Play - Last Day at Vicksburg
Last Day at Vicksburg – Bradley Walker
(Terry Foust, Ray Edwards)
Creekbed Music/Sage Brush Music/Silver Stirrup Music
“Vicksburg is the key. The war can never be brought to a close until the key is in our pocket,” – President Abraham Lincoln
“Vicksburg is the nail head that holds the South’s two halves together.” – Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
Judging from the above quotes, Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis both knew the extreme importance of the city of Vicksburg. The Siege of Vicksburg lasted from May 18th to July 4th. Union General Grant and his Army of Tennessee attacked the fortified city of Vicksburg, Mississippi held by Lt. General John Pemberton and the Army of Vicksburg. The surrender of the city on July 4, 1863 gave the Union complete control of the Mississippi River, and, combined with General Lee’s defeat at Gettysburg the previous day, is considered a turning point in the war. Private Andrew Jackson Andrews was a proud member of the 31st Alabama Infantry. He survived many days of starvation and fighting. He was hospitalized before July 4th and was not on the battlefield the day of the surrender. He passed away on July 9, 1863 in an army hospital from some sort of infection. The family never knew whether he was shot or not. His wife Sarah was given his straight razor, case and strop, items that have been passed down through the family for generations. It’s now in the hands of his great-great grandson, co-writer Terry Foust.
Song Lyrics
In eighteen sixty-three, on the ninth day of July
In the Mississippi delta, my great, great grandpa died
Andrew Jackson Andrews stood and faced the call
In The War Between The States where so many men would fall
In Talladega County, in March of sixty-two
The time had come to join the fight against the Union Blue
Alabama’s 31st stood eleven-hundred strong
An infantry that proudly fought to defend their Southern home
His last day at Vicksburg, he looked battle worn
His suit of gray was faded, dirty, stained and torn
He never fired a single shot that final July day
His last day at Vicksburg, they carried him away
History tells the story of Vicksburg under siege
Forty-seven days of dying from gunshot and disease
They must have thought they walked straight through the gates of hell
Down on the Mississippi, the day that Vicksburg fell
REPEAT CHORUS:
On a hot, July morning, his young life slipped away
’Cause his pride would not be challenged while he wore his suit of gray
His last day at Vicksburg, they carried him away