"Grant's crown of immortality was won, and the jewel that shone most brightly in it was set
there by the blood of the men of Champion Hills ...... Six thousand blue and gray-coated men were lying there in the woods, dead or wounded, when the last gun of Champion Hills was fired.

Major S. H. M. Byers, Fifth Iowa Infantry

The Diary of
Brig. Gen. Joseph Stockton

72nd Illinois Infantry Volunteers

May 16. Started at four a.m. Reached Raymond by ten o'clock. The churches were full of the wounded rebels and our men, for there had been quite a fight here, as well as at Port Gibson. We had cleaned the rebels out and our men were in the best of spirits. While resting here, heard firing in the distance. Started at quick time ; men were drawn up in line of battle about five miles from Raymond, across a road, but the enemy had gone around us. Orders came to move forward in a hurry. Met some brigades resting on the road, but General Wilson of Grant's staff hurried us forward across fields and arrived at Champion's Hill just as the enemy fled. We were pushed forward to the front and slept on the field of battle. Dead rebels and Union soldiers were lying all around us. The enemy had fled across the Big Black River. Our victory had been complete, captured over two thousand men, seventeen pieces of artillery and a number of battle flags. Marched twenty-five miles today.

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The End of the Story:
Mary Elizabeth Champion

By Rebecca Blackwell Drake

Matilda Champion at age 77 years

Mary Elizabeth Champion was the first child born to Sid and Matilda Champion of Champion Hill. She was born in 1855 and was followed by three brothers in the ensuing years: Wallace Montgomery, William Balfour; and Sid Champion Jr. Mary was only six years old when her father enlisted with the 28th Mississippi Cavalry and left for Vicksburg where his regiment was assigned to protect the river city.

The war took an enormous toll on the Champion family. They lost most of their possessions, including their home and most of their slaves. In July of 1863, after the family home was burned, Matilda took the children to a rural site in Rankin County where she and the children lived until the end of the war. Matilda referred to the temporary home as her refuge home.

I Was There: The Battle of Champion Hill

By Bertha Lewis

A Memorial Poem Read at the Sesquicentennial of the Battle of Champion Hill

For almost half a century, Bertha Lewis has felt the ghost of the soldiers who fought on the land she calls home. Home for Bertha is Champion Hill where Blue met Gray on May 16, 1863, in a pivotal battle that turned the tide for the Union Army. Her poem “I Was There: The Battle of Champion Hill” was written for the Sesquicentennial of the Battle of Champion Hill. Bertha's desire was to honor those who fought and died and their ancestors who received honorary medallions in their memory.

Ed Shelnut, actor and performer, read “I Was There: The Battle of Champion Hill” at the Sesquicentennial event. Ed is a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London and a former member of the Screen Actors Guild. He has appeared in three feature films and numerous radio & TV shows. Ed is presently an instructor at the Mississippi School for the Blind.

Gen. Bowen's Wife in Raymond

By Rebecca Blackwell Drake

In 1862, when the War came to Mississippi, one of the Confederate officers assigned to protect the Big Black River railroad bridge between Edwards and Bovina was Brig. Gen. John S. Bowen, commander of the First Missouri Regiment. Accompanying Bowen to Mississippi was his pregnant wife, Mary Kennerly Bowen of St. Louis. She refused to be separated from her husband. When Bowen left St. Louis to enter the war, Mary was by his side, leaving their two small children, Menard Kennerly (age seven) and Anna, (age two, at the family home to be cared for by Mary’s mother.

General Bowen received his first real taste of war on April 6, 1862, when, during the battle of Shiloh, he had two horses shot from under him and was severely wounded. Mary accompanied him to Memphis where he was hospitalized until early May. Bowen rejoined his regiment at Corinth and was soon ordered to Vicksburg to defend the city from naval attacks.

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Commemorative Medallions
Awarded to Descendants of Soldiers Who Fought
 

Sesquicentennial Event

Battle of Champion Hill

May 18, 2013

Medallion Honoring
The Soldiers Who Fought

Medallions are now available for purchase by the public.

Plain Medallions ~ $20

Medallions in presentation boxes or on plastic presentation stands ~ $25

Champion Hill Tours
With Sid Champion V

Tour Champion Hill with Sid J. Champion (Sid V), the great-great-grandson of Sid and Matilda Champion.

• The Cross Roads

• Old Jackson Road

• The Hill of Death

• Original House Site and Historic Marker

• Midway Station

• Family Cemetery and Memorabilia

• Margie Bearss Memorial

$50 per person (minimum of 2)  Call 601-316-4894

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Collected Stories of the Vicksburg Campaign