First shots of the Civil War were fired at Vicksburg

Cannon fire broke the quiet of the night as shells passed over the bow of the steamboat.

It wasn’t Charleston harbor and Fort Sumter in April 1861. It was several months earlier at Vicksburg when the first shots of the Civil War were fired.

Mississippi had been out of the Union only four days, and this was her first opportunity to flex her military muscle. The target was the steamboat A.O. Tyler which had rounded the bend at DeSoto Point and was headed to Vicksburg. Capt. John Collier of the Tyler was no stranger in the city for he made routine stops here on his regular runs from Cincinnati to New Orleans. He didn’t know what the firing was all about, so he continued toward the wharf. Another boat, the City of Louisiana, steamed between the Tyler and the shore and the firing ceased.

When the boat pulled into the landing it was quickly boarded by armed troops. They told him he had ignored the cannon signal to halt, and he was ordered back to DeSoto Point to explain his action. It was a Saturday night, Jan. 13, 1861.

Mississippi had seceded Jan. 9, and Gov. Moore of Louisiana had sent word to Mississippi’s governor, John J. Pettus, that northern states were sending an expedition down river to fortify U.S. garrisons and arsenals. Be especially aware that the Silver Wave was loaded with cannons and should be seized, Moore warned.

Pettus ordered a Jackson artillery unit to join units at Vicksburg to prevent any hostile expeditions. The Warren Guards, the Vicksburg Sharpshooters and the Volunteer Southrons were already in camp at Fort Hill for the traditional “Battle of New Orleans” celebration.

News and rumors spread rapidly, and the talk was that the Silver Wave was not only carrying cannon but also had on board 500 ruffians, called Wideawakes, who would ransack the city.

When the news reached the town of Edwards, its new military company came to Vicksburg’s rescue. They stayed overnight, were royally entertained and assured local folks they would return to the seat of war at the first call.

Gov. Moore sent word from Baton Rouge that he was sending two large cannons, 8,000 muskets and several thousand rifles to Vicksburg.

News of the action at Vicksburg soon reached the Northern press and a Cincinnati paper reported that a mob had “planted cannons on the banks of the river at Vicksburg with the avowed purpose of sinking every steamboat” that tried to pass without being examined.

What the Northern papers failed to report was that the Mississippi secession convention had assured all states along the Mississippi that the river would be open for free commerce as long as no military cargo was involved.

For three days the city waited for the arrival of The Silver Wave, but when it didn’t show up Pettus dismissed the troops but warned them to remain in readiness.

Though Vicksburg residents had been pro-Union and against secession, all that changed as folks closed ranks at the fear and thought of invasion.

Eventually the Silver Wave did arrive at Vicksburg, but she carried only freight. Rumors were that she had unloaded at Pittsburgh so was “kindly received at our landing,” and she continued her peaceful voyage.

A correspondent for Vicksburg’s Daily Citizen wrote from Monroe, praising the performance of the soldiers but felt that Gov. Pettus had “made a mountain out of a mole hill, which labored greatly and brought forth a mouse.”

The two boats, the Silver Wave and the A.O. Tyler, both figured later in the war at Vicksburg. The U.S. government bought the Tyler and it was involved with the Confederate ironclad Arkansas in the Yazoo in 1862, and the Silver Wave was the first transport to pass the batteries here on the night of April 16, 1863.

Gordon Cotton is the curator emeritus of the Old Court House Museum. He is the author of several books and is a renowned historian.