The Buchanan County guardian. (Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa) 1858-1864, 1863-04-21


AS many Of
you are interested in the moviDgs and
doings of the Iowa 9th, and especially
that of Co G, shall give you few des-
ultory notes. tH
Our regiment has been quite active
since we came down to Vicksburg the
second time. Ii is aIwavs ready to take
part in the various duties that are bro't
about by the ever-changing circumsMn
ces Of war, be it building corduroy
road. digging canals or "cut offs, y or
what not. a" @ !
The canal or "cut of" South of T
Vicksburg, commenced last Summer,
was abandoned by our troops, but only !
after spending much hard labor on it.
The entire thing was planned on too
small a scale. Several weeks ago new
/" cut off was projected on grander
scale. and thousands of men put to work
on it night and day The soldiers and
cor,rabands worked like beavers, and
now the project is beginning to show its
feasibility AT present several dredge
boats are finishing the work by deepen
ing and widening the channel. The
object of this cent off" is to afford
transit for our transports to get below
the city of Vicksburg. so as to enable
our forces to get foothold on the East
Of tile city.
The second "cut off" or Yazoo Pass
is only short distance below Helena
Il is cut through large levee that wa
thrown up years ago to prevent the riv-
or, when at high water. from inunda,ing
the surrounding country. If lhs proves
success, il viii enable our transports
to reach point within twenty miles Of
of the Wick sburg and jackson railroad.
By gaining the railroad, a tremendous
blow will be given to the Conlederacy.e
| The third 4" cut off is between Lake
Providence and the Mississippi River.
/ BY this canal, boats will be admitted
into Lake Providence and from this
lake they reach Bayou Macon, and as
! ibis bayou is connected with various
creeks, sloughs, and other waters. boats
can pass into Bayou Boeui, Texas River,
Onclchila River, and Red River. BY
getting possession Of these waters, an
defensive. river communication can be
intercepted, cutting off large supplies Of
various products, cattle &c, which are
now furnished the rebels from this source.
The system of "cut offs and canals
along the Mississippi River, their direct
and indirect bearing upon the Western
portion Of the Confederacy." its army
supplies, DC, is assuming considerable
magnitude, The whole project looks
very feasible. while nothing is seen. to
the contrary. Should it prove a success,
as is anticipated by naval officers, the
city Of Vicksburg can be taken without
firing gun. Rumor has il that Haines'
Bluff was taken few DAYS ago by our
gan boats on the Yazoo River. Ii this
is SO, very important decision was
made, namely lbat iron clad vessels
may be invulnerable 10 The fiery yomit
ings Of land batteries No more Of dis.
But for the company | would say, on the
| lth inst. We received orders 10 be de-
tached from the Reg't 10 act AS pro
vost guard on the Steamer Henry Clay.
EOn the 12h, the regiment WAS paid of.
i This makes the boys ieel considerably
better. Green backs distributed occas
ionally by the handful, ihfuses more
iactiyity and cheerfuness into the sol
diers, than plailoons of doctors and cart
loads Of medicine. Hurrah for more
! green becks And liule more lager
beer. This suggests one incident that
must relate just before Capt Wright
left, he wished TO give some tangible ev-
idence OF his regard for the members of
company G, So two men were detailed,
and after receiving tie necessary insruc
lions, and an adequate amount OF green
backs from the generous hand OF me
Captain, they started for the boats. :
and soon returned with bali barrel Of
lager. This vas hustled into The Cap.
rain's tent and nicely adjusted for "tap
ping" Of course some prelminaries
had 10 be gone through with. fixing
faucet. giving vent, DE.
Lieut.. + c. Lille aud Orderly vii 4
bur were the managers. As every bod
Us mouth was watering for lager. be
coming activity was expected every
where. In trying TO get the faucet TO
operate, owing 10 a sloppage. the shut
off, part of The faucet was dropped. Alter
fixing and fuzziug ltte. OUT comes lie
lager with vim and impetuosiy that
is indesrcibabe, squirting and spashing
in all directions, The managers. having
too nice a regard for the lager, could not
bear 10 see the waste, so they tried TO
stop il by holding II in here and there.
and finally in the muss they succeeded |
in geling everything right and lager tight.
The scene was laughabls, (afier the beer
\ II