The Vicksburg quilt is made up of a simple version of a weather vane block usually associated with farming not wars or conflicts. However, both the north and south armies were made up of a majority of soldiers who were farmers prior to the war. The Union Army was made up of 48% farmers and 69% of the Confederate Army was made up of farmers in their former civilian life. As a result of the battle at Vicksburg, the disruption of water transportation temporarily shook the northern farm markets. This was only a temporary situation for the north. Later crop prices consistently rose during the conflict, as did land prices. As farming increasingly became a business rather than a self-sufficient way of life farm prices rose. Many enlisted men saw the salary paid during the war as a means to acquire a down payment or to expand their existing farms. Unfortunately, Southern farms did not fare as well.
