The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1863-07-25
THE SIEGE AND fkLL Of viCkSBURC.

fttA Ste0s NFvO NH W vtCuCUUno.
The Southern papers pabiish some accounts,
tths h.st from Southern sources received tsoli
Confederate officers who were parole! ut
fioksbure, Of the Suffering there bsfore the
Surrender, The Atlanta intsiftgeAcer pal.
iisbe- highly interesting narrative from Col.
Watkins who participated ia the defence OF
the city, from whiel. wo make come extracts
Night and day for forty ght days. counting
from the i7ta OF May, when fsmbsrton's a
army commenced entering Ficksbury, until
the 1th day o. Jniy, when the place was eur
rendered, al incessaDt boabafd,1ent wac ksps
Up by tho enemy, both froG1 the eunboats ia
tha river and The land batteries which Grant
had planted ii Tia rear. UI. several occaaions
tbs CoiOEsl counted the nulaber Of aheis ltu:
fell ia tbs stace Cf i've mibutes, and there
We're 10, or Il nfilGts constantly falling into
the CITY ifuan the .h,o cannon that was pointed
against H. Daring the whole Of theee forty
eight days the neu reliaiasi in the bitches
with other shelter from tbs ram OF the
iisro. rAyb OF the nuB, with the therm0,ss.or
ranging at from ~ TO 100, hn. such as a blanket
Afforded and living tne whole time on one
fourth ralions, or four ounces each Of bacon.
pea meal, aDd rice. The severity of hunger
led 10 the issue Of the Hesh Of tho
mu,es which had been left in The city, the
most ot the mules auti hogses having been
driven on. Ia order that the provisions OF TIE
U:Afl .20n might last lie longer Tie men dui
..i5. !bis long parod uf sulfering &ni anxiety
~efu 1.ot Witboat hope oi relief, but she noHa
@aa % si..,L sii'i Which UeiIg long deferred
"Diaaeiti the heart SICK. They well knew
the importance Uf t!.e place ta5g were arir-
,iaonug aaI defending, ;sili iusaors veoul
of'eil arise which ibeit own excited mag
inAtlons greatly nagnihed, thai johnston
Wac moving OH with large army 10 their
relef. AT one time 1t you'd be generally car
rent throughout the army tina. Johnston hal
an army of inU,Uh0 meu, tlat Lonsstree5 was
in that army, occupying the centre of ~, rs Ii
the custoul Of that distinguished General, and
even at times ii would be imagined that tho
reports OF friendly cAnnoQ we're heard, and
that Grant and hls whole army wonid soon be-
swept away as with u be5oni Of daatuo.iou.
Eat no help could reach them.
10 add t" the horrors Of the siege s9ua of
the enemy 3 gunnsrs took special pans TO iayet
their pieces at the buildings which were
marked by yellow flags as hospitals. The
SHELF, indeed, spared ne house ia tho de-
voted chy. Men on their kness at public
workehOp were killed by them, tho sick wers
Killed oh their beds, and many who lag
down ut pis1t to sieep, unbsiufJed by !Ae
report of tio bursting missiles - which they
had been accustomed, slept th9 sleep that
knows no waking. Tho women aud chill
dreu, who psss'stsd III Femainiug ia taa city
dIfILg the s'eg5, aetsd Iii LeIGio Hi>-i,.er
nsver ,iistnrblng the oikeers with tiitiF ieaTs
and alarms, Int ehared in tie hAftahips ana
dangers OF the garrison. Il Kind Provi
dehca, however, threw l's broad egls oY6r
them, and scarcely Qns OF thaBs pefisheG -
t0e night tbs Co,ousi waa wRkened ont rs
eieep by tho round oi !. coming sbsi, which
in his eGciso,i condition, ha Imagined was 0oin.
To fall on hei He quickly hobbied out Of his
tent, III his wounded condition, and saw pRes
about fifty feet ever hini "a large tvs hundred
p0uad e.ell, which fell sono ton feet into the
ground. tearing out hole in which q wagon
might be buried, and shaking the earth for a
considerable distance around. As a general
thing, however, the barstliig ot shells in the
city aid not interfere with ordinary business,
and but little attention was paid to them.
Before the capitnia:icn tho miusrs and eay-
paf5 OF the ensiay and those oi our own army
had get within ten pecas oil sacn other, aiii
whilst ,hay were working Under ground the
picks of each could ba heard By the othsr,
each striving to get his uiina i'll readiness be-
fcre the others. The Colonel says that when
the oisniy sprung iis mine, which produced
Gugh disaster, in two hours uore ours would
have been in readiness, which would have
been sprung 10 The great detriment Of TIE
enemy.
On the 3i Of July Gan. PemtertOn .;atar-
nearly exhausted, aud the soldiers had ba-
come worn cat from excessive fatIeRa. 10
cut their way out was .mposeible Ne help
WAS ut hard. ile therefore resolved 10 Oh
tain ths best tafa,s Ia "a Captu.ation, aud &c
cordiugiy sent dag OF truce for that par
pose. IL is not necessary to publish the ho,:-
Ofable terns which Gen. Pembsrton ob.aine:
from the enemy. They form one OF the re-
lisving features OF this otherwise wholly
lame ntatie affair. These terms being ar.
ranged tho men stacked their arms on The
41h.
Col Watkins had an opportunity after the
Yankees reached the city OF conversing freely
" i.h the Federal oihcsrs in Grants army
From those he learned thst the ditehing and
mining OF the enemy had oeen performed e4.
cusively by negroes, there being as many
!, O00 in that army. Gen. Mcpherson, the
General who superinteaded the departure oi
our iaen from the city, was willing that al the
negroes who chose Clight accompany thsir
masters 1t was nothing but right, he said,
that tresmen, as he c0ntended they were
should laaka their own election To 40 from or
remain in the city but In this determination
re wss overruled, and only the servants OF tbs
officers were allowed to go cut, if they ch0se.
Col Watkins'e negro man wag offered every
inaucement by the Yankees 10 fenlaia with
thsn. Finally, op being promised, ii he wouid
remain, d plantation on the Mississippi, alter
tho war WAS over, shoaid be given ham, he
replied, 10 aUy other negro would have done,
"ur what use would a plantation here be to
Ee without negroes to work Il I" 81 he nc
companed his master out Of lhs city.
With another negro i'll the employ Of the
Yankees the Coi0ne! convefsed aud learned
that, although lia was i'll that service, his heart
was not ia it. Ho complained bitterly OF the
hasr,iess,iess Of the Yankees towards himself
aud his family, and expressed his dstermins
ton to ran away from them Oh the fisst oppor
tunity that presented
Col Watkins, in those conversations, had
ali opportunity of iearning the falsity OF re-
port that has been circulated to the etfaet shat
Grant had ssnt i'll flag OF truce TO bury the
dead of the Federal army that fell IN the trst
assaults on the city. 1'hs flag of truce was
sent ont frat by Gen Penberton. who ottsrea
the priviiegsto the enemy of bur, ing his dead
We came near overlooking fact which the
Colonel corrotorstes by his testimony--that
the men, much as they had suffered, were op-
posed to the surrosdes Of .vicksbErg, iii many
cases denouuciasit. or else complaining bit
terly Of il.
A FOURTH u JULY CELEERATIoa IN
thirty Yankees assembled 1t
tha Grand Hotel, in Paris, GU the 4th inst, TO