I was a mere lad of 18 when I ran away from the drudgery of farm life in southern Georgia. It was 1863 and I had decided to join the South's cause and fight the Yankee invaders. I was able to connect with a Confederate unit in Alabama. With no training, what so ever, I was issued the bare necessities, including a rifle and placed in a platoon headed by Sargent Amos Ferguson better known as Fergie. Fergie was older than most of the Alabama guys. Probably in his mid-fifties.
For several weeks, we drilled and drilled. The drilling made no sense to me as it did not apply to actual fighting. I asked Fergie, "What is the purpose of drilling and marching?" He responded, "Teaches discipline boy." Later at night, he further explained that we would need to react to commands without thought or questions. It seemed to make sense, but my feet hurt.
Fergie was a stern task master during drills, but a warm nice gentle man during down time. I liked him immediately. I stuck close to him trying to soak up as much knowledge as I could. Knowledge that would later prove vital to my survival.
I found out Fergie was a widower and a failed farmer. Our farm in southern Georgia barely provided a meager existence for a family of ten. Back breaking work from dawn to dusk with little to show for it. We grew food for the family and a small cotton patch for cash. To say we were dirt poor, would be an understatement.
Since we came from similar backgrounds, Fergie could relate, and understood why I had run away.
Finally, orders came for us to move out. We were given no information beyond that we were heading west. After a couple of weeks, my feet hurt even more than from the drilling. Fergie had taken a liking to me, and told me to stick close to him, which I eagerly did.
We arrived in Vicksburg, Mississippi at the beginning of March in 1863. Little did we know what lay ahead for us.
Following the Battle of Shiloh, General Ulysses S. Grant's Union army moved south. Grant hoped to secure control of the Mississippi River for the Union. Grant was about to lay siege to Vicksburg.
With the addition of our Alabama regiment, Vicksburg was well defended. After an initial assault was repulsed, Grant decided on a siege rather than continue the attack. At first, the siege was uneventful. We dug in, preparing for a real fight, which did not come.
As time ran on, supplies, mainly food, began to run low. Then the shelling began. Artillery barrages that would last hours. It was if we were in a trap with no escape.