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Entered according to act of Congress 1881 by Johnson Pry&C in the clerics affice of the district court of the southern district of NY

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CH. XXVIII.]

RUNNING THE VICKSBURG BATTERIES.

put into execution the plan which, on consultation, had been adopted as the only feasible one, all things considered. The great strength of the defences of Vicksburg on the north, and the inutility of attempting an attack again in that direction, led Grant to the conviction that his approaches must be made from the southerly side. For this purpose, he must get his army below the city of Vicksburg, a task by no means easy of accomplishment, since the vast rebel batteries would almost certainly destroy all the transports which might undertake to sail past them. In this position of affairs, work was recommenced upon the canal across the peninsula on the western side of the river; but, as before, the project proved a failure, and early in March, a rapid rise in the river swept away the dam and flooded the entire vicinity. Meanwhile, it was an object of the first importance to cut off the rebel communication on the river between Vicksburg and Port

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Hudson, which Banks, with the fleet of Farragut was besieging, and to put a stop to the receipt of supplies which the rebels were drawing from Texas. Porter, therefore, resolved to run the risk of sending some of the gun boats down the river, which, if they succeeded in getting past the batteries, would be of especial value below. The first of the vessels which set out upon this daring undertaking was the wooden steam ram, Queen of the West (see p. 299). Col. Ellet, commander of the ram fleet, was on board the Queen, and gave a graphic account of his movement, in his report to Admiral Porter. Very early on the 2d of

VOL. IV.-39.

305

February, the Queen started on her perilous journey, and was struck only a few times, although hundreds of guns sent forth their iron rain for her destruction. Her cotton barricade got on fire, but the fire was finally put out by cutting the bales loose. Proceeding down the river, the Queen captured three rebel steamers and a number of prisoners, and on the 10th of February, set out on an expedition for much the same purpose, passing the Warrenton batteries, and reaching the Red River the following evening. During several days' active work, Ellet was quite suc cessful in capturing rebel boats, etc., but through the treachery of a pilot, he was compelled to abandon the Queen, and to reach the Mississippi as best he could in his tender, the De Soto. Meeting, near Natchez, the Indianola, a splendid iron-clad, which had run the batteries on the night of the 13th of February, Ellet conferred with the commander of that vessel as to the expediency of attempting again to ascend the Red River, and destroy the rebel works at Gordon's Landing. Lieut. Brown thought the plan feasible, and the Era, one of the vessels captured by Ellet, led the way. Having advanced about three miles, they discovered the W. H. Webb, a very swift rebel steamer, coming towards them, who, as soon as she got sight of the Indianola, turned and fled. Lieut. Brown, on further reflection, concluded not to try to ascend the Red River, and Col. Ellet in the Era made his way up the Mississippi to a station below Vicksburg, after passing the fires at Grand Gulf, War renton, etc., without injury.

A short time after, Brown left the the north-east corner of Louisiana, about vicinity of the Red River, and took the seventy-five miles above Vicksburg, and Indianola to the mouth of the Big a mile or more west of the Mississippi. Black, which enters the Mississippi at The Tensas River flows from it in a Grand Gulf, forty miles below Vicks- southerly direction, and, joining the burg. On the evening of the 24th of Washita, the two form the Black River, February, as she was preparing to move which empties into the Red River. up the Big Black, two rebel steamers Grant's idea was, by cutting a canal were seen approaching. One was the into the lake to secure an inland pasWebb, and the other the Queen of the sage, and avoid the batteries at both West, which had been repaired after Vicksburg and Port Hudson. The the affair on the Red River, and was canal was finished, and the water let now brought into action. Attended in on the 16th of March, and a conby several other vessels, the Webb and siderable region of territory was floodthe Queen attacked the Indianola with great force and energy, who, on her part, responded with the utmost intrepidity. In the course of an hour and a half, the Indianola was struck seven fearful blows, and beginning to sink, she was run ashore and surrendered.*

Meanwhile, the canal project opposite Vicksburg having failed (see p. 305), other undertakings of a similar kind were entered upon, which seemed to promise better success. One was the cutting a channel from the Mississippi to Providence Lake, on the west side, and another, the cutting a channel to Moon Lake, on the east side of the river, and thence entering the Yazoo Pass. Lake Providence is situate in

* Admiral Porter, in an interesting letter, tells of his

sending a "sham monitor" to run the batteries during

the night, and of its excellent success; for not only did it frighten the Queen of the West down the river,

but it led to the rebel authorities ordering the blowing

up of the Indianola. This was accomplished, happily, before they discovered how neatly they had been taken in, and while countermanding orders were under way

to prevent it. We may also mention here, that a week later, another old coal barge was sent in the darkness down the river, and that the rebel batteries expended

a large amount of ammunition and skill in the steady fire which they kept up upon it.

ed; but on trying the pass, and finding serious difficulties in the way, especially as regarded the channel of the Tensas River, the whole matter was given up as impracticable.

The Moon Lake and Yazoo Pass pro ject offered better prospects of success. The passage across the lake (which is eight miles below Helena, Arkansas) to the mouth of the is about eight pass miles, and thence through the pass twelve miles, the Coldwater River is reached. This, after a crooked passage of about forty miles, joins the Tallahatchie, which, in turn, pursues its tortuous way some fifty miles, when it unites with the Yallobusha, the two forming the Yazoo River, with a course of over 200 miles through a very fertile country, to its outlet into the Mississippi, a short distance above Vicks | burg. The advantage of securing the navigation of this long and circuitous stream was to take Yazoo City, a hundred miles above the river, in the rear of the works at Haines' Bluff, and to gain a position whence Vicksburg could be approached from the interior. It

CH. XXVIII.]

SOUTHERLY APPROACHES TO VICKSBURG.

307

was necessary to cut the levee at the caster was destroyed by the firing of mouth of the Yazoo Pass, which was the rebel guns; the Switzerland, though done, and an expedition sent by badly injured, got past without being 1963. this route on the 25th of Febru- sunk. She was repaired, and did good ary. The stream is about 100 feet service during the next fortnight in wide and arched over by cypress and aiding the attack on the batteries at other trees, lining its banks, which re- Grand Gulf, blockading the Red River, tarded the passage to the Coldwater and destroying the enemy's transports River. Gen. Ross was in command, and a large quantity of corn stored at with a division of McClernand's corps Bayou Sara for rebel use. and two regiments of sharpshooters on the gun boats. Coldwater was reached on the 2nd of March, after much difficulty and trial. The expedition passed on to Greenwood, where was Fort Pemberton, extending from the Tallahatchie to the Yazoo, the two rivers being here a few hundred yards apart. The land around the fort was overflowed, and the gun boats, after several hours' trial, found that they could not silence the rebel batteries. The project consequently was abandoned, and the expedition returned to Helena.

Shortly before this, Porter started an expedition which came very near being an entire success. It consisted of five iron-clads and a detachment of Sherman's troops, and was conducted by Porter through Steele's and Black's Bayou, so as to reach Haines' Bluff by Deer Creek and Sunflower River. After eight days of toil and trouble, the rebels continually opposing fresh obstructions, Porter gave up the attempt as useless.

All attempts against Vicksburg from the northerly side were henceforth abandoned as inexpedient, and Grant resolved, with Porter's aid, to get his troops below the city, and make his attack from the lower or rear side, which, it was well understood, was the most easily assailable, and promised the best results. Accordingly, on the 29th of March, Gen. McClernand, with the 13th army corps, moved from Milliken's Bend toward New Carthage, about thirty-five miles below on the Mississippi. Other corps were to follow as rapidly as supplies and ammunition could be transported to them. The progress was very slow and tedious, in consequence of the bad state of the roads, the breaking of the levee at Bayou Vidal, etc., and some weeks were spent in this necessary but fatiguing work.

While this movement of the army was going on, preparations were made for running transports and gun boats past the Vicksburg batteries, these being requisite in order to give the sol diers means of crossing for operations on the Mississippi side of the river.

Farragut sent a messenger overland on the west side of the Mississippi, asking aid from the fleet above. Two rams, the Lancaster and Switzerland, at- Eight gun boats, the Benton, tempted to run the batteries at Vicks- Porter's flag-ship, the Lafaburg, on the 25th of March. The Lan-yette, the Price, the Louisville, the Ca

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