The Siege of
VICKSBURG
FROM
THE DIARY OF SETH J. WELLS
INCLUDING
WEEKS OF PREPARATION AND OF
OCCUPATION AFTER THE
SURRENDER
DETROIT, MICHIGAN
WM. H. ROWE, Publisher.
1915.
Copyright 1915
BY
MAY WELLS BLISS
AND
SARAH EWELL KROLIK
All Rights Reserved
In Loving Memory
OF
Seth James Wells
AND
Frank Ewell Wells
Foreword
The Diary of Seth J. Wells from June 14th,1861, to July 9th, 1864, relates to the every day lifeof the soldier in camp and field and records itstramps and hardships cheerfully borne.
The Siege of Vicksburg is taken from the Diary.
He was born on April 26th 1842 in Iowa, DesMoines County, near the village of Rising Sunand was reared in his Grandfather Ewell’s familyon the “Ewell Farms” in Michigan, MacombCounty, near the village of Utica.
He was wounded in battle and died a few dayslater in a hospital at Vicksburg on July 9th 1864.He enlisted on June 12th 1861 and served in threecompanies of the United States Army during theCivil War: Company E, 12th Indiana; CompanyK, 17th Illinois; Company G, 8th Illinois. Thebrothers, Frank and Seth, were together in CompanyK, 17th Illinois.
S. E. K.
[11]
The Siege of Vicksburg
Dunlap Springs, Nov. 3, 1862. We have built asnug log house and last night for the first andprobably last time have slept in it; for our companyhas orders to move down town and act ascity guards. There are eight or ten regiments here,some of them new ones from Jackson, Miss. Thenew regiments, like all new ones, have great confidencein themselves and think the war is to besettled by them and them only. There is an undercurrentof jealousy existing between the old andnew troops. The old troops call the new ones“forty dollar men,” “bounty men,” and “homeguards.” Last Friday, Oct. 31, we had general reviewfrom Gen. McPherson who is here commandingthe post. There were twenty regiments, tenthousand men, I should judge, on the field. Thereis a great forward movement taking place. All thetroops started out on the Grand Junction road thismorning with the exception of the 43rd, and 17thIll. The weather is fine, the days are warm andpleasant, but the nights are very cold and frosty.About once in ten days we have a northeast rainstorm,followed by cold weather and sleet. We areon guard every other day, sometimes every thirdday.
Nov. 7. We got a buggy shed from the citizens,boarded it up tight, built a furnace in it, and were[12]just putting o