lived on one-fourth rations, and had had little sleep. Physical strength was failing, ability to endure had gone, hope of relief faded. Johnston had not come, nor could he; Grant was keeping him at bay. They had little confidence in their commander. The inevitable hour was approaching; every soldier knew it just as well as Pemberton.

It was a curious letter which Pemberton received June 28th, dated "In the trenches," and signed "Many Soldiers." Thus it read:

"Everybody admits that we have all covered ourselves with glory; but, alas! alas! general, a crisis has arrived in the midst of our siege. Our rations have been cut down to one biscuit and a small bit of bacon per day— not enough scarcely to keep soul and body together, much less to stand the hardships we are called upon to stand. We are actually on sufferance, and the consequence is, as far as I can hear, there is complaining and general dissatisfaction throughout our lines. We are and have been kept close in the trenches day and night, not allowed to forage any at all, and even if permitted there is nothing to be had among the citizens.

"Men don't want to starve and don't intend to, but they call upon you for justice, if the Commissary Department can give it; if it can't, you must adopt some means to relieve us very soon. The emergency of the case demands prompt and decided action on your part.

"If you can't feed us you had better surrender us-horrible as the idea is-than suffer this noble army to disgrace themselves by desertion. I tell you plainly men are not going to lie here and perish. If they do love their country, self-preservation is the first law of nature, and hunger will compel a man to do almost anything. You had better heed a warning voice, though it is the voice of a private soldier.

"This army is now ripe for mutiny unless it can be fed."

This the condition in the city as described by a Confederate:

"Starvation in its worst forms now confronted the unfortunate inhabitants, and had the siege lasted two weeks longer the consequences would have been terrible. All the beef was exhausted by this time, and mules were soon brought into requisition, and their meat sold readily at a dollar a pound, the citizens being as anxious to get it as they were before the investment to purchase the delicacies of the season."(")

This in the lady's diary:

"July 3d.-Provisions so nearly gone, except the hogshead of sugar, that a few more days will bring starvation indeed. Martha says that rats are hanging dressed in the market for sale with mule-meat; there is nothing else. An officer at the battery told me he had eaten one yesterday."(1)

What could General Pemberton do? He must either cut his way

out or surrender. There were hot-headed officers in his army, who talked bravely of their ability to cut their way through Grant's lines; but cooler heads saw that it was impossible. General Pemberton knew that his men were worn down with constant watching, loss of sleep, and want of food. He knew that if he were even able to break through Grant's lines anywhere except towards the north-east nothing would be gained. He would be hemmed in by the Big Black River. He sent a circular letter to his commanders asking their opinions on this question: "Can the army make the marches and undergo the fatigues necessary to accomplish a successful evacuation?"

"It cannot," was the answer of Major-generals Smith, Forney, and Bowen. "My men," answered General Stevenson, "are greatly enfeebled, but I believe that most of them, rather than be captured, would exert themselves to the utmost.”

“An evacuation is impossible, on account of the temper of the troops," said General Smith.

"We cannot cut our way out," said most of the brigade commanders. The major-generals came to Pemberton's headquarters. "What should be done?" There was but one answer: "Surrender."

It is July 3d. The Union pickets are in their places; the sharp-shooters watching to discover a Confederate head peering above the breastworks, but instead, the pickets on the Jackson road see a white flag waving in the morning sun. The joyful news runs along the lines. Men who have been lying low upon the ground stand upon their feet. Two Confederate officers climb over the intrenchments-General Bowen and Colonel Montgomery- and walk towards the Union lines with a letter from Pemberton to Grant, asking that commissioners be appointed to arrange for terms of capitulation.

"My terms are unconditional surrender of the city and the troops," was the reply.

General Grant was ready to assure Pemberton that the men who had shown so much courage and endured such hardships should be treated with respect. If General Pemberton wished to see him personally, he would meet him in front of the lines at three o'clock. The hour came, and General Grant, with Generals Ord, McPherson, Logan, and A. J. Smith, walked out from the Union lines south of the Jackson road. At the same moment Pemberton, Bowen, and several other officers advanced from the Confederate lines. The parties lifted their hats to each other. "What terms will you allow?" Pemberton asked.

"Those which I have already indicated," was the reply.

"The conference may as well terminate," said Pemberton.

"Very well," said General Grant.

General Pemberton knew that the contest could not go on, and they sat down and talked it over.

The Fourth of July dawned--a great day in the history of our country. Terms of surrender had been agreed upon. Thirty-one thousand men gave up their arms, with one hundred and seventy-two cannon.

In March General Pemberton had 61,495 men. That great army had disappeared. All but the six thousand under Loring who broke away at the battle of Champion Hills were lost to the Confederacy. Since March Pemberton has lost two hundred and sixty cannon.

The Union troops marched into the city, and the Stars and Stripes were raised above the court-house. Then the great fleet of steamboats came steaming to the levee, with their colors flying.

passed us. coffee and

Once more from a woman's diary: "Truly it was a fine spectacle to see the fleet of transports sweep around the curve and anchor in the teeth. of the batteries lately vomiting fire. Presently Mr. J 'Aren't you coming? There's provisions on those boats flour.'. . . The town-folk continued to dash through the streets with their arms full, canned goods predominating. Towards five Mr. J passed again. Keep on the lookout,' he said; the army of occupation is coming; and in a few minutes the head of the column appeared. What a contrast to the suffering creatures we had seen were these stalwart, wellfed men, so splendidly set up and accoutred! Sleek horses, polished arms, bright plumes; this was the pride and panoply of war. Civilization, discipline, and order seemed to enter with the measured tramp of those marching columns, and the heart turns with throbs of added pity to the worn men in gray who were being blindly dashed against this embodiment of modern power."(")

General Johnston had gathered twenty-six thousand men, and on June 29th he marched west towards the Big Black River to make a demonstration in Grant's rear, but was confronted by Sherman with the Fifteenth Corps, under General Steele, the Thirteenth, under General Ord, the Ninth, under General Parke, with Lauman's and W. S. Smith's divisions, making altogether forty thousand.

General Johnston saw that he could not attack Sherman with any hope of success. While pondering the state of affairs a messenger reached him with the news that Vicksburg had surrendered. He turned east and marches once more to Jackson, his despondent troops reaching the town.