Existing comment:
100 Years of Silent Tribute:
Century Monument
Virginia
Dedicated November 23, 1907
The Commonwealth of Virginia was the first Southern state to erect and dedicate monument in the park to the defenders of Vicksburg. The "Old Dominion" was represented by only a single unit in the Vicksburg campaign -- the Botetourt Artillery that was recruited in the area around Buchanan, in Botetourt County, Virginia.
Commanded by Capt. John W. Johnston, nephew of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, the Botetourt Artillery was engaged at Port Gibson in May 1, 1863, in which battle the unit lost 37 men, 53 horses, and 4 guns. On May 16, the battery was overrun while positioning on the crest of Champion Hill and lost its two remaining guns. One section of the battery, reequipped, served two guns near this location during the siege, while the balance of the men were armed with rifle-muskets and served in the trenches at South Fort along Washington Street to the west.
Captain Johnston later served as a U.S. Senator from Virginia. His daughter and famed author, Mary Johnston, dedicated the monument on behalf of the Virginia Division, United Daughters of the Confederacy. |