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fter the battle of Champion Hill,
the Federal army pursued the
Confederates only as far as Edwards, and most of them would
bivouac there the night of May 16. However, some troops were left
behind to gather weapons, ammunition, and other
supplies from the battlefield as well as care for
the wounded and bury the dead. Part of this job fell to troops
from McGinnis' brigade. Hospitals were set
up at several of the plantation houses located on
the battlefield where surgeons performed their duty well
into the night. As for the dead, Union and Confederates were buried
in separate pits near the center of the
battlefield. In the year following the war, many
of the Federal dead were disinterred and reburied in the national
cemetery at Vicksburg, where they still remain, mostly as unknowns.
There is some debate as to what happened to the
Confederates who died that day. Many of them most
likely still remain in their earthen tombs on Champion
Hill.
Dusk, May 16
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This picture shows one of the identifiable burial pits at Champion Hill. It is located about 150 yards southwest of the crest. It is not known what troops were buried here nor if they have been disinterred. The right edge of the burial pit can be made out near the right-center of the photograph where the leaves contrast with the green brush |
This is most likely the site of another burial pit, this time about 300 yards out on the ridge from the crest of Champion Hill. The earth appears sunken in the middle of the photograph and the pit is running into the picture. The view is looking southeast toward the crest |
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The
Coker House on the Champion Hill battlefield. The Coker House is one
of the few surviving landmarks of the
battle. After the battle, this house was
one of the ones used as a field hospital for injured and dying
soldiers. As living proof of the battle,
there remains to this day bullet holes in the
front and cannonball holes on its west side.
The house has deteriorated severely
in recent years, but is scheduled for renovation, hopefully in the
near future |
This
cistern is all that remains of the Isaac Roberts house that was a
centerpiece of the battle of Champion Hill. It first served as
Pemberton's
headquarters and after the battle was used as a hospital. It is
argued that Grant slept on the porch of this
house later in the evening of May 16. The
Roberts house stood until the early 1990s when it eventually
collapsed. Look closely at the top layer of
bricks and find the grooves made by the
ropes from years of people retrieving water from this well
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