Vicksburg, Mississippi is a town with a bloody history. As a major Confederate stronghold strategically located on the Mississippi River – the South’s major supply line – it took beating after beating as Union troops tried repeatedly to capture the city during the US Civil War.

A lengthy and brutal siege by northern forces in the spring and early summer of 1863 eventually took its toll on the Confederate forces, as well as the beleaguered townsfolk, many of whom had taken refuge in caves dug into the surrounding hills as a way of avoiding the constant shelling.

Food supplies became scarce, and by the time the city fell, the city’s cat and dog population had almost completely vanished and civilians and soldiers alike were also resorting to eating mule meat and even rats. more…