A unique feature of the American Civil War was the inclination of the
private soldier--Union and Confederate--to fight with unrelenting
ferocity during the engagements of the war and yet to engage in friendly
intercourse with each other once the battle had ended, or even during
lulls in the fighting. Swapping of Northern coffee for Southern tobacco
was a commonplace picket activity in all theaters of the war. In the
long, weary siege of Vicksburg, the monotony was often lightened by
jeers and pleasantries exchanged between lines. Many examples of soldier
humor were recorded. The Confederates, taking grim delight in their
ability to withstand the onslaughts of a steadily increasing Federal
Army, would shout "When are you coming in Vicksburg for a visit?" To
which a grimy, sweating Federal private would yell, "Not till you show
better manners to strangers."
[Illustration: _A Civil War drummer boy._ From a wartime sketch.]
To prevent surprise attacks, both armies posted pickets in advance of
their lines at night. With the lines so close in the latter stages of
the siege, pickets would often stand within a few feet of one another,
or even side by side. Discussions of good shots and bad officers, or
vice versa, helped to pass the long night watches. By common agreement,
out of respect for the exposed and unprotected position of the
sentinels, there was no firing at men on picket duty.
One Union veteran best remembered the siege of Vicksburg for the nightly
verbal exchanges with the "Rebs" when "we used to talk to each other
after fighting all day."
In the evening when everything had stopped for the day, some of our
men or some of the Johnnies would yell, "hello Johnnie" or "hello
Yank" "how did you enjoy the day?" The other would say "Fine;" then
some one would say, "Johnnie, how do you like mule meat?" and they
answer "Fine;" then "How do you like beef dried on the bone?" to which
they would reply "Not so well; it is too close to the bone to be
good." Then some one would say, "Come over and we will give you some
'sow belly' to fry it in." They would reply, "We can't eat meat
alone;" then the reply was, "We will give you some hardtack." Then
they would reply, "The tack you sent over today was so hard we could
not chew it." So you see how soon those on both sides forgot their
troubles when night came, but in the morning about daylight, when the
business of the day was about to open, we would say, "Watch out
Johnnie, and hunt your hole," and things were on in earnest for the
day.
[Illustration: _Maj. Gen. John S. Bowen, commanding the Confederate
troops at the battle of Port Gibson._ Courtesy Confederate Museum,
Richmond.]
[Illustration: _Maj. Gen. John A. McClernand, commanding the Union
XIII Corps._ Courtesy National Archives.]