Tracing Family Roots at Shiloh and Vicksburg

Today is the 150th anniversary of the surrender of Vicksburg. My great-great-grandfather Jasper Riggs was in that Mississippi city on that day, July 4, 1863, along with two of his brothers. He was 20 years old and served with the 45th Illinois Infantry. In recognition of its service during the siege, his regiment was given the honor of leading the Union troops into the city, and its flag was raised at the courthouse along with the Stars and Stripes.

Steve, the kids and I visited Vicksburg, as well as the Shiloh National Military Park, in October 2010. I wrote a travel story about our adventures, but I never found a publication home for it. So today I am posting it here, in memory of Jasper, who died June 24, 1911.

A photo of Jasper Riggs in 1899

A Tale of Two Battlefields: Tracing Family Roots at Shiloh and Vicksburg

By Joy Riggs

 

Shiloh National Military Park, Tennessee – I gazed intently at the landscape beyond the narrow paved road as I balanced an unfolded, detailed park map awkwardly on my lap. My husband, Steve, slowed the rental car to a crawl. Where I expected to find a memorial to my great-great grandfather’s Civil War regiment, we saw only hardwood trees, their leaves turning orange and yellow in the autumn sun.

“It should be right there, I think,” I said, pointing toward the thicket.

“Maybe we need to get out and look,” Steve said.

He put the car in park. Feeling adventurous, we made our own path through the long grass and crunchy leaves, past a cannon, and into the woods. In a hushed clearing, we spotted what had been invisible from the road, a rectangular hunk of white marble, more than 5 feet high, with raised letters near the top spelling “Illinois.”

“I think that’s it!” I exclaimed.

We approached the monument to the 45th Illinois Infantry and read the inscription on the brass plaque: Went into battle on this line about 9:00 a.m., April 6, 1862, and maintained this position until 11:00 a.m., when it joined the division on a new line. The regiment lost 1 officer and 22 men killed, 17 officers and 170 men wounded; 3 men missing; total 213.

We stood in silence. How could bloodshed have occurred in a place of such peace? Throughout our visit to Shiloh National Military Park, we continued to struggle with this contrast, the evidence of human brutality amid breathtaking natural beauty. Even though we saw other visitors that day, we often felt like we had the entire 4,200-acre park to ourselves.

That feeling of seclusion may change. Shiloh and other national park sites have scheduled special Civil War 150th anniversary events from now through April 2015.

My husband and I took our children – then ages 14, 12 and 10 – to see two of the parks in October 2010. I wanted to trace the steps of my great-great-grandfather, Jasper Riggs. I also wanted our kids to learn more about the Minnesota connections to the battles. Although Minnesota soldiers are more famous for their role at Gettysburg, they also played a part in the war’s Western Theater, joining regiments from states like Illinois and Wisconsin in the effort to preserve the Union.

Shiloh and Vicksburg are quite different, but both make great day trips from Memphis. The former is known as one of the most pristine Civil War battlefields; the latter, on a bluff above the Mississippi River, was the site of a 47-day siege that ended when Confederate Lt. Gen. John Pemberton surrendered to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant on July 4, 1863.


A Visit to Shiloh
We flew into Memphis and drove 90 miles east to Corinth, Miss., which served as a critical railroad juncture for the Confederacy. The Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center, a unit of Shiloh National Military Park, had a multimedia presentation on the Battle of Shiloh, interactive displays, and an outdoor “Stream of History” sculpture that captivated our teenaged daughter.

“This is the coolest fountain ever,” Louisa said, as she watched the water flow past stacked stone blocks etched with the names of Civil War battles and events.

At the gift shop, we bought a color-coded battlefield map and kepis, or solider caps. Louisa and Sebastian chose Union blue, while Elias opted for Confederate gray – the brother-against-siblings theme seemed appropriate. Then we drove 25 miles northeast into Tennessee, following the trail of the Confederates who had surprised the Union soldiers encamped near Pittsburg Landing on the battle’s first day.

Shiloh was the first large-scale battle of the war, and it produced more than 23,000 casualties. During the 12.7-mile driving tour of the park, we stopped by notable battle sites like the Peach Orchard and ended at Shiloh National Cemetery. Wooded and hilly, with a view of the Tennessee River below, this was the kids’ favorite place in the park.

A monument to the First Minnesota Battery Light Artillery

The resting place of six Wisconsin color bearers.

We concluded our Shiloh visit by feasting on delicious fried catfish at Hagy’s Catfish Hotel, accompanied by generously sized glasses of sweet tea. The three-generation family restaurant is located on the banks of the Tennessee River, just outside the park’s northern border. 

The view of the river from the restaurant parking lot.

A Tour of Vicksburg
The 17-mile driving route at Vicksburg National Military Park takes visitors past 1,350 markers, tablets, plaques and monuments. The markers – blue for Union troops and red for Confederate – show how shockingly close the lines were in places along the hilly terrain, and why Grant gave up on taking the town by force and decided on a siege.

I’d visited Vicksburg previously, before I had discovered that my great-great grandfather had fought there. I had since learned that the names of all 36,325 Illinois soldiers who fought at Vicksburg are listed on brass tablets located inside the Illinois Memorial. Our mission was to find Jasper’s name.

We ate a picnic lunch near the park’s only surviving wartime structure, the Shirley House, where the Illinois soldiers camped. I felt guilty eating a chicken wrap and chips, knowing my great-great grandfather had survived on food like hardtack. And he was lucky, compared to the starving Confederate soldiers and Vicksburg residents who ate dogs and mules during the siege.

A monument to Jasper’s regiment, with the Shirley House is in the background.

After lunch, we ventured inside the Illinois Monument, designed after the Roman Pantheon. Even though I’d expected to find Jasper’s name inside, I got chills when I touched the raised letters. We made a rubbing of the name with white paper and a black crayon.

The front of the Illinois Monument.

 

Louisa makes a rubbing of her great-great-great grandfather’s name.

The kids’ favorite part of Vicksburg was the USS Cairo, an ironclad gunboat sunk by a Confederate mine on Dec. 12, 1862, 13 miles north of Vicksburg. It was brought up from the Yazoo River in 1964. Visitors can walk through the boat and view recovered items.

When we left the park, I felt content that I’d paid tribute to my great-great-grandfather’s memory. I also had shown my kids that history is made my ordinary people who sometimes find themselves in extraordinary circumstances. Their history is our history, and it’s worth commemorating.

IF YOU GO
We flew into the Memphis International Airport and rented a car to visit the parks. Shiloh is 110 miles east of Memphis, and Vicksburg is 250 miles southwest of Memphis.

The Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It has a great gift shop! Shiloh National Military Park is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Vicksburg National Military Park is open daily, except for some holidays; check the website for details.

To learn about upcoming Civil War Sesquicentennial events, visit this special National Park Service website.