Vicksburg Cave Life Is Recreated at Raymond Event
By Milicent Yeager
RAYMOND, Miss. - The Friends of Raymond and Stanford's Battery
did the impossible for the weekend of May 4-6 - they turned
a gully on the back side of a cow pasture into the famous caves
of Vicksburg, circa 1863.
The area was then populated by a diverse group of women and
men who were chosen to portray the citizens of Vicksburg. The
citizenry included a family of four, several women left to fend
for themselves, a widower, and an aunt with a niece left in
her charge. The participants were selected via an application
process in order to insure a certain level of authenticity.
The citizens sought shelter in two caves and several lean-tos.
There was also a piece of canvas stretched over poles to provide
shelter. A few tattered chairs and tables were scattered about
the site.
One of the caves had a section of the roof missing, blown away
by the shelling. The other cave was furnished with a book case
and came complete with four shutters to be placed over the opening
for protection from the shelling.
Upon arrival, the citizens set about making their makeshift
dwellings livable. Vickie Betts built an arbor for shade. Tracy
Phillips and Betts tacked burlap to the walls of one of the
caves to provide some protection from the crumbling walls.
Stephany Dorrenbacher built an unvented hemispherical oven of
brick, mud and straw. Wheat bread, cornbread, pound cake and
sweet potatoes were all baked during the weekend. Laura Fitzpatrick
oversaw cooking of the few foodstuffs available to the citizens.
Foods included fresh cabbages, rice, dried beans and potatoes.
Betts made pea fritters from pea meal, salt and water. All were
impressed by the pea fritters but opinions varied regarding
their taste.
Soldiers and spectators alike passed by the caves. Opportunities
for first-person interaction abounded. The soldiers delivered
news from the fighting and sought food. A local young woman
delivered fresh milk to the citizens on Friday. Then on Saturday,
after the cow had perished due to heavy fighting in the area,
she delivered fresh meat.
Phillips was unexpectedly visited by her Pappa. (She had been
searching for him for a good part of the weekend.) General Grant
briefly checked on the citizens' living conditions before being
forced to retreat under a tirade from Milicent Yeager.
The smallest of children told about the horrors of hearing the
"Indians" (rebel yells) during the night. Two nuns
from the Sisters of Mercy order, along with a priest, visited
the citizens to offer a blessing.
A market sprang up selling such items as pea meal, dried peas,
honey, corn meal, rice, rice flour, dried apples, dried peaches,
peanuts and rationed salt pork. There was even a small quantity
of salt available. Some fresh vegetables, including Irish potatoes,
sweet potatoes, lettuce, radishes, turnips and onions, were
sold.
The proprietors, Rick Musselman and Greg Pace, offered these
goods at inflated prices. They were promptly reprimanded by
Confederate officers upon hearing the women's complaints. A
contentious discussion regarding the pricing policies ended
with the officers ordering the women to take foodstuffs after
they saw the women's desperate living conditions.
Other soldiers were eager to obtain goods at any price and a
swift trade developed. The market remained open for several
hours - until the shelling began again.
A large of number of spectators passed through the area, learning
about the siege of Vicksburg and the shelling of the city. Most
were impressed by the sparse living conditions and the stories
of Vicksburg citizens' bravery. Some were learning about the
caves for the first time.
The living history aspect of the event was a tremendous success.
As the weekend concluded, the citizens left the caves with the
hopes that the experience would leave as lasting an image in
the minds of all who had passed by there as it would in their
minds.
