Balfour House is an antebellum mansion located at the corner of Crawford Street and Cherry Street in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Built in 1835, it was the home of Emma Balfour, [lower-alpha 1] celebrated diarist of the Siege of Vicksburg. The red-brick, two-story structure features elements of Greek Revival and Federalist styles and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In a scene reminiscent of the 1815 Duchess of Richmond's Ball prior to the Battle of Waterloo, Balfour House played host to a grand Christmas Ball on the night of December 24, 1862. [1] [lower-alpha 2] The guests included many Confederate Army officers and their ladies. Among them was Brig. Gen. Martin Luther Smith, and Lt. Gen. Stephen D. Lee, who decades later published his own recollections of the fateful ball. [2]
As the Christmas Eve revelry progressed, the telegraph office just across the Mississippi River in Louisiana received an urgent message from Major L.L. Daniel at Lake Providence, about 36 miles north. Telegraph operator Colonel Philip H. Fall took the call.
The weather was cold and stormy, the river was dangerously turbulent and the only available transport across to Vicksburg was a small skiff. It would mean risking his life, but Colonel Fall felt compelled to deliver the crucial information to General Smith, who he knew would be at the Balfours' Christmas Ball at that moment.
Shortly after midnight, Colonel Fall, exhausted and covered in mud, burst through the door of Balfour House and waded into the crowd of dancers, who gave him a wide berth. When he saw General Smith he went directly to him and told him what he'd heard from Lake Providence. Upon hearing the news, Smith announced loudly "This ball is at an end! The enemy is coming down river. All non-combatants must leave the city!" [3] The men had only seconds to bid loved-ones good-bye as they rushed away and reported to station. Later, on December 26, came the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou, the initial battle of the Vicksburg Campaign.
During the Siege of Vicksburg, most houses were abandoned in favor of caves dug into hillsides for protection against mortar attacks, but Balfour House remained occupied. Emma Balfour famously refused to leave, and in fact used her home to shelter wounded Confederate soldiers. [4]
With Union forces surrounding Vicksburg on all sides, and the Union Navy occupying the Mississippi River, the feeling of entrapment was palpable. Emma wrote: "What is to become of all the living things in this place when the boats commend shelling—God only knows—shut up as in a trap—no ingress or egress—and thousands of women and children...". [5]
After the Confederate surrender, Balfour House served as headquarters of Union Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson. [6] [4]
The siege of Vicksburg was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Mississippi River and drove the Confederate Army of Mississippi, led by Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton, into the defensive lines surrounding the fortress city of Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Joseph Eggleston Johnston was an American career army officer, serving with distinction in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) and the Seminole Wars. After Virginia declared secession from the United States, he entered the Confederate States Army as one of its most senior general officers.
The Vicksburg campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in the Western Theater of the American Civil War directed against Vicksburg, Mississippi, a fortress city that dominated the last Confederate-controlled section of the Mississippi River. The Union Army of the Tennessee under Major General Ulysses S. Grant gained control of the river by capturing this stronghold and defeating Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton's forces stationed there.
The Army of the Tennessee was a Union army in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, named for the Tennessee River.
John Clifford Pemberton was a career United States Army officer who fought in the Seminole Wars and with distinction during the Mexican–American War. He resigned his commission to serve as a Confederate lieutenant-general during the American Civil War. He led the Army of Mississippi from December 1862 to July 1863 and was the commanding officer during the Confederate surrender at the Siege of Vicksburg.
Stephen Dill Lee was an American officer in the Confederate Army, politician, and first president of Mississippi State University from 1880 to 1899. He served as lieutenant general of the Confederate States Army in the Eastern and Western theaters of the American Civil War.
The Battle of Champion Hill of May 16, 1863, was the pivotal battle in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War (1861–1865). Union Army commander Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and the Army of the Tennessee pursued the retreating Confederate States Army under Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton and defeated it twenty miles to the east of Vicksburg, Mississippi, leading inevitably to the siege of Vicksburg and surrender. The battle is also known as Baker's Creek.
The Battle of Big Black River Bridge was fought on May 17, 1863, as part of the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. After a Union army commanded by Major General Ulysses S. Grant defeated Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton's Confederate army at the Battle of Champion Hill on May 16, Pemberton ordered Brigadier General John S. Bowen to hold a rear guard at the crossing of the Big Black River to buy time for the Confederate army to regroup. Union troops commanded by Major General John McClernand pursued the Confederates, and encountered Bowen's rear guard. A Union charge quickly broke the Confederate position, and during the retreat and river crossing, a rout ensued.
The siege of Corinth was an American Civil War engagement lasting from April 29 to May 30, 1862, in Corinth, Mississippi. A collection of Union forces under the overall command of Major General Henry Halleck engaged in a month-long siege of the city, whose Confederate occupants were commanded by General P.G.T. Beauregard. The siege resulted in the capture of the town by Federal forces.
Seth Maxwell Barton was a United States Army officer and, then, a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He later became noted as a chemist.
The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou, also called the Battle of Walnut Hills, fought December 26–29, 1862, was the opening engagement of the Vicksburg Campaign during the American Civil War. Confederate forces under Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton repulsed an advance by Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman that was intended to lead to the capture of Vicksburg, Mississippi.
The Battle of Raymond was fought on May 12, 1863, near Raymond, Mississippi, during the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. Initial Union attempts to capture the strategically important Mississippi River city of Vicksburg failed. Beginning in late April 1863, Union Major General Ulysses S. Grant led another try. After crossing the river into Mississippi and winning the Battle of Port Gibson, Grant began moving east, intending to turn back west and attack Vicksburg. A portion of Grant's army consisting of Major General James B. McPherson's 10,000 to 12,000-man XVII Corps moved northeast towards Raymond. The Confederate commander of Vicksburg, Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton, ordered Brigadier General John Gregg and his 3,000 to 4,000-strong brigade from Jackson to Raymond.
The western theater of the American Civil War encompassed major military operations in the states of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee, as well as Louisiana east of the Mississippi River. Operations on the coasts of these states, except for Mobile Bay, are considered part of the Lower Seaboard Theater. Most other operations east of the Appalachian Mountains are part of the eastern theater. Operations west of the Mississippi River took place in the trans-Mississippi theater.
Carter Littlepage Stevenson, Jr. was a career military officer, serving in the United States Army in several antebellum wars and then in the Confederate States Army as a general in the Western Theater of the American Civil War.
The Jackson Expedition, also known as the siege of Jackson, occurred in the aftermath of the surrender of Vicksburg, Mississippi, in July 1863. Union Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman led the expedition to clear General Joseph E. Johnston's relief effort from the Vicksburg area. The mission was successful and helped ensure that the Mississippi River remained in Union possession for the remainder of the war.
Ulysses S. Grant was the most acclaimed Union general during the American Civil War and was twice elected president. Grant began his military career as a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1839. After graduation he went on to serve with distinction as a lieutenant in the Mexican–American War. Grant was a keen observer of the war and learned battle strategies serving under Generals Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott. After the war Grant served at various posts especially in the Pacific Northwest; he was forced to retire from the service in 1854 due to accusations of drunkenness. He was unable to make a success of farming and on the onset of the Civil War in April 1861, Grant was working as a clerk in his father's leather goods store in Galena, Illinois. When the war began his military experience was needed, and Congressman Elihu B. Washburne became his patron in political affairs and promotions in Illinois and nationwide.
The 43rd Mississippi Infantry Regiment was a regiment of infantry in the Confederate States Army. It fought in many battles and campaigns of the American Civil War. It was known as "The Camel Regiment".
89th Indiana Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army in the Western Theater of the American Civil War.
Friend Smith Rutherford was a colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He commanded the 97th Illinois Infantry Regiment during the Vicksburg campaign. On June 18, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln nominated Rutherford for appointment to the grade of brigadier general of volunteers and the United States Senate confirmed the appointment on June 28, 1864. Rutherford's appointment was dated June 27, 1864 and it was to rank from June 28, 1864. His appointment was made and commission issued without knowledge of his death on June 20, 1864. Since Rutherford had died, the confirmation technically could not be given and the commission could not become effective. Nonetheless, several sources list Rutherford as a Union Army general, although historian Ezra Warner does not.
The 3rd Missouri Infantry Regiment served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The infantry regiment was officially mustered into service on January 17, 1862. It fought at the Battle of Pea Ridge in Arkansas in March before being transferred across the Mississippi River. While stationed at Corinth, Mississippi, the regiment played a minor role in the Battle of Farmington before the evacuation of the town. In September, the unit saw light action at the Battle of Iuka before being heavily engaged during the Second Battle of Corinth as the Confederates attempted to retake the town in October. In early 1863, the regiment was transferred to Grand Gulf, Mississippi, in order to strengthen the defenses of the Mississippi River at that point. At the Battle of Grand Gulf on April 29, the unit helped repulse a Union Navy attack against the Confederate defensive works. After elements of the Union Army of the Tennessee landed below Grand Gulf, the regiment fought in a delaying action at the Battle of Port Gibson on May 1.