Life in Vicksburg has grown to be more and more difficult with each passing day. It has been about a month and a half since the Union began the siege and cut off the imports that the people of Vicksburg need to live and thrive. From the shortage of food to the lack of hope, every day has a common theme of despair within Vicksburg’s residents. Both my neighbors and I feel weak without proper nourishment from healthy food and clean water, but worst of all, we are unsure of how much longer this living nightmare will continue. I now feel obligated to change the way I have been living by, with great regret, deciding to surrender to the Union army. My other options include hiding, which would not benefit my current lifestyle, fighting back and