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"Grant's crown of immortality was won, and the jewel that shone most brightly in it was set Major S. H. M. Byers, Fifth Iowa Infantry
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Photography from Anniversary Events
In Memoriam October 22, 1925 — October 7, 2006
Salvaging the Charm, Dot |
Letters of Pvt. John W. Hiatt The Hiatt Family were Quakers and lived in Indiana. John and Martha (Gray) were married and moved in a covered wagon to Iowa when the oldest little girl, Amanda, was a baby. They bought a farm near the Iowa River at Helena and built a home there. John was a wagon-maker. Martha and John had three little girls, Amanda, Nettie(Alnetta), and Josephine. John was 32 years old when, in 1862, he volunteered for the Tama County, Iowa, 28th Regiment Corps F. His youngest daughter, Mary, was 11 months old at the time. He was wounded May 16, 1863, at the battle of Champion Hill, south of Vicksburg, Mississippi. His letter on page 102 was written as he lay dying in the field hospital. John Hiatt died of his wounds on June 7, 1863.
Sarah Anne Dorsey’s Final Quest
Sarah Anne Ellis Dorsey, a childless, wealthy widow, was one of the most intelligent, and well-educated women that the South ever produced. Though not a beautiful woman, she was charming, capable, and held her own in any conversation. Born into the wealthy planter society of Louisiana and Mississippi, Sarah Anne spoke five languages fluently, and wrote scientific papers, historical fiction and a biography of a famous Southern general. She knew and corresponded with many of the greatest thinkers and authors of the day across the world. Author Bertram Wyatt-Davis dubbed her “a woman of uncommon mind.” In late 1876, Sarah Anne learned that President Jefferson Davis, a lifelong friend, was virtually destitute, having been ruined financially by his years of imprisonment after the war. She offered her beautiful beach home, Beauvoir, near Biloxi, to him as a home and a sanctuary in which to write his memoirs. He accepted. Not only did she help guide and edit his work, but also, when Sarah realized that she was dying of breast cancer in early 1878, she changed her will, writing out her relatives and naming Jefferson Davis as the beneficiary of Beauvoir and all her substantial estate. She wrote, “I do not intend to share in the ingratitude of my country toward the man who is in my eyes the highest and noblest in existence."
Legendary Civil War Historian 
On September 15th, 2020, Ed Bearss, Historian Emeritus of the National Park Service, passed away at the age of 97. Ed and his wife, Margie, were friends of Champion Hill. In earlier years, they walked and mapped every foot of the pivotal battlefield. Ed was a friend to the many thousands that followed him on his tours of the National Parks and battlefields. The Civil War Preservation Trust dedicated a monument to him on the Champion Hill Battlefield to honor his achievements. on Champion Hill. Ed will always be remembered as the “Pied-Piper” of America’s Civil War history. Champion Heritage Foundation to Close By Rebecca Blackwell Drake 
CHAMPION HERITAGE FOUNDATION TO CLOSE: For the past 20 years, Sid Champion and Jim and Rebecca Drake, have spearheaded the Champion Heritage Foundation’s bi-yearly events held on the Champion Hill battlefield east of Vicksburg. Since 2005, the foundation has placed 9 historic markers on the Champion’s portion of the battlefield and, the last one (#10 “The Burial Trenches”) is in the making. The foundation’s two decades-long passion for battlefield interpretation & preservation have, without doubt, been fulfilling – especially in terms of research. The Champion Foundation was established in 2005 by a handful of volunteers. The first event featured the dedication of “My Dear Wife, Letters to Matilda—The Civil War Letters of Sid and Matilda Champion,” edited by Rebecca Drake and Margie Bearss, famous Civil war historian and wife of Edwin C. Bearss. Approximately 75 people attended the premiere event. VNMP Acquires Champion Hill Battlefield Property By Rebecca Blackwell Drake 
On July 2, a crowd gathered on the grounds of Champion Hill Missionary Baptist Church for an official announcement regarding the newly acquired battlefield acreage at Champion Hill. The Mississippi Department of Archives and History was proud to make public the transfer of 800 acres of Champion Hill battlefield property to the Vicksburg National Military Park. The 800 acres includes land along the historic Old Jackson Road in the heart of the battlefield. The land transfer is the largest expansion of the VNMP since it was established in 1899.
Monument Unveiled 
On May 3, 2019, a large crowd of friends and Civil War enthusiasts, including a tour group with the American Battlefield Trust, gathered at the crossroads on the Champion Hill battlefield for the unveiling of a large monument honoring Edwin C. Bearss. Ed holds the reputation as being the nation’s leading Civil War historian who, in earlier years, began the mission of preserving the Champion Hill Battlefield located 25 miles east of Vicksburg. Cockrell's Counter Attack Historic Marker Placed
The new historic marker, “Cockrell’s Counterattack” has been placed on the Old Jackson Road between the Cross-roads and the Hill of Death. To date the Champion Heritage Foundation has placed ten historic markers on the battlefield. Bowen's Counter Attack Historic Marker Placed
The new historic marker, “Bowen’s Counterattack” has been permanently placed at the Crossroads within sight of the 2013 marker, “The Fight for the Crossroads.” To date the Champion Heritage Foundation has placed nine historic markers on the battlefield. |
Champion Hill
Tours
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"The Hill of Death"
I Was There: The Battle of Champion Hill By Bertha Lewis A Memorial Poem
My Dear Wife ~ The Civil War Letters of Sid and Matilda Champion
By Rebecca Drake and Margie Bearss Collected Stories of the Vicksburg Campaign
By Rebecca Drake and Margie Bearss
Darwina's Diary: A View of Champion Hill ~ 1865
LEAVES
The Rebel Sister of By Rebecca B. Drake & Sue B. Moore
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