Meet Caesar Graves

VICKSBURG, Miss. (VDN) by Therese and Terry Winschel — Today we are going to hear from Caesar Graves, a member of the US Colored Troops, on his experiences serving under Captain Benjamin Lee.

I was born in bondage—a slave without any rights, treated like chattel. I could be bought and sold at the whim of a white man, separated from my parents and siblings. At birth I was given the name Ceasar. I later added the surname Graves. Separated from my parents at a young age, my brother Daniel is the only family I ever knew. We lived in a crowded and dirty one-room shack which we shared with several others who, like us, were considered nothing but property. The shack was stifling in the summer and had only a hearth for warmth in the winter. From sunrise till sunset we labored in the fields and received nothing for our toil. Aching backs and bleeding fingers were a constant reminder of our lot in life.

We yearned to breathe free like the white folks we saw all around, but it was nothing more than a dream. Then came this terrible war which gave us hope that the chains of bondage would soon be broken. Month after month, however, went by and our suffering continued–hope began to fade.

Finally, like a clap of thunder on a sunny day, the roar of the Lincoln gunboats could be heard and thousands of Yankee soldiers arrived and marched on Vicksburg. We felt that the day of jubilee had come at last. But week after bloody week the roar of the mighty cannon continued. Suddenly on July 4th silence settled over the land and the news of Vicksburg’s surrender spread as an electric shock.

Daniel and I escaped and fled to the city where the Lincoln soldiers would protect us. Life in the Freedmen camps, however, was not much better than life on the plantation. But the capture of Vicksburg gave the Yankees a base from which to recruit black soldiers. With the lure of $10 a month, Daniel and I enlisted in the army. How proud we were when the army gave us a fancy blue uniform, shoes on our feet, and a rifle to do battle and set others free. For the first time in our lives, we felt like men!

Several black regiments were then being formed in Vicksburg, but only white men could be officers. Benjamin Alvin Lee was our captain. He came from Illinois and, at time of his enlistment in the 13th U. S. Infantry, was a school teacher in Keokuk, Iowa. He was a handsome young man in his mid-20s, of medium height, light brown hair, and sparkling eyes. Of fair complexion and handsome face, he wore a goatee which set him apart from most of the other officers who had full beards. Yet, he was a man of intelligence and had an air of confidence that belied his youth. Following the siege of Vicksburg, he helped recruit colored troops and became captain of Company G, 2nd Mississippi Infantry, African-Descent. He drilled us incessantly and instilled in us discipline and a deep sense of pride. In quick order he made us soldiers as good as any in the white regiments.

In March, 1864, when the black units were formally organized in the army, the regiment was designated the 52nd U. S. Colored Troops. On July 4, one year to the day after the fall of Vicksburg, our regiment saw its first action in the Battle of Coleman’s Planation, south of Port Gibson. We had landed at Rodney, along with the 48th U.S.C.T, and white soldiers of the Mississippi Marine Brigade. Marching several miles inland, we found the enemy cavalry in strong force which attacked with a vengeance and threatened to cut our line of retreat. Under Captain Lee’s steady command we fought with determination and valor against an enemy intent on our destruction. We lost several men that day, but managed to successfully fall back to Rodney and our transports. It was later reported in the Vicksburg papers that the colored troops “fought like tigers often clubbing the enemy down with the butts of their muskets.” The captain said our actions that day “made us worthy to be free.” To us colored troops we thought our service “earned us the right to citizenship.”

Now a few words from Captain Benjamin Alvin Lee.

The brave men of my regiment and I remained in Vicksburg until we were mustered out on May 5, 1866. I did take a short leave to return north for a very important event and on February 27, 1865, while still in uniform, I married Miss Lucy Grosvenor of Massachusetts. She bore me four children prior to her untimely death at the age of 30 in 1873. In the aftermath of war, I worked tirelessly on behalf of black people and was instrumental in the operations of the Freedman’s Saving Bank located on the southwest corner of Washington and Grove Streets. The bank was created to help newly-freed blacks gain financial stability. As when in uniform, I earned the reputation of being fair and honest. These characteristics helped me get elected mayor in 1872, and I immediately set about to institute a series of reforms in the management of city affairs. How proud I was to read in the local paper that “People here have confidence in his integrity, honesty, financial capacity, and his rigid economy.” It went on to say, “people here have felt a degree of security and safety in regard to municipal affairs that they have not experienced before in many years.”

But the rigors of army life had impacted my health and I increasingly suffered from consumption. The doctors recommended a drier climate, and so rather than seek re-election, I went to Texas and there died in San Antonio on February 2, 1875, at the age of 36. My body was returned to Vicksburg and was tenderly laid to rest here next to my beloved wife. A large number of my former colored soldiers attended the funeral and openly wept as the casket was lowered into the ground. I am deeply humbled that it was said that I “was a man of sterling character, who treated all people—regardless of color, with respect. The people of this community and all of Vicksburg lost a true, faithful, and dedicated servant in his passing.”*scripts written by Therese and Terry Winschel*