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The Vicksburg campaign was waged from March 29 to July 4, 1863. It included battles in west-central Mississippi at Port Gibson, Raymond, Jackson, Champion Hill, Big Black River and numerous smaller battle fields. On the morning of May 22, General Grant launched what he hoped would be a crushing assault against Vicksburg. In the fighting that followed, the Union Infantry was repulsed and thrown back along a three-mile front. The Union Army suffered more than 3,000 casualties, and 97 Union soldiers earned Medals of Honor (the second largest single-day total in history.) During this battle Sergeant James Elson carried the colors in advance of his regiment. Alone and ahead of his fellow soldiers, Sergeant Elson was shot down while attempting to plant the colors on the enemy's works. |
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James Elson was wounded again in 1864 and carried the enemy bullet in his body until his death in 1894. After the war he returned to his hometown of Shellsburg where he served as postmaster for 8 years. In 1893 he was elected sheriff of Benton County. |
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