One big reason for our tour of the Civil War battlefields was a painting that has been handed down from Great-grampa Hamilton. It depicted a place called Champion’s Hill, but no one in the family knew the significance of it, or even its location. Once we started reading the letters from Great-uncle Robert, we discovered it is located between Vicksburg and Jackson, MS. Illness had kept the two men from the fighting for several months, and Champion’s Hill was likely one of the first battles they actually took part in. It was definitely one of the bloodiest.
Finding Champion Hill
We drove deep into the MS countryside to find the location—rough country roads with very few houses. At last, we came to an intersection and found a marker describing the battle. But the area didn’t look anything like the painting. An old trail that looked like it had once been used by wagons led off into property that was clearly marked, “No Trespassing.” Unable to reconcile the site with the painting, we decided
to try and locate an historic church that was supposed to be nearby. Farther along the road, we were forced to turn right and found ourselves traveling along behind the area where we’d stopped for the marker. I happened to look off to my right and exclaimed, “That’s it! That’s the painting!” Sure enough, on the opposite side of the road were two markers that described the details of the battle.
In May 1863, Grant’s forces had captured Jackson, MS and were traveling toward Vicksburg when they came to Champion’s Hill. Confederate forces led by General Pemberton out of Vicksburg were trying to fend off an attack on their city and hold a major crossroads between Jackson and Vicksburg. The ensuing battle has been called “the largest and bloodiest action” of the Vicksburg campaign with nearly 7,000 casualties.
Exploring Champion Hill
We learned a direct descendant of Sid Champion who owned the property back then offers guided tours of the hill. So last January, we scheduled a tour with the man. His tales of the house built by his great-grandfather fascinated us–how his wife and children were relegated to the basement while Federal troops used it as a hospital, then burned it to the ground when they were finished. Mr. Champion walked us up that wagon road, the old Jackson-Vicksburg road. He pointed out a headstone and told us of the soldier buried up there on the ridge whose body no family or friends ever claimed. He led us up to the summit where he described the Confederates trying to defend the hill against an onslaught of Federal soldiers. A sobering marker recalls the scene at the end of the battle.
Grant went on to Vicksburg, finally capturing the town and achieving full access to the Mississippi River. The siege of Vicksburg is another fascinating event in Civil War history. But that will wait for another time.
The Takeaways
What impressed me in all this is the awful cost in human lives, the destruction of people’s lives and livelihood in the effort to win the war, the courage it took for those soldiers to march into gunfire and certain death. I heard of one slave woman who swam across the Mississippi at Vicksburg to reach a Union gunboat where she knew she’d find freedom. Yet others, like the slaves of Mrs. Champion, chose to stay with their former owners, knowing they’d be better off there than trying to forge a life without any education or practical experience providing for themselves.
The ability to hold and espouse differing opinions is one of the greatest qualities of our nation. But we must not allow the kind of division that resulted in the Civil War. While freedom is worth fighting for, there is precious little else that is worth the cost of war between fellow citizens.
