If there’s anything southerners are, it’s tenacious. Some might say stubborn, but we’ll leave that dispute to those who are so inclined.
Give a southerner a cause, and she’ll stick with it to the bitter end. The history books record such an event – the siege of Vicksburg. Prized by the Confederacy for its position on the river and desired by the Union for the same cause, Vicksburg was a vital harbor during wartime. The rebel guns guarded the river passage and the Union’s only option was to win by starvation. With entrance denied on the river and a blockade by land, supplies could not reach the citizens of Vicksburg.
And that’s when tenacity began to shine. Refusing to give in, the townsfolk fled the shelled homes and shambled streets and lived in caves, slaughtering horses, rats and mules for meat to survive. And though the city of Vicksburg finally fell (and in God’s providence, the union was kept intact) the stories of the indomitable spirit of those folk have been passed down by diary, journal and legend.
