The battles leading up to the siege of Vicksburg were bloody and had put a strain on Will's division. He had recently been promoted to captain and was leading a company. Though the position had been offered to him several times before, he had not accepted because he did not want the responsibility of having the lives of other men in his hands. However, after the Battle of Raymond when they had lost their captain, he had been all but ordered to assume the responsibility, so he had reluctantly accepted this time. Now, perched on a hill outside of Vicksburg, congregating with other leaders, he wasn't sure exactly what he had gotten himself into.
It was May 21, 1863, and the plan they were devising was to be carried out the next day. From the beginning, all involved had known that it would no
