The Cass County Republican. [volume] (Dowagiac, Mich.) 18??-1880, 1863-01-29
Correspondence of the St. Louis Republican
The Seige Of Vicksburg,

The Expedition Of General ,Sherma,,
-Stor'ni'ag Of the Works - The Re
pulse Of the NdtionuI Asny.- Par
ticulars Of the Fighting. s,li .o
THE STRATEGY OF DELAY.
There is no doubt that The delay
which attended the movements of oul
flotilla down the river has been highly
prcjndicial To our success. The pas.
sage down To this point is easily accom-
pliShtd in forty eight hours. No les.
than six days have been occupied in
the passage. We seem to have been
lettering along the rouse. purposely and
aiinless. The large fleet is chartered
AT an expense Of from two hundred and
fifty To four hundred dollars per day.
The enemy hal ample means Of know
ing tha, the expedition was under way.
They could determine lis destination
and strength with considerable. certain
lty. The Formidable abatis aud earth
works which have so recently been con
strurtcd attest how well tire interval
has been improved. Three'days saved
in an attack might have made all the
difference in our prospects. Every
main avenue to the city has heen
guarded anew, every trench doubled.
batteries red"ubled, reinfnrcemenis
poured iri-all IN View of the very dan
ger which was so ltisnrely tying mp to
tie banks of the Mississippi, aud de
stroying the houses over poor defense
less women and clildren. One dav
added n barracadt, the next a trench,
The third a battery, and the fourth an
army To the rebel strength. The rail
road has been taxed Ia the utmost to
bring troops mp To Vicksburg.
THE LANDING OF THE TROOPS.
Christmas day was spent frasting ON
hard bread aud salt pork. Next day
the gunbnats which had been recon
n"itering the Yazn" river preceded the.
fleet of transl,"rts, and the whole army
was disembarkrd along three miles of
the south bank of the river just above
Old River, the plantation of Mr.. john
stop, Il relative rf the late General
Albert S. Johnston, of the Confederate
army. For iw" DAYS back the gun.
boats had been cruising up and down
the river, and one of our tugs in ad
vance was fired into by g'ierrillas from
the bank of the river. The steam ram
Queen of the West, having the advan-
ingc of brass guns on her upper deck.
was ordered mp to the front to drive off
the rifipmen who had constructed pits
from which they fired upon the gun
boats with impuDity, as the shell aud
canister whistled tremendously over
their heads.
The landing was, however, peace
fully effected, the division under Gen.
Steele being the first Ia land. From
h"use there is by-roai |
lra,ling back into the country. Our
outer pickets were extended about
mile from the shore.
TYPHoGRAPHY OF TIE FIELD.
In order To understand the snbse-
quent movements, it may be well to
notice that the city Of Vickshurg stands
on the fnnrth of the chain of the Chick
asaw bluffs which jut upon the east
bank of the Mississippi at intervals be-
tween Columbus and Baton Rouge.
The same chain of hlnffs appears ON
the east hank of the Yazon, at point
about twelve miles from its mouth |
Upon this chain of bluffs, extending
between the two rivers, the rebels have
constructed n series of strong fnrtfica-
iions. AT IIaincs Bluff the batteries
of heavy guns have complete coutr,,l
Of the Yazno. river; at Vhkshurg of
the Mississippi. The b"it"m lands III
the base of the bluff are of the rich al
Iuvial deposit common 10 these lati
iu,les.
One regularity of this country is,
that the streams are liable at times TO
ill to ovelflowing the banks of the
and IFS tributaries. In
order to protect themselves against the
inroads of fno.ls, dy kes or levees have /
hccn built of n height varying fiom
inur.9 to ten feet. These sluggish
streams and long ponds which are
hcmined in are, in tire langnage of the
country, called " bayous." The whole
of the Lower Mississippi territory Is
in places l'y these impede
ments to locomOtion. sg.a ia.4 .Hn8l
7n THE FoRTIFIcATIoNs. g ''' fso
AT the time of our bombardment of
the forts at Virkslurg, they included
only few earthworks at either end of
tile landing above and below the city,
in all some forty guns.
Now they extended from one river TO
the other, distance Of seven miles.
Heavy ordnance had been mounted at
IIaines' Bluff, and on the Intervening
crests between the two places. A |
and five gnns had been placed
an the city front alone. Tn, sides of
the hills along the line Fave also been
irencbed with pits, masked with abatis
and feIlcd timber, and field batteries
have been placed commanding every
These bayons have contri |
huted To the means of natural defense,
as they are hardly to be crossed except
by bridges. They are, as it were, a
species Of moat IN front of the works
behind. taf>1 As .9 i''H'
iii y THE ATTAcK-sUNDAY.
Oar purposes were snnr made clear
bv the movement of their columns on
Saturday along the Two roads leading
from the Y,zoo to the Citadel. Onr
army lay in the peninsula inclosed be-
tween the Old river and the Chichasaw
bayou or creek. Gen. Morgan pro