Charmed, I'm Sure

I have been to Grand Gulf multiple times.  The last time was three years before I even considered writing a book.   But regardless of how many times you visit a place, it seems you always learn something or notice things that had eluded your attention previously.  Or your research yields new information that has connections to artifacts or locations already familiar to you.  Such revelations then render the milieu of that space fresh and exciting.  Almost like an awakening. This certainly happened during this latest visit to Grand Gulf.   A port on the Mississippi River, it was named for a whirlpool and incorporated in 1833.              

Vicksburg: POW Exchange Point

During the summer of 1862, the Dix-Hill Cartel created a system regulating prisoner exchanges.  This included enlisted men (and women), officers, civilians, and civilians employed by the military, such as teamsters and sutlers. You can read the details of the agreement by clicking (HERE).  One element of this system was establishing sites that would serve as exchange points.  City Point was chosen for the east and Vicksburg for the west.

At least one woman was exchanged at Vicksburg under this cartel.  Mary Ann Clark was captured in Kentucky in late 1862.  The unit she was with and the battle where she was taken vary.  Most accounts claim it was Richmond (KY). But I have also seen it listed as Perryville.  And then another source says she was captured by a Federal detachment, which indicates she was serving picket, out on a patrol, or foraging, if this had indeed been the situation when she was taken.