The General Price. This merchant steamer was converted into a ram by the Confederate Navy, captured by the Union Fleet at Memphis and used as a Federal gunboat against Vicksburg.
From Photographic History of the Civil War.

A Civil War drummer boy. From a wartime sketch.

The Siege of Vicksburg (continued)

FRATERNIZATION. A unique feature of the American Civil War was the inclination of the private soldier—Union and Confederate—to fight with unrelenting ferocity during the engagements of the war and yet to engage in friendly intercourse with each other once the battle had ended, or even during lulls in the fighting. Swapping of Northern coffee for Southern tobacco was a commonplace picket activity in all theaters of the war. In the long, weary siege of Vicksburg, the monotony was often lightened by jeers and pleasantries exchanged between lines. Many examples of soldier humor were recorded. The Confederates, taking grim delight in their ability to withstand the onslaughts of a steadily increasing Federal Army, would shout "When are you coming in Vicksburg for a visit ?" To which a grimy, sweating Federal private would yell, "Not till you show better manners to strangers."

To prevent surprise attacks, both armies posted pickets in advance of their lines at night. With the lines so close in the latter stages of the siege, pickets would often stand within a few feet of one another, or even side by side. Discussions of good shots and bad officers, or vice versa, helped to pass the long night watches. By common agreement, out of respect for the exposed and unprotected position of the sentinels, there was no firing at men on picket duty.

One Union veteran best remembered the siege of Vicksburg for the nightly verbal exchanges with the "Rebs" when "we used to talk to each other after fighting all day."

In the evening when everything bad stopped for the day, some of our men or some of the Johnnies would yell, "hello Johnnie" or "hello Yank" "how did you enjoy the day?" The other would say "Fine;" then some one would say, "Johnnie, how do you like mule meat?" and they answer Fine;" then "How do you like beef dried on the bone?" to which they would reply "Not so well; it is too close to the bone to be good." Then some one would say, "Come over and we will give you some 'sow belly' to fry it in." They would reply, "We can't eat meat alone;" then the reply was, "We will give you some hardtack." Then they would reply, "The tack you sent over today was so hard we could not chew it." So you see how soon those on both sides forgot their troubles when night came, but in the morning about daylight, when the business of the day was about to open, we would say, "Watch out Johnnie, and hunt your hole," and things were on in earnest for the day.