of the enemy. The first troops landed were a brigade under Gen. Blair, of Gen. Steele's division, and a brigade from each of the divisions under Gens. M. L. Smith and Morgan. These were ordered out on a reconnoissance, Gen. Blair on the left and the other brigades on the right. The brigade from Smith's division captured some of the enemy's pickets, and the brigade from Morgan's division found the enemy with a battery on the right, two miles from the river. After a slight skirmish they countermarched and returned to the front, as Gen. Sherman had given positive orders that no engagement should be brought on that evening.

It will facilitate the comprehension of this battle to briefly narrate the position. The defenses of Vicksburg consisted of two rivers and a chain of bluffs. The shape of the position may be likened to a horse-shoe, with one side prolonged and a bar joining the extremities of this irregular curve. The curve formed by the Yazoo and Mississippi rivers is the bow, and the chain of bluffs running inland from Vicksburg to Haines's Bluff is the bar. The former was our line of approach, and the latter, the rebel line of defense. The intervening space was low and swampy, and crowded with lagoons, bayous, and quicksands.

On the morning of the 27th the whole army was drawn up in line of battle and ready to assault. Gen. Steele's division was on the left, Gen. A. J. Smith's on the right, Gen. Morgan's on the left center, and Gen. M. L. Smith's on the right center. Gen. M. L. Smith's division took the advance and moved rapidly on the enemy, meeting them about three quarters of a mile from Chickasaw bayou. Skirmishing immediately began and was kept up during the remainder of the day, the enemy making a stout resistance but being gradally pushed back to the bayou.

On the evening before, a part of Gen. Steele's division had been re-embarked on transports and landed on the bayou, for the purpose of attempting to take a battery in the rear which commanded the only point where the bayou could be crossed on the extreme right. While Gen. M. L. Smith's division was skirmishing with the enemy on the right center, Gen. Blair's brigade and Gen. Morgan's division had advanced on the left by different routes, and came into position side by side. Skirmishing took place with the enemy's infantry and

at the same time a masked battery opened on Gen. Blair's brigade which was silenced shortly after, the enemy's infantry retreating into a thicket not far off. During the afternoon a dashing charge was made upon the rebel artillerists by the 13th and 16th Illinois infantry, under the lamented Gen. Wyman. By nightfall the enemy had been driven a quarter of a mile from where they were first encountered, and the contest ceased. During the night the rebels strengthened and enlarged their line of defense and also received reinforcements.

On Sunday, the 28th, the enemy commenced the battle at daylight by a heavy cannonade on Gen. Blair's brigade and Gen. Morgan's division. Batteries were brought into position on our side and a sharp exchange of shrapnel and shell ensued. Finding that the rebels were disposed to dispute the possession of the ground, preparations were made for a charge. Gen. Blair, with his brigade, and Gen. Wyman, with the 13th and 16th Illinois regiments were drawn up in readiness for the charge, supported by Morgan L. Smith on the right. Gen. Wyman had just drawn his sword and given the order to advance, when he was struck by a minnie ball and disabled. After a temporary confusion, Lieut.-Col. Gorgas, of the 13th Illinois, took command and Gen. Blair led the brigades in a gallant charge which drove the rebels from their position. Gen. Wyman was mortally wounded and expired in the arms of one of his attendants on the field. He was a gallant and accomplished officer and universally beloved in the army.

At the same time the conflict was pressed by M. L. Smith's division. While riding in the advance, seeking for a place where the bayou might be crossed, he was fired at by a party of the enemy concealed in a neighboring cane-brake and severely wounded. The command then devolved temporarily upon Gen. David Stuart, who kept up during the day a constant skirmishing with the enemy's forces. There seemed to have been no distinct plan of battle that day, the whole operations being a series of skirmishes in which we both gained and lost ground.

On the 29th the rebel batteries opened on Gen. Morgan, the position being as follows: Gen. Morgan on the right of Gen. Blair, next to him Gen. Stuart commanding M. L. Smith's division, and on the extreme right, Gen. A. J. Smith. The day was full of misfortunes.

Gen. Sherman had appointed no hour for the assault, but by order of Gen. Morgan, Gen. Blair advanced, Gen. Thayer coming up to his support. In crossing the ditch and making its way through the abattis, Gen. Blair's brigade was thrown into confusion, but rallied and moved upon the rebel works, carrying two lines of rifle pits. Simultaneously with Gen. Blair's advance, Gen. Thayer was ordered forward. He crossed the same ditch, made his way through the same abattis, and came out to the right of Gen. Blair. As he reached the rifle pits, however, he found he had but one regiment with him. After his movement commenced, the second regiment of his brigade had been sent to the right of Gen. Morgan as a support, and the other regiments had followed this one. Notice of this change of march of the second regiment, although sent to Gen. Thayer, failed to reach him. Bravely pushing forward, however, he occupied the rifle pits and then hurried back for reinforcements. Gen. Blair also vainly waiting for support, descended the hill to hasten up troops. While urging the advance of more troops, his brigade fought desperately to gain the crest of the hill. A short distance above the second line of rifle pits was a cluster of willows into which the rebel riflemen had retired. The 13th Illinois charged into it, and after a gallant hand to hand struggle, drove the rebels out. But the position was too much exposed to the enemy's fire to hold without reinforcements. The latter did not arrive, and Gens. Blair and Thayer were compelled to issue the order to retire. The division of Gen. Morgan was not brought over the bayou in time to engage in the assault. Only one regiment of Gen. Stuart's division got across. No notice of the intended movement on the left had been given to the division commanders on the right. Smith's division was so near Vicksburg and the strength of the enemy before him so great, that an assault would have been fruitless, and thus the day ended in defeat, although our troops had fought with the most desperate gallantry in the face of fearful odds, for the whole assault was made by about three thousand men. The 13th Illinois were the heroes of the day. They fought with magnificent bravery, reckless of all danger, plunging through the most terrific storms of shot and shell, and holding positions like Spartans, when they were exposed to a most pitiless fire from the batteries against which their own was perfectly harmless.

Private F. W. Taylor, of Belleville, Ill., was promoted on the field for bravery.

On Tuesday desultory firing was kept up and on Wednesday a flag of truce was sent in and General Sherman buried his dead. Afterwards an arrangement was made with Admiral Porter to attack Haines' Bluff, but the purpose became known to the enemy and it was abandoned. On Thursday night and Friday morning, January 2, 1863, the troops were embarked and moved down to the mouth of the Yazoo, when General McClernand took command, who ordered the forces to Milliken's Bend. Thus the second great co-operative movement to reduce Vicksburg had failed.

The circumstances of General Wyman's death were as follows: He had placed himself at the head of the 13th Illinois, which was detailed to assist in the charge upon the battery. The entire regi ment, officers and all, was moving up an eminence towards the battery. His regiment had succeeded in unmanning two of the guns and had arrived within eighty yards of the battery, when General Wyman raised up, lifting his sword in the air, and was about giving the order to charge on the battery. At that instant, he was struck in the side of the right breast, directly under the sword arm. The ball passed through the body, coming out just below the ribs on the left side. The fall of the General paralyzed the regiment. Lieut.Colonel Gorgas and others rushed to his assistance. The General raised himself and seeing that his force wavered, said to Lieut.Col. Gorgas: "For God's sake, Colonel, leave me and attend to these men." The Colonel left him, rallied the men and took the battery. General Wyman for a number of years was at the head of the old Chicago Light Guard, when that organization was at the hight of its fame. He entered the service as Colonel of the 13th Illinois, and was for some time commandant of the post at Rolla, Mo. For meritorious services and bravery in the field, the President commissioned him a Brigadier-General. He was every inch a soldier, and was deeply beloved by his old regiment and all of the army with whom he came in contact.

CHAPTER XXV.

GEN. MCCLERNAND ASSUMES COMMAND OF THE ARMY OF THE MISSISSIPPI-THE MILTARY SITUATION-General Order No. 1-SUBMISSION OF PLAN TO GEN. GRANTTHE MOVEMENT AGAINST ARKANSAS POST-Nature of THE POSITION-ILLINOIS REGIMENTS IN THE EXPEDITION-PRELIMINARY RECONNOISSANCE-THE ATTACK UPON THE FORT-ITS SURRENDER-DETAILS OF THE BATTLE-EXTRACTS FROM GEN. MCCLEBWAND'S REPORT-HIS ORDER of CongratulaTION-THE VIEWS OF THE PRESIDENT CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN GOV. YATES AND GEN. McCLERNAND.

ΟΝ

N the 4th of January, 1863, Gen. McClernand, in pursuance of orders, assumed the command of the army, styling it the Army of the Mississippi, and issued General Order No. 1, continuing Gens. Sherman and Morgan in command, prohibiting interference with private property, prescribing punishment for straggling, and covering the customary details relative to supplies and reports of corps commanders. The situation at this juncture was substantially as follows: General Grant had failed to carry out his plan of pushing forward from Oxford to Grenada, and had fallen back to Holly Springs. General Sherman's attack on Vicksburg had been repulsed. General Banks was debarred from affording co-operation with the up river movements by the obstinate resistance of the enemy at Port Hudson. In addition, the enemy at Vicksburg had been strongly reinforced and our own army was hardly in condition to move upon the latter place. General McClernand therefore adopted a new plan which he submitted to General Grant by letter, the principal features of which were the following:

General Grant was to make Memphis his base of operations, put the road from Memphis to Grenada in running order, and push forward with his column to the latter place and to Jackson, thence marching upon the rear of Vicksburg, while General Banks' forces