The Adventures of George in Besieged Vicksburg

Howard Pyle's painting "The Shell."

Public Domain.

When Union General Ulysses S. Grant’s army surrounded the city of Vicksburg, Mississippi, in May 1863, over four thousand civilians were trapped inside. Among these civilians were hundreds of enslaved and freed people of color. Like their owners, they had to endure the Union artillery bombardment of the city for 47 days.

When the Union Navy began to rain mortar shells upon the town, civilians quickly decided to live in underground caves. Owners had their enslaved dig their caves while freedmen offered to dig caves for non-slave owners for $30-$50 per cave. It was hard work!

Once the caves were built, the enslaved spent most of their time outside while their owners sought shelter inside them. That meant the enslaved were exposed to artillery fire while they cooked, did laundry, and ran errands for their owners. Only when it sounded like an artillery shell was headed straight for them were some of the enslaved allowed to seek shelter inside their owner’s caves. Of the approximately one dozen civilian lives lost during the siege of Vicksburg, at least half belonged to enslaved or freedmen.

One enslaved individual to who experienced the harrowing events of the siege was a boy named George. George was between 10 and 12 years old. His master assigned him to take care of a family friend from out of town named Mary Loughborough. Mary had followed her husband, a Confederate officer, to Vicksburg from Missouri.

As an enslaved person, George completed a variety of jobs for Mary such as cooking, collecting food and supplies, maintaining the cave, and even chasing away hungry stray dogs intent on stealing their food! One of his most dangerous jobs was delivering letters and little gifts to Mary’s husband serving on the Confederate siege lines over two miles away. He would have to ride through town while dodging Union Navy artillery mortars, but then once he got closer to the siege lines, he would have to avoid Union Army musket balls and artillery shells. One time, the enemy fire was so intense that George’s mule was too scared to move, and George had to run all the way on foot! Imagine how scary that must have been!

At night, George would sleep on the ground at the entrance to Mary’s cave. Since it was his job to protect her, Mary gave George a pistol to use in case anyone tried to get into the cave. George told her, “Don’t be afraid. Anyone that come here would have to go over my body first!”

In fact, George did that job so well that Mary called him “my faithful defender.” But one night, the cave was too hot in the June heat, so he was sleeping beneath a tree a short distance away from the cave. Mary was awakened by the louder than usual artillery bombardment and thought the projectiles were falling too close for comfort. She went to find George, and when she saw him outside, she ran to wake him. She did so just in time, for right after George got up, a shell fragment landed right where he had been sleeping! That was close!

Another close call happened one night when an unexploded artillery shell fell through the entrance and landed in the middle of Mary’s cave. Mary, her friend, and George all stared at the shell in horror waiting for it to explode like dynamite. Seconds passed like minutes and it kept smoking. Suddenly, George lunged forward, grabbed the shell with both hands, ran outside the cave and threw it as far as he could into the street! Thankfully the fuse was broken and it did not explode. Nevertheless, George had done a very brave thing by risking his life to remove a dangerous weapon from the midst of his mistress.

Would you have been brave enough to do that?

George’s last known adventure occurred after the Confederate army surrendered to the Union. The siege was finally over! George took a horse and rode it into town to watch the Union Army march into town. George returned to Mary that night and continued working for Mary as an enslaved person for a few more days.

Mary’s husband was to be marched out of Vicksburg under Union authority with the rest of the Confederate Army to a parole camp. Likely knowing that George would be freed if he stayed in Vicksburg, Mary sent George to go with her husband so that he could continue to serve him. The last time Mary saw him, George was wearing Union sky blue uniform trousers. She never saw him again and George never reached her husband. It is unknown if George genuinely sought to follow Mary’s husband to the parole camp but was held back by the Union Army, or if he joined the Union Army like many former enslaved men did.

Directions: Answer the reading comprehension questions based on the narrative you read about George, then discuss the discussion questions together as a group. Write your answers below each question.

Reading Comprehension Questions

1. What jobs did George perform for his mistress, Mary Loughborough?

2. What dangerous object did George remove from the cave?

Group Discussion Questions

1. Even though George was loyal to Mary, why do you still think he wanted freedom?

2. What do you think happened to George after the Union Army arrived in Vicksburg?