after his death, Pemberton remains a controversial figure. Many still refer to the Pennsylvanian as a traitor to the Southern cause who did little to save Vicksburg and the Mississippi River. Contrary to the remarks of his many detractors, there is no evidence that Pemberton ever performed below his abilities for the Confederacy. It is more likely that he was simply out-generaled by Grant and was never up to the herculean task of leading a large command in defense of the immensely important city of Vicksburg.
12. VICKPE_130601_094.JPG: Who freed the slaves? On January 1, 1863, President Lincoln dipped this pen into an inkwell to sign the Emancipation Proclamation. But freedom was not achieved with a stroke of a pen. It also involved the actions of Union military commanders, Congress and enslaved people themselves.
13. VICKPE_130601_099.JPG: BOUND Can slavery be uprooted by constitutional means? "So I say in relation to the principle that all men are created equal, let it be nearly reached as we can." -– Lincoln debating Stephen Douglas at Springfield, Illinois, July 17, 1858
14. VICKPE_130601_106.JPG: Surrender: After the war, the surrender site became a destination for veterans. As a site of reflection, it triggered a range of emotions then and, as it has evolved over time, still produces a chance to stop and consider not just Pemberton's decision but the cost of conflict.
15. VICKPE_130601_130.JPG: Joseph E. Johnston When his native state of Virginia seceded from the Union in 1861, Johnston resigned his commission as a brigadier general in the United States Army, the highest ranking officer to do so. Commanding troops at the battle of Fair Oaks, Virginia, in 1862, he suffered painful wounds in the chest and shoulder. While recovering from his wounds, Johnston received word from Secretary of War James A. Seddon: Proceed at once to Mississippi and take chief command of the forces, giving to those in the field, as far as practicable, the encouragement and benefit of your personal direction. Johnston replied, "I shall go immediately, although unfit for field service." I am too late... Following a long and painful trip by rail, Johnston arrived in Jackson on May 13, 1863, to personally supervise operations for the defense of Vicksburg. Notified that Grant's army was between Pemberton's forces and the 6,000 Confederate troops in the Jackson area, Johnston telegraphed Richmond: "I am too late." On May 14th, as Johnston's soldiers withdrew north from Jackson, two Federal corps, commanded by Major General William T. Sherman and James B. McPherson attacked the city forcing Johnston's rear guard from the capital. With Jackson neutralized, Grant turned his army west toward Vicksburg. En route, Grant's army met Pemberton's at Champion Hill on May 16. There, Pemberton's army was routed in the bloodiest battle of the Vicksburg campaign and fled to the safety of Vicksburg following another ill-fated stand at the Big Black River on May 17. When information that Pemberton had fallen back into the fortress city, Johnston sent a note by courrier [sic] to Vicksburg: instead of loosing both troops and place, we must, if possible, save troops. If it is not too late, evacuate Vicksburg, and its dependencies, and march to the northeast. But Pemberton, with orders from Jefferson Davis to hold Vicksburg, decided to remain inside the city and await Johnston's Army of Relief. His troops were destined to experience near starvation, disease and death while awaiting an assured relief that never came. A terrible letting down: Soon after the fall of Vicksburg, Johnston and his army were again forced out of Jackson by Union troops under William T. Sherman. Dismayd [sic] by Johnston's reluctance to engage Grant during the siege, Jefferson Davis relieved Johnston of command. Learning of this, Southern newspapers printed that Johnston had given Grant "a terrible letting alone." In 1864, Jefferson Davis, left with few options, appointed Johnston to organize defenses against William T. Sherman as he marched towards Atlanta, Georgia. When Johnston failed to check Sherman's advance, he was again relieved of command only to be reinstated eight months later to fight Sherman at Bentonville, North Carolina in March 1865. Two weeks later, Johnston surrendered his army to Sherman. In 1891, Joseph E. Johnston died of pneumonia soon after he attended William T. Sherman's funeral, where he had stood hatless in the rain to honor his former foe.
16. VICKPE_130601_136.JPG: DISSENT Must civil liberties give way to save the nation? "[U]nder cover of 'liberty of speech,' 'liberty of press,' and 'habeas corpus,' they hoped to keep on foot among us a most efficient corps of spies, informers, suppliers, and aiders and abettors of their cause." -– Lincoln to Erastus Corning, June 12, 1863
17. VICKPE_130601_147.JPG: Must civil liberties give way to save the nation? "[U]nder cover of 'liberty of speech,' 'liberty of press,' and 'habeas corpus,' they hoped to keep on foot among us a most efficient corps of spies, informers, suppliers, and aiders and abettors of their cause." -– Lincoln to Erastus Corning, June 12, 1863
18. VICKPE_130601_153.JPG: ENDURES "It is for us the living … to be dedicated here to the unfinished work." -– Lincoln's Address at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, November 19, 1863
19. VICKPE_130601_159.JPG: "Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War," a traveling exhibition for libraries, was organized by the National Constitution Center and the American Library Association Public Programs Office. The traveling exhibition is based on an exhibition of the same name developed by the National Constitution Center and currently touring the United States.
20. VICKPE_130601_165.JPG: You Be the Judge: "The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it." – U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 9 What is a Writ of Habeas Corpus? A writ means "something written"; habeas corpus means "you have the body." When put them together "writ of habeas corpus," is an order directing someone holding a person in custody to produce him before a court. This privilege entitles an imprisoned person to file a petition so that a judge can decide whether he or she is being held lawfully.
21. VICKPE_130601_175.JPG: DISSENT
22. VICKPE_130601_180.JPG: Must civil liberties give way to save the nation? [U]nder cover of "liberty of speech," "liberty of press, " and "habeas corpus," they hoped to keep on foot among us a most efficient corps of spies, informers, suppliers, and aiders and abettors of their cause. – Lincoln to Erastus Corning, June 12, 1863 As the nation fell into civil war, Lincoln faced a sea of perils: Saboteurs blew up bridges; mobs blocked Union troops; spies lurked in Washington. Clearly the President had to respond. To meet the crisis, Lincoln claimed extraordinary powers. He suspended the writ of habeas corpus -- the provision in the Constitution that protects citizens against arbitrary arrests. No president had done it before. As military arrests mounted so me Americans wondered, were their liberties being lost? Lincoln didn't think so. Liberties legitimately suspended in wartime would still be safeguarded in times of peace, he maintained. But questions remained: • How far could a president stretch his war powers without violating the Constitution? • What were the appropriate limits of dissent in wartime? Lincoln wrestled with those issues then; we still debate them today.
23. VICKPE_130601_184.JPG: Strong measures in Maryland "Our men are not moles, and can't dig under the earth. They are not birds, and can't fly through the air." -– Lincoln's reply to Baltimore Committee, April 22, 1861 The President needed to defend Washington: if the capital fell, the Union would be lost. But getting troops to Washington was treacherous. They had to come through Maryland, and Confederate sympathizers were bent on stopping them. A week after the war broke out, a mob attacked Union troops in Baltimore. Four soldiers and a dozen citizens died in the rioting. In response, the mayor and police chief – both Southern sympathizers – ordered local citizens to obstruct troop movements. Lincoln told General-in-Chief Scott to use "prompt and efficient means" to restore order. "In the extremist necessity," Scott might suppress the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus. On May 13 he did, by declaring martial law, and troops took control in Maryland. Union officers arrested hundreds thought to be disloyal.
24. VICKPE_130601_189.JPG: More strong measures "[I]mbued with a reverence for the guaranteed rights of individuals, I was slow to adopt the strong measures, which by degrees I have been forced to regard as being within the exceptions of the constitution, and as indispensable to the public Safety." – Lincoln to Erastus Corning, June 12, 1863 With enthusiasm for war fading and enlistments drying up, Congress in March 1863 established a national draft – the first in U.S. history. It sparked an outcry. Thousands tried to evade it. In New York City, an anti-draft riot killed 105 people and caused enormous property losses. The pace of military arrests quickened again as resistance to the draft grew. By 1863 thousands had been detained, mostly suspected draft dodgers and deserters. Lincoln had urged subordinates to show restraint. "Unless the necessity for... arbitrary arrests is manifest, and urgent," he declared in May 1861. "I prefer they should cease." Arrests should be used "for prevention and not for punishment." Even so, Lincoln's critics howled; even some of his supporters winced. But he refused to back down. ["I think the time not unlikely," he said, "when I shall be blamed for having made too few arrests rather than too many."]
25. VICKPE_130601_195.JPG: ENDURES
26. VICKPE_130601_202.JPG: Has America lived up to the ideals Lincoln fought for -- EQUALITY, FREEDOM, DEMOCRACY?
27. VICKPE_130601_208.JPG: An Autograph for the Ages: Abraham Lincoln signed these precious pages from an autograph book on the day he delivered his address at the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery. He had been invited to deliver "a few appropriate remarks." But Lincoln's 272 eloquent words became a timeless expression of the American creed.
28. VICKPE_130601_212.JPG: Lincoln's task ... and ours: "It is for us the living … to be dedicated here to the unfinished work." -– Lincoln's Address at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, November 19, 1863 In a place where thousands died, Lincoln spoke about a birth. At a site where brave men fought and died, he challenged us to continue their struggle. The war was nearly three years old. Had it been worth it? Here, in dedicating a cemetery at the Gettysburg battlefield, Lincoln made clear his vision of the Union: The United States was a nation. It was not created by the states; it was created by the people "four score and seven years ago" – in 1776, before the Constitution was even written. For Lincoln, constitutional government was never an end in itself. The Constitution served the nation. And the nation -- "conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal" -- represented an ideal of freedom and democracy. No one knew better than Lincoln that the United States had not yet lived up to the ideal. So he challenged future generations to take up that cause. He had said it many ways before, but he never said it as well as this, and nobody would ever say it better.
29. VICKPE_130601_226.JPG: Lincoln justifies his civil liberties policy Lincoln's civil liberties actions provoked a chorus of criticism. By mid-summer 1863 he felt he had to explain his policies to the public. A written protest he received about the arrest and trial of a prominent opponent of the war gave him his chance. Lincoln's response was a public relations success. His public letter was reissued as a pamphlet like this one. At least 500,000 copies were read by 10 million people. In the pamphlet's most famous passage, Lincoln defended his duty to sustain the army by cracking down on those who encouraged desertion. "Must I shoot a simple-minded soldier boy who deserts," he asked, "while I must not touch a hair of a wily agitator who induces him to desert?"
30. VICKPE_130601_230.JPG: How free a press? "[Y]ou will only ... suppress assemblies, or newspapers, when they may be working palpable injury to the Military in your charge; and, in no other case will you interfere with the expression of opinion in any form, or allow it to be interfered with violently by others." --- Lincoln to Gen. John M. Schofield, October 1, 1863. The angry "committee" challenged the editor of the Essex County Democrat . Ambrose Kimball had published "treasonable speeches" and "violent articles in favor of Secession." Would he apologize? When he refused, they tarred and feathered him. Scenes like this played out in many places. Groups of citizens, federal troops and local authorities cracked down on "rebel sympathizing" newspapers. Some "disloyal" editors simply got a warning, others were arrested, while some had their presses destroyed. Had Lincoln ordered any of these actions? It's not clear. But he condoned the arrests, especially in the critical months of 1861. Still, he believed in freedom of the press. By 1863 he recognized that suppression of newspaper critics had backfired, and he told commanders to desist.
31. VICKPE_130601_233.JPG: I Cast My Vote for Lincoln and the Constitution: He'd just become a Second Lieutenant. But what most excited 24-year-old William Plimley in October 1864 was something else. "Some days ago I cast my vote for Lincoln and the Constitution," he wrote. "[T]he soldiers in the field... seem to realize what they are fighting for and are bound to be victorious, or die on the fields." Even holding a presidential election during a civil war testified to the strength of the nation's political institutions. Lincoln understood this. In 1863, Congress had ratified his authority to suspend the writ of habeas corpus. Now, in 1864, he was submitting his record -- on civil liberties, on emancipation, on his conduct of the war -- to the American people. Few could deny that the years of war had strained the document that gave life to the nation's freedoms. To meet the crisis of civil war, Lincoln had concluded, important civil liberties must give way to saving the nation. In 1864, the people ratified his decision. But unlike secession or slavery, civil liberties in wartime is an explosive issue, still ticking in the Constitution. We are called on again to meet it today.
32. VICKPE_130601_240.JPG: Ed Bearss
33. VICKPE_130601_259.JPG: Pemberton's Commanders: Major General John S. Bowen: Admitted to West Point in 1838 from his native Georgia, he graduated in 1843 [which also contributed Joseph Reynolds, James Hardie, Samuel French, and Ulysses S Grant], a year late due to a suspension for not reporting a classmate's misconduct. After graduation, Bowen was assigned to Carlisle Barracks in Pennsylvania where he spent nearly three years before resigning his commission and returned to civilian life in St. Louis, Missouri. There, Bowen was neighbors with Ulysses S. Grant -- a fact not lost on Pemberton when he asked Bowen to request a meeting with the Union general to discuss the surrender of Vicksburg years later. When war came, Bowen led a brigade of Missouri troops at the battle of Shiloh in 1862 where he was wounded. In May 1863, he was promoted to major general for his conduct at the battle of Port Gibson. During the siege of Vicksburg, Pemberton held Bowen's division in reserve as a rapid response force for threatened points along the Confederate line. Major General John H. Forney: A North Carolina native, he graduated twenty-second in the West Point class of 1852. [which also contributed Henry Slocum, August Kautz, and George Crook] At the outbreak of hostilities, Forney was an instructor of infantry tactics at West Point. He soon resigned his commission in the US Army and was appointed colonel of the 10th Alabama. Wounded at the battle of First Manassas, he was subsequently promoted to major general in 1862. In the spring of 1863, Forney assumed command of one of Pemberton's five divisions. Major General Martin L. Smith: A native of New York, Smith was a graduate of the renowned West Point class of 1842 that contributed twenty-two general officers to the armies of the Civil War. [Note: Including William Rosecrans, John Pope, Abner Doubleday, Daniel Hill, Lafayette McLaws, Earl Van Dorn, and James Longstreet.] Smith spent nearly all of his United States Army career in the South where, in 1846, he married a girl from Athens, Georgia. His "associations, feelings and interests" led him to resign from the United States service on April 1, 1861. Commissioned major in the Confederate corps of engineers, Smith was posted in New Orleans where he designed and supervised the construction of the city's defenses. Smith was promoted to brigadier general in the spring of 1862 following the fall of New Orleans. Smith's troops were absorbed under Pemberton's command in October, and Smtih was relegated to division commander. Major General Carter L. Stevenson: A Virginian and graduate of the West Point class of 1838 [which also contributed Pierre Gustave Toutant Beuregard, Irvin McDowell, and William Hardee], Stevenson began his Civil War career in 1861 as a major of infantry in the Confederate army. He was soon promoted to colonel and assigned to the 53rd Virginia Infantry. In February 1862, he was transferred to the western theater before participating in any actions with the famed Army of North Virginia. In December 1862, Stevenson's command was ordered to reinforce Pemberton's army during the battle of Chickasaw Bayou and remained with the Army of Vicksburg until its surrender. Major General William H. Loring: Born in Wilmington, North Carolina, Loring grew up in Florida where he practiced law and entered politics. In 1846, he was commissioned as a captain in the United States Army, and lost an arm fighting in the Mexican War. In 1861, he resigned his commission in the US Army to accept the rank of brigadier general in Confederate service. Within a year, Loring was removed from command after argueing with his superior officer, Major General "Stonewall" Jackson. Soon after, he was promoted to major general and posted under John C. Pemberton in the Army of Mississippi where he commanded a division. The temperamental Loring had several arguments with Pemberton and, before the pivotal battle of Champion Hill, was heard telling other officers that he would be willing for the army to suffer a defeat if its resulted in the removal of Pemberton from command. As Pemberton's divisions fled the field, Loring's division was cut-off and unable to rejoin the army, instead, he chose to march his division south and later joined Joseph E. Johnston for the remainder of the campaign.
34. VICKPE_130601_276.JPG: "With malice toward none; with charity for all" This copy of Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address was printed as a souvenir in Washington on March 4, 1865. The war wasn't over, but it was drawing to a close. Lincoln meditated on its meaning and its terrible toll. Slavery was not the fault of the South alone. It was the whole nation's "offence" and must be abolished to purge the United States of its sin. As much preacher as president, Lincoln tried to carry the nation toward a new spirit of reconciliation. "With malice toward none; with charity for all," he said, "let us strive on to finish the work we are in."
35. VICKPE_130601_297.JPG: 1858: This photograph was taken May 7, 1858, in Beardstown, Illinois, three months before Lincoln began his famous debates with Stephen A. Douglas in the campaign for US Senate. 1861: Lincoln grew a beard after his election as president. This photograph was taken in Springfield, Illinois, on February 9, 1861, two days before the President-elect left for Washington.
36. VICKPE_130601_302.JPG: 1864: This photograph was taken in Washington, DC on February 9, 1864, three days before Lincoln's fifty-fifth birthday. 1865: This photograph was taken in Washington, DC on February 5, 1865, one month before Lincoln delivered his Second Inaugural Address.
37. VICKPE_130601_305.JPG: The siege scarred both lives and landscapes. This photo shows the Shirley House, amid numerous dugout shelters. The house survived, has been restored and can be seen at the Vicksburg National Military Park.
38. VICKPE_130601_312.JPG: DIVIDED Was the "United States" truly one nation, or was it a confederacy of sovereign and separate states? BOUND How could a country founded on the belief that "all men are created equal" tolerate slavery? DISSENT In a national crisis, would civil liberties be secure? By 1860 these unresolved questions had become ticking time bombs, ready to explode. In that year Abraham Lincoln's election brought the nation to the brink of civil war. Even before he was sworn in, seven states renounced their allegiance to the United States, forming "The Confederate States of America." This exhibition traces Lincoln's struggle to resolve those basic questions at the most perilous moment in the nation's history. The answers would reinvent the Constitution and the promise of American life.
39. VICKPE_130601_316.JPG: DIVIDED Are we a single nation, or a confederacy of sovereign and separate states? "We are striving to maintain the government and institutions of our fathers ... and transmit them to our children and our children's children forever." -- Lincoln's remarks to 148th Ohio Regiment, August 31, 1864
40. VICKPE_130601_321.JPG: Meet Mr. Lincoln "[I]t is a great piece of folly to attempt to make anything out of my early life. It can all be condensed into a single sentence…The short and simple annals of the poor." -– Lincoln's remark to John L. Scripps, 1860 Abraham Lincoln was elected president in November 1860 with less than 40 percent of the vote. On the eve of his inauguration, most Americans knew little about him. Most Northerners hoped he was no Buchanan – the weak outgoing president. They knew that Lincoln advocated standing up to slavery. But how? This one-term congressman from Illinois had held no military command, no leading position in industry. He had done well as a lawyer. He was a canny politician, but he had been influential only in his home state. Most Southerners viewed Lincoln with distrust. But everybody sought clues to his character. The same week that Lincoln was sworn in, Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper tried to help, offering "the only correct portrait yet given to the public."
41. VICKPE_130601_333.JPG: Lincoln takes the constitutional oath It was March 4, 1861. Abraham Lincoln was about to be sworn in as president. Americans were worried. Would their president-elect let the Southern states leave the Union? Would he risk civil war to sustain the Union? As thousands watched, Lincoln began to speak. His words mixed conciliation and firmness. The government would not attack the South if the Union was not attacked. But he was about to take a solemn oath "registered in heaven" to "preserve, protect and defend" the Constitution and the Union it served. He warned both sides to take note. When he concluded, he placed his hand on the Bible, raised his right hand, and repeated the oath. Almost before he finished, the cheering began. But a howl arose in the South. What Southerners heard were not words of moderation, but a declaration of war. "We are not enemies" Lincoln carried drafts of his inaugural address with him from Springfield and continued to revise and edit the speech with advice from friends and colleagues. Lincoln's next-to-last draft closed with a challenge to secessionists: "With you, and not with me, is the solemn question of ‘Shall it be peace, or a sword?'" But his final text concluded: "I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends ... Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection ... The mystic chords of memory ... will yet swell the chorus of the Union when again touched ... by the better angels of our nature." "I, Abraham Lincoln, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." -– Lincoln's constitutional oath, March 4, 1861
42. VICKPE_130601_337.JPG: Civilians Under Seige [sic]: "What is to become of all the living things in this place..." -- Emma Balfour
43. VICKPE_130601_347.JPG: Are we a single nation, or a confederacy of sovereign and separate states? "We are striving to maintain the government and institutions of our fathers … and transmit them to our children and our children's children forever." -- Lincoln's remarks to 148th Ohio Regiment, August 31, 1864 It was an important occasion – the first public flag-raising ceremony in Washington since the war began. When Lincoln hoisted the Star-Spangled Banner, it hung limply. Suddenly, a breeze unfurled the flag, and Lincoln smiled. "We hope that the same breeze [will swell] the glorious flag throughout the whole nation." But that flag no longer flew over the whole nation. Secession by the Southern states, Lincoln said, was not only unconstitutional, it was undemocratic. Majority rule – the bedrock principle of democracy -- was at stake. To permit a discontented minority who had lost an election to "break up their government" would prove for all time that government by the people could not survive. So secession could not stand. The South must be brought back. Even if it meant war.
44. VICKPE_130601_356.JPG: On December 6, 1860, the people of South Carolina voted for delegates to a convention whose decision was a foregone conclusion. The convention assembled in Charleston and voted unanimously for secession from the United States. Within minutes of its passage the ordinance appeared as a Charleston Mercury extra edition.
45. VICKPE_130601_361.JPG: Union or Confederacy? Fort Sumter puts the question to the ultimate test "[N]o choice was left but to call out the war power of the Government; and so to resist force, employed for its destruction, by force for its preservation." -- Lincoln's Message to Congress, July 4, 1861 On the President's first day, a message from the commanding officer at Fort Sumter was waiting on his desk. Provisions would soon run out. The fort was in Charleston harbor – one of the last places the U.S. controlled in the Deep South. Unless the fort was re-supplied, it would have to be surrendered. In his inaugural address Lincoln had promised to avoid "bloodshed or violence" unless it was forced upon him. But he had also pledged to "hold, occupy, and possess" federal properties. That included Fort Sumter. The President weighed the conflicting advice of his cabinet in his administration before making the fateful decision. He would re-supply the fort. On April 12, the re-supply attempt was made. The Confederates attacked Sumter. And the country was at war.
46. VICKPE_130601_367.JPG: "If you can find, any person anywhere professing to have any proposition of Jefferson Davis in writing, for peace, embracing the restoration of the Union and the abandonment of slavery ... he may come to me with ... safe conduct." -– Lincoln to Horace Greeley, July 9, 1864
47. VICKPE_130601_371.JPG: LINCOLN
48. VICKPE_130601_377.JPG: Lincoln Takes the Constitutional Oath: It was March 4, 1861. Abraham Lincoln was about to be sworn in as president. Americans were worried. Would their president-elect let the Southern states leave the Union? Would he risk civil war to sustain the Union? As thousands watched, Lincoln began to speak. His words mixed conciliation and firmness. The government would not attack the South if the Union was not attacked. But he was about to take a solemn oath "registered in heaven" to "preserve, protect and defend" the Constitution and the Union it served. He warned both sides to take note. When he concluded, he placed his hand on the Bible, raised his right hand, and repeated the oath. Almost before he finished, the cheering began. But a howl arose in the South. What Southerners heard were not words of moderation, but a declaration of war.
49. VICKPE_130601_380.JPG: First Inaugural Address: "We are not enemies" Lincoln carried drafts of his inaugural address with him from Springfield and continued to revise and edit the speech with advice from friends and colleagues. Lincoln's next-to-last draft closed with a challenge to secessionists: "With you, and not with me, is the solemn question of ‘Shall it be peace, or a sword?'" But his final text concluded: "I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends ... Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection ... The mystic chords of memory ... will yet swell the chorus of the Union when again touched ... by the better angels of our nature."
50. VICKPE_130601_384.JPG: "I, Abraham Lincoln, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." -– Lincoln's constitutional oath, March 4, 1861
51. VICKPE_130601_393.JPG: Meet Mr. Lincoln: Abraham Lincoln was elected president in November 1860 with less than 40 percent of the vote. On the eve of his inauguration, most Americans knew little about him. Most Northerners hoped he was no Buchanan – the weak outgoing president. They knew that Lincoln advocated standing up to slavery. But how? This one-term congressman from Illinois had held no military command, no leading position in industry. He had done well as a lawyer. He was a canny politician, but he had been influential only in his home state. Most Southerners viewed Lincoln with distrust. But everybody sought clues to his character. The same week that Lincoln was sworn in, Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper tried to help, offering "the only correct portrait yet given to the public."
52. VICKPE_130601_401.JPG: The Distinctive Hat: This "stovepipe" hat is the one Lincoln wore when he left Illinois, headed to Washington for his inauguration. The stovepipe hat became Lincoln's trademark. He liked that it accentuated his already great height, making him an even more imposing figure.
53. VICKPE_130601_404.JPG: The Union's champion In 1861, many Northerners expected a short war. This series of patriotic envelopes, likened the conflict to a boxing match between Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis. In five short rounds, Lincoln humiliates Davis, routs the rebellion and restores the Union.
54. VICKPE_130601_416.JPG: Blockade Order: The legal start of the Civil War: Lincoln's signature on this document in the earliest days of the war imposed a blockade of Southern ports. Some feared that the Supreme Court would say he had exceeded his powers. By a 5-4 vote, the Court in 1863 upheld Lincoln's action.
55. VICKPE_130601_420.JPG: Lincoln takes charge: "[T]he Constitution invests its Commander-in-Chief with the law of war, in time of war." -– Lincoln to James C. Conkling, August 26, 1863 The Constitution makes the president commander-in-chief of the armed forces. But only Congress can authorize the resources for war. Congress had adjourned in March, and when Fort Sumter was attacked in April, Lincoln knew every second counted. So he acted: • He summoned 75,000 state militiamen and urged volunteers to enlist. • He released millions of dollars from the treasury to help private citizens purchase military equipment. • He authorized martial law. • He ordered a blockade of southern ports. No president had ever used war powers like this. Had Lincoln exceeded his constitutional authority? Although he hadn't consulted Congress, he believed it would authorize what he'd done. Eventually it did, but critics still accused him of acting more like a dictator than a president.
56. VICKPE_130601_423.JPG: General Hancock's charge at the Battle of Williamsburg, Virginia, May 5, 1862
57. VICKPE_130601_428.JPG: "Let us re-adopt the Declaration of Independence, and with it, the practices, and policy, which harmonize with it.… If we do this, we shall not only have saved the Union; but we shall have so saved it, as to make [it] forever worthy of the saving." -– Lincoln's Speech at Peoria, Illinois, October 16, 1854 An agonized President remains resolute The war had not gone well. There were defeats. Even after Union armies won battles, they seemed unable to sustain any momentum. The death-toll was staggering. Only in 1863 did the tide seem to turn. Even then, Southerners fought so stubbornly and courageously that many Northerners urged an armistice and negotiations. Lincoln doubted he'd be reelected in 1864, but he stood firm. Good news from the battlefield saved him. Now that victory was in sight, Lincoln finally agreed to meet with Confederate leaders. Early in 1865 he went to Virginia to discuss peace terms with Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens. Lincoln was blunt and to the point: • National authority under the Constitution must be recognized by all the states. • The South must accept fully the U.S. government's actions to end slavery. • All hostilities must end. Stephens probed for concessions, but Lincoln refused to budge. The fighting would continue for another three months.
58. VICKPE_130601_436.JPG: The road to Union must also lead to freedom At last, the horror was over. The surrender of General Lee's Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox signaled the end of four years of bloodshed and division. Lincoln's beloved Union and its Constitution had been saved. War had settled the issue: the United States was a nation, not a confederacy of states. But could the Constitution guarantee the freedom the nation stood for? For Lincoln the answer was "yes," but only if the nation rededicated itself to the values of the Declaration of Independence – "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Those were the ideals that the Constitution should serve.
59. VICKPE_130601_439.JPG: General Lee surrenders to General Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, April 9, 1865. The surrender foretold the birth of a reunited nation. "This will live in history," one of Grant's aides said.
60. VICKPE_130601_447.JPG: During the war, Lincoln maintained an exhausting scheduled. He was only in his mid-fifties, but the endless pressures took their toll.
61. VICKPE_130601_453.JPG: Secession and state sovereignty Copies of South Carolina's ordinance of secession were distributed to delegates after a convention voted to repeal the state's ratification of the Constitution and withdraw from the Union. The eighth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution in 1788, South Carolina became the first to secede.
62. VICKPE_130601_458.JPG: LINCOLN The Constitution and the Civil War
63. VICKPE_130601_462.JPG: Back in 1787, the Framers of the Constitution left some basic questions about America unanswered
Wikipedia Description: Pemberton's Headquarters
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pemberton's Headquarters, also known as Willis-Cowan House, is a two-story brick house that served as the headquarters for Confederate General John C. Pemberton during most of the 47 day siege of Vicksburg, and the site where he decided to surrender the city to Ulysses S. Grant on July 4, 1863.

During the 1960s the building housed a kindergarten associated with Vicksburg Catholic School (St. Francis Xavier Academy Kindergarten).

The house was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976.

The historic house museum is part of Vicksburg National Military Park, and is located at 1018 or 1020 Crawford Street, Vicksburg, Mississippi.
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