He volunteered for a mission at Vicksburg that left half his comrades dead. A Medal of Honor recipient is being remembered in Missouri this weekend

"End of the Journey": John Hack took part in doomed fleet (From 1902's "Deeds of Valor")

At a cemetery this weekend in Missouri, as part of a national annual tribute to Medal of Honor recipients, a soldier will be remembered for taking part in a desperate mission to ferry supplies to Union forces below Vicksburg, Ms.

The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, VFW Post 919 and other lineage groups and city officials will gather at 2 p.m. Sunday for a commemoration ceremony in Trenton’s Maple Grove Cemetery to honor Pvt. John Hack, who survived the ordeal by clinging to a bale of hale after a barge caught fire.

Hack was one of about 10 men to receive the Medal of Honor for the May 3, 1863, attempt to take supplies past Rebel fortifications on the Mississippi River. The gallant effort failed, but it is remembered for what the soldiers endured, including their stint as prisoners. 

“They put their life on the line to do that,” said Kevin L. Miller, commander of Westport Camp #64 of the SUVCW. “They weren’t thinking of a medal. They were thinking of winning the war.”

Hack – a native of Hessen state in Germany -- came to the United States at age 5 when his family settled in Indiana, according to his 1933 obituary in the Trenton newspaper.

He enlisted in July 1861 at age 18, in Adrian, Mich. Hack served with the 47^th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which saw hard action at Vicksburg, the linchpin of control of the Mississippi River. (Photo is from about 1915)

“One of Grant’s greatest challenges during the Vicksburg campaign was finding safe passage across the Mississippi River without being cut down by Confederate gunfire,” says the American Battlefield Trust. “He tried to cross his troops at De Soto Point, Lake Providence, Yazoo Pass, and Steele’s Bayou with no luck. Then he came up with an ambitious plan to use the navy to provide transports for the river crossing. Success hinged on getting boats safely past the Confederate guns at Vicksburg and seizing control of the river south of the city.”

Union detachments that crossed below Vicksburg were away from the main supply line, necessitating efforts to resupply them.

Capt. William H. Ward of the 47^th Ohio led the May 3, 1863, nighttime effort to bring supplies.

Walter Beyer and Oscar Keydel provided Ward’s account in their 1902 volume “Deeds of Valor.” The force needed to navigate the “S” bend at Vicksburg and withstand about 100 Confederate guns. “It seemed impossible that anyone could live under such terrible fire,” the authors write.

About 35 volunteers came forward to help move two supply barges. Here is Ward’s account in the book. It’s lengthy, but the information is very compelling.

"We cast off from Milliken's Bend, La. about fifteen miles above Vicksburg at ten o' clock PM. The trip down the river was uneventful until two o' clock in the morning, when a rocket sent up from one of the Confederate batteries warned the enemy of our approach, and we were soon under a heavy fire. It was a wild ride we had from this time on.

"Battery after battery opened on us, as we came within range, until it seemed that the guns were being played upon like the keys of a piano, and to say that the rain of shot and shell was terrific, but faintly describes the situation. The scene was indescribably grand and awe inspiring, as we steamed slowly past the city amid the roar of more than a hundred guns with their death dealing missiles whistling and shrieking over and around us, and exploding on board while the patter of bullets from the infantry resembled a fall of hail stones. The barges were large and unwieldy; and as we could make only about six miles an hour at best, the enemy's gunners were able to get our range accurately. We had been struck many times, but not seriously damaged. The little tug seemed to bear a charmed life, for we passed several times within a hundred yards of the heaviest batteries.

Vicksburg and its defenses; click to enlarge (Library of Congress)

"We had now been under fire three quarters of an hour, and had reached a point below the city where ten minutes more meant safety. The steady puff-puff of the little tug gave assurance that all was right and we were beginning to indulge in mental congratulations on the success of the expedition when a roar like the bursting of a volcano caused the barges to rock as if shaken by an earthquake, and in an instant the air was filled with burning coals flying timbers and debris. A plunging shot from a heavy gun stationed on an eminence far in the rear had struck the tug and penetrated to the furnaces where it exploded, blowing the boilers and machinery up through the deck, and completely wrecking the vessel.

"The blazing coals fell in a shower over both barges setting fire to the bales of hay in hundreds of places at once. The enemy sent up a cheer upon witnessing our misfortune, and for a few minutes seemingly redoubled their fire. The tug went down like a plummet while the barges were soon blazing wrecks, drifting with the eddying current of the river. No recourse remained, but surrender and the waving of a handkerchief from a soldier's bayonet caused the firing to cease. The flames compelled the survivors to seek safety by taking to the water, and having no boats we floated off on bales of hay and found them surprisingly buoyant. The wounded were first cared for and then all took passage on the hay bale line.

"The enemy now hailed us from shore, ordering us to come in and surrender, but on learning that we had no boats, sent their own to our assistance capturing all but one of the survivors. That one, Julius C. Conklin by name, was the only man in the party who could not swim. He managed with the aid of a piece of wreckage to reach the Louisiana shore unobserved by the enemy and rejoined his company two days later.

John Hack (left) in later life with Joseph Hack Smith (Grundy County Library)

"When all had been rescued and assembled in the moonlight under guard of Confederate bayonets, the roll was called, and just sixteen, less than half our original number, were found to have survived. Some of the scalded men were piteous sights to behold, the flesh hanging in shreds from their faces and bodies as they ran about in excruciating agony, praying that something be done to relieve their sufferings. These with the wounded were speedily sent to a hospital, where some of them died the next day.

"It is not often, even in a soldier's life, that one is compelled to face death in so many forms as beset our little party on that memorable night, shot and shell, fire, water, and a boiler explosion, with its attendant horrors. Our captors treated us with marked consideration, affording every courtesy consistent with the rules of war, and we were the recipients of many attentions from soldiers and citizens who seemed to marvel at the temerity of our undertaking. We were held prisoners in Vicksburg for two days, when General Grant having crossed the river, and defeated the enemy near Grand Gulf, Mississippi began to threaten the city from the rear. We were then paroled, and hurriedly forwarded to Richmond, Va. where after an eventful journey, through the Confederacy we duly arrived and were assigned quarters in that famous Confederate hostelry, Libby Prison. Here we remained about six weeks, before we were exchanged, and we were only able to rejoin the regiment in the trenches before Vicksburg on the evening before the surrender, just in time to be in at the death.

"Language fails to describe my feelings when with a few companions I entered the city the next morning, July 4th, immediately after the surrender under circumstances in such marked contrast with my forced advent of a few weeks before. Now, no hostile demonstrations of any kind greeted us. The great guns were still, the hostile flags were furled, and Old Glory floated proudly from the public buildings, while our late foes were quietly resting in their camps awaiting the pleasure of the victors."​

Hack told his family he kept under the floating bale until his capture, using a straw to breathe.

The 1907 citation for Hack reads: “The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Private John Hack, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism on 3 May 1863, while serving with Company B, 47th Ohio Infantry, in action at Vicksburg, Mississippi. Private Hack was one of a party which volunteered and attempted to run the enemy's batteries with a steam tug and two barges loaded with subsistence stores.”

According to his obituary in the Trenton Republican-Times, Hack later fought at Missionary Ridge. Hack continued service until Aug. 20, 1864, in Atlanta, when he was discharged for completing his time of service.

According to Tony Ralston, commander of VFW Post 919, Hack worked for the Rock Island and Pacific Railroad as a machinist. Hack came to Trenton from Vincennes, Ind., in about 1890. He served about 15 years as justice of the peace. He was a member of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic veterans group and was known as an honorary major. In November 1921, Hack traveled to Washington, D.C., for the dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Hack had three children and died on March 29, 1933, at age 90. A large crowd attended his funeral and songs included "Will the Circle Be Unbroken." His flag-draped casket was carried by caisson to the cemetery. The American Legion conducted services, according to his obituary, which was provided to the Picket by Doris Baker of the Grundy County Jewett Norris Library.

He has two markers at Maple Grove Cemetery; the Medal of Honor stone was installed nearly 45 years ago, officials said. (Photo, courtesy of Kent Kooi, Findagrave.com)

Sunday’s ceremony in the city of 5,500 about 90 miles northeast of Kansas City will include a color guard, biography, wreath-laying, a reading of the Medal of Honor citation, rifle salute and the playing of Taps. March 25 -- one day before the event -- is the annual National Medal of Honor Day across the United States. 

Shadow box with items honoring Freeman Davis (Courtesy of Kevin Miller)

Miller, with the SUVCW, says camps across the state try to recognize a Medal of Honor recipient each year. In 2021, a ceremony was held to recall Sgt. Freeman Davis of Butler. At Missionary Ridge in November 1863, "This soldier, while his regiment was falling back, seeing the two color bearers shot down, under a severe fire and at imminent peril recovered both the flags and saved them from capture."

Miller made a shadow box of related material for the museum in Bates County. The box includes an SUVCW medal and challenge coins and shell casings from the rifle salute.