Natchez,
1866
Adams
County, Mississippi
As described by
Harper's
Weekly,Journal
of Civilization
Vol. X. - No.
498 July 14, 1866
This
material now resides in the Public Domain.
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"Having already sketched Natchez under the Hill, to make sure of
it before the Mississippi had washed it into its bosom, the next thing
was to take the picture of the more aristocratic portion on the bluff.
So numerous are the trees and gardens that it is difficult to see much
of the buildings from any point. This view from the cupola of the
Marine Hospital is probably the best.
Sketch of Natchez on the Hill
by Harper's Weekly "Special Artist" A. R. Waud
The River is a prominent as well as necessary part of the picture
[edited for space], as in all views of cities upon its banks. Then there
is the Fort, with its inclosed buildings, surrounded by a ditch and palisade;
and in front of that a knoll covered with tents, occupied, I believe, by
white troops. On the left the Catholic Church is most noticeable.
The Market-house, the Episcopal and other churches, can also be made out
by the initiated. Natchez on the Hill was always claimed to be a
very aristocratic place - in fact, the most select upon the river.
As far as my observation goes it is clean, healthy, and pleasant, and appears
to be more orderly than towns higher up the river. There is an ordinance
against the opening of stores and places of business upon Sunday - so you
do not meet a flaunting saloon on every square wide open to the street,
as the custom is in so many places in Louisiana. The air of Sabbath
stillness in the city of Natchez was very grateful after seeing how little
the decent observance of that day obtained in other places upon the river.
A number of gaps exist in the streets of Natchez, where houses have been
burned, giving some part of it a ruined appearance - probably the effects
of private incendiarism, as Natchez has not suffered from any battles being
fought near it, although it got bombarded once by the fleet, owing to the
folly of some citizens who fired upon a boat which came ashore for ice.
It is needless to state that the rapscallions who perpetrated that outrage
were not property-owners, and if the in habitants had been wise they would
have given them up to the commander of the naval force. It was such
tricks as this which brought destruction upon so many of the finest places
along the river; although if you ask a citizen of those parts why
it happened, the answer is sure to be to the effect that it was all done
in wantonness. The responsibility is mainly with
those high-spirited young men who staid away from
the army to indulge in a little safe shooting from behind the bushes.
Of course it is not to be denied by an impartial witness that many cases
occurred where no excuse existed for destruction.
Along the edge of the bluff - a fine cliff of about 150 in height
- the city of Natchez has reserved a strip of land, fenced in and planted
with trees - a delicious place for a walk at sundown in the fresh breeze,
and affording a fine view of the river, stretching away to the right and
left till it disappears in the bends.
The river has been so high here that, on the other side, the deer
have been driven from their accustomed coverts to the levee, and in one
place some twenty lay rotting where they had been shot in mere wantonness.
Home
"Early one evening in mid-July, 1863, several
members of the Silver Grays, the Natchez town guard, spotted the Union
gunboat Essex anchored in the river at Natchez. Several guardsmen
ran to the house of a young Confederate Major who happened to be home on
recuperative leave. In spite of his protest, the Silver Grays returned
to the landing and opened fire on the Essex. Commander Porter, skipper
of the Essex, later stated that he had sent ashore to get ice for the sick
on board, and that 200 citizens had attacked his shore party "scandalously,"
wounding the officers and killing one man. He therefore shelled the
town. The bombardment lasted less than an hour, but set several fires
and killed a child, the only civilian casuality in Natchez during the entire
war. Thus began a two-year Union occupation of Natchez."
Pack, Ellen Jane Allen; "The Scully &
Bauer Families of Natchez, Mississippi. Pub 1996, Indianapolis, IN.
All Rights Reserved.
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