In Vicksburg, there is a monument erected to a hero, though he is
not a military figure. The monument is in memory of a prominent man, though he
was not a politician. And the monument pays homage to someone who wasn't very
well liked, though he was greatly loved by the people of Vicksburg at the time
of his death.
Born in 1812, Stephen Patterson was a native of Ireland and an
1838 graduate of the University of the City of New York. An Episcopal minister,
Patterson became the rector of Christ Church (right) in Vicksburg in 1845 and became a
prominent member of the Mississippi Diocese. In 1849, he was part of the clergy
delegation which voted unanimously to elect William Mercer Green of North
Carolina as bishop of Mississippi, and was a member of the Standing Committee,
serving at its president in 1851. Patterson was also an organizing member of
the “Society for the Diffusion of Christian Knowledge in the Diocese of
Mississippi,” a long-winded name for a missionary effort which, among other
things, sought to include slaves in the Episcopal Church. All this made Rev.
Patterson (left) an influential person in ecclesiastical circles but the red-headed
Irishman was not, apparently, easy to get along with. Considered “intolerant of
human error, pitiless in his moral judgments, and altogether lacking in the
common social graces that endear people to one another,” Patterson must have seemed a poor choice to
shepherd a congregation. Despite his lack of charm, he continued to serve as
pastor of Christ Church until his death in 1853 during a particularly virulent
yellow fever epidemic.
Yellow fever outbreaks not were uncommon in the river country
along the Mississippi in antebellum times. In fact, the disease remained a
major concern until the early twentieth century when medical science finally
diagnosed the cause. Before then, all manner of cures and precautions were
undertaken to try and stem the tide of the fatal disease which all too often
claimed whole families as victims, as cemeteries across the South still attest.
In 1853, one of the worst outbreaks of yellow fever hit the region. In New
Orleans alone, where the epidemic apparently began, nearly 8,000 died that
summer alone. Unfortunately, business interests in New Orleans feared that news
of the disease would cause the city to be quarantined and, thus, word was not
sent to other communities until nearly 1,000 had died in the Crescent City. As
a result, the fever spread to other towns up and down the river before the
outbreak could be contained. In time, dozens of Mississippi towns were
devastated, including Bay St. Louis, Natchez, Yazoo City, Jackson, Greenwood,
Brandon, Port Gibson, Woodville, Biloxi and Vicksburg. In Vicksburg, the yellow
fever epidemic cut the population in half, either from death or from citizens
fleeing the city. In all, there were more than 2,000 cases reported at the time with nearly
500 deaths, representing approximately 10% of the population. As one might
imagine, the illness caused widespread panic among all of Vicksburg's people,
rich and poor, slave and free. Yellow fever, it seems, had no respect for place
or station.
When societies are faced with a crisis of unknown origin, people often look for a scapegoat. In this case, blame for the epidemic’s arrival in Vicksburg was
frequently credited to "peddlers" who traveled by boat from New
Orleans. Of course, "peddlers" was sometimes a thinly veiled reference to
Jewish or other foreign-speaking merchants. Rev. Charles Kimble Marshall, a
prominent Methodist clergyman in Vicksburg, reported that six "peddlers" arrived
in June and took residence in a boarding house on Grove Street. With them came
the dreaded disease, he asserted, and the fever spread due to the incompetence
of a local doctor who failed to properly isolate the outbreak immediately. The
doctor, Marshall said, was “a most infamous quack," who proved to be the “most
miserable cheat that was ever allowed to test the gullibility of poor sick
humanity. Fortunately..." he wrote, “he died of the fever.” Dr. A.L. Magruder, whose two-story brick
office and residence was located on Cherry Street, also believed the disease
was spread by those who arrived on the steamboats from New Orleans. In the case
of a Mrs. Lanier, who died with the “black vomit,” Magruder identified “a Jew pedler” who came to
Vicksburg and, after unpacking his goods, went house-to-house selling his
wares. When Mrs. Lanier purchased a dress from him, she was seized with the
fever the very next day (curiously, another person reported that it was actually Mr.
Lanier who purchased the dress and brought it from New Orleans). While Dr.
Magruder blamed the "Jew pedler," others identified the Northern
winds, the excessive heat, and "mould" as possible culprits – none of
which was actually the real cause. Yellow fever, of course, is borne by
mosquitoes, but no one knew that at the time. 
While many looked for someone or something to blame for the
terrible situation at hand, others rolled up their sleeves and went to work
tending to the sick and dying in the hospitals and homes filled with the
afflicted. Across the South, there were men and women who bravely risked the
very real threat of contracting yellow fever themselves. Many died as a result.
In Vicksburg, one of those who decided to risk everything for the sake of
others was the red-headed Irish priest, Stephen Patterson. Although not known
in daily life for his warmth or compassion, Patterson worked tirelessly to
relieve the suffering of Vicksburg's people, working in the hospitals, feeding
and bathing patients and providing spiritual comfort to those near death. Patterson
ultimately paid the price for his labors by contracting yellow fever himself and died on September 14, 1853. Rev. Patterson was buried next to the church he
served, but his funeral did not take place for another three months. By that
time, the threat of yellow fever had passed for the season. On December 4,
Bishop William Mercer Green (right) preached Patterson's funeral sermon at Christ
Church. His remarks were published the next year as a 22-page "discourse." Nothing Bishop Green said
that day, however grandiose and eloquent, could match the sacrifice of the good
reverend though. To honor that sacrifice, the parishioners erected a monument to their friend and pastor. Today, the monument (left) still stands next to Christ Church in Vicksburg.Photo and Image Sources:
(1) Patterson: From "Epidemic: Yellow Fever 1853," Pamphlet by Marion Bragg, Eagle Press.
(2) Christ Church: http://www.civilwaralbum.com
(3) Yellow Fever ad: http://www.nola.com
(4) Yellow Fever victims: http://historic-memphis.com
(5) Monument: www.findagrave.com
(6) Green: http://mississippiconfederates.files.wordpress.com
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