Curio Cabinet

Here’s something from the lost-and-found bin of history. The lost colony of Roanoke is one of the most enduring mysteries in American history, but one self-proclaimed amateur archaeologist now says that he’s solved it. Either way, the story of Roanoke is equal parts intriguing and tragic.
 
Before Jamestown, the first successful English colony in America, attempts were made to establish a colony on Roanoke Island (located in what is now North Carolina). The colony was meant to serve as England's foothold on the "New World" as they competed against the Spanish, and would have served as a base of operations for English privateers. However, the first attempt in 1585 by Ralph Lane ended in disaster, especially after relations with the nearby Algonquians soured. The second attempt, which began in 1587, lasted just a few months before one of the colonists, John White, had to return to England to raise supplies and funding. White left behind his wife, daughter and granddaughter, the first English child to be born in America. When he returned three years later, however, White’s family was nowhere to be found. Carved into nearby trees was "CROATOAN," referring to the Native American tribe who lived on Hatteras Island. Tragically, dangerous weather kept White from reaching the island, and he was forced to return to an England that had lost interest in the colony.
 
White died in 1606, never having found his family, but there have been some clues and hoaxes regarding their ultimate fate. Artifacts known as the Dare Stones inscribed with writing supposedly tell the story of the survivors, though their authenticity isn't widely accepted. Archaeologists have found traces of settlements nearby that may have belonged to Roanoke colonists who scattered around the area. Now, Scott Dawson, the president of the Croatian Archaeological Society, claims to have found remnants of hammerscale—bits of molten iron leftover from the forging process—on nearby Hatteras Island. Dawson claims that the hammerscale proves that the English colonists who once inhabited Roanoke Island must have fled there, since Native Americans at the time didn't have the means to forge iron. His evidence is compelling, but it might be too late to definitively solve a mystery that happened so long ago. At least by being lost, the settlers of Roanoke will never be forgotten.

 
[Image description: A map from 1590 showing an area spanning from Cape Fear to Chesapeake Bay, including the area in which the colony of Roanoke stood.] Credit & copyright: Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division. 1590. Public Domain.

It was mayhem on the Mississippi. The Siege of Vicksburg, which began on this day in 1863, was one of the most significant battles of the American Civil War. Ending just a day after the Battle of Gettysburg, the Union victory at Vicksburg secured their control over the Mississippi River, a critical lifeline for the South. Moreover, the battle played a major role in turning the tides against the Confederacy by eroding morale.
 
The battle of Vicksburg was all about control of the Mississippi River. Led by General Ulysses S. Grant, Union forces set their sights on the town of Vicksburg on the river’s east bank, which lay about halfway between Memphis and New Orleans. Taking control of Vicksburg would separate the Southern states on each side of the river. Conquering the Confederate stronghold was easier said than done, however. Following the Confederates' loss of key forts in neighboring Tennessee, Vicksburg was the last fortified position from which the South could maintain control over the Mississippi. Knowing this, Confederate Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton, who was in charge of a garrison of around 33,000 men in Vicksburg, began preparing for an impending attack. A Union assault using ironclad ships on the river failed to yield results, while Union General William Tecumseh Sherman's approach by land was repelled by Confederate bombardments. At one point, Grant even tried to dig a canal to circumvent the city's defenses, to no avail.
 
Eventually, Grant's persistence prevailed. Union forces were able to find footing at Bruinsburg, and after stepping ashore from the Mississippi, they marched toward the state's capital of Jackson. Grant took Jackson by May 14 before continuing toward Vicksburg, fighting Confederate forces along the way. On May 18, Grant and his troops arrived at a heavily fortified Vicksburg, but finding that the garrison was poorly prepared, he hoped to take the city quickly.
 
To Grant’s chagrin, a quick and sound victory was not to be. Pemberton was able to establish a stubborn defense, forcing Grant to lay siege to the city after several days of fighting. But Pemberton was at a severe disadvantage; though he was able to thwart an attempt to breach the fortifications by sappers (also known as combat engineers) who used explosives to destroy part of their defenses, his garrison was low on rations and cut off from reinforcements. Despite this, when Grant demanded an unconditional surrender from Pemberton, the latter denied the proposition. With neither willing to back away, the siege continued with day after day of contentious but fruitless fighting. Still, it was clear to Pemberton that his garrison could not last. Grant controlled all roads to Vicksburg and the garrison was on the verge of starvation. After more than a month and a half of fighting, Grant offered parole for any remaining defenders, allowing them to go home rather than be imprisoned. Thus, the battle ended in a Union victory on July 4. Of the 77,000 Union soldiers and 33,000 Confederate soldiers who fought at Vicksburg, over 1,600 died and thousands more were wounded.
 
Today, the Siege of Vicksburg is considered one of the death knells of the Confederacy, though it is often overshadowed by the Battle of Gettysburg. While the war continued for another two years, these two battles were a turning point in the trajectory of the conflict which had, until then, favored the Confederacy. After the Union took Vicksburg, Southern forces were unable to maintain their already-waning strength. Morale plummeted, hopes of aid from England were all but gone, and Grant had distinguished himself as a Union commander. Before the Siege of Vicksburg, Grant had been a relatively unknown figure, but his triumph there gave him political momentum that would later place him in the White House. Which would be more frightening, leading a siege or running the country?

 
[Image description: A black-and-white illustration of Confederate soldiers ready to fire a canon at the Battle of Vicksburg.] Credit & copyright: A Popular History of the United States, Volume 5, George W. Peters, 1876. Public Domain.