The daily Evansville journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1862-1863, 1863-08-19

, OAl L eAEEUQS IfO
the Iallahatchie to the Yazoo. to Gree
wood. Here the two rivers come with
afew hundred yards Of each other. I'll
land around the fort is low, and at IL
tlme OF the attack was entirely owe
Moved. Owing to this fact no moverner
could be made by the army to reduce !
bnt all depended upon the ability of tn
gunboats to silence the guns of the enc
my, and enable the transports TO ru
down, aud land troops immediatelv or
the tort itself. After an engagement O
several hours the gunboats drew off, be
ing unable to silence the batteries
Bflgadier General j. f. Quimby, com
manding a division of Mcpherson
corps, met the expedition under Ros,
wlti his division on its return near For
Pemberton, on the 2lst of March, anC
} being the senior, assumed the command
I OF the entire expedition, and returned to
the position 1 K2sybfq4h b 4haaffsR afeRn SENT orders
for the withdrawal of all the forces ope-
rating in that direction, for the purpose
OF concentrating my army at Milliken's 3
Bend
On the 9th day of March, Admiral D.
U. Porter, commanding Mississippi
Squadron, informed me that he had made
a reconnaissance up Steeles Bayou, and
partially through Black Bayou toward
Deer Greek, and so far as explored, these
water courses were reported navigable
for the smaller iron-clads Information
given mostly, / believe, by the negroes
OF the country, was to the effect that
Deer Creek could be navigated to Roll
ing Fork, and that from there through
the Sunfower to the Yazoo river there
was no question about the navigation.
On the following morning accompanied
Admiral Porter in the ram Price, several
iron-clads proceeding us, up through
Steele's Bayou to near Black Bayou.
At this time our forces were at dead
lock at Greenwood, and / looked upon
the success of this enterprise as of vast
Importance 1t would, if successful.
leave Greenwood between two forces of
ours, and world necessarily cause the
abandonment Of that stronghold.
About thirty steamers of the enemy
would have been destroyed or fallen in
to our hands. Seeing that the great OBJ
stacle to navigation, so far as / had
gone, was from overhanging trees, | left
Admiral Porter near Black Bayou and
pushed back to Young's Point for the
purpose of sending back pioneer corps
to remove these difficulties. Soon after
my return tohYoungs Point, Admiral
Porter sent back to me for a co-opera-
ting military force. Sherman was
promptly sent with one division of his |
corps. The number of the steamers
suitable for the navigation of these bay- |
Gus being limited, most of the force was |
sent up the Mississippi river to Eagles |
Bend d. a rlfhfiet lfhfe expedition failed, probably |
more from want of knowledge as to what |
would be required to open this route than |
from any impracticability in the naviga-
ton of the streams and bayous through
which it was proposed to paes- Want of |
this knowledge led the expedition on un-
til difficulties were encountered, and
then it would become necessary to send
back to Young's Point for the means OF
removing them. This gave the enemy
time to move forces to effectually check
mate further progress, and the eXpedl-
ton was withdrawn when within few
hundred yards of free and open naviga-
ton to the Yazoo. .....
All this may have been providential in
driving US ultimately to line of opera
tions which have proven eminently sue
cessful.
For further particulars of Steers Ba-
you expedition, see report of Maj. Gen.
w. F. Sherman, forwarded on the 18th
of April.
As soon as l decided to open water
communication from point on the Mis-
sissippi near Milliken's Bend to New
Carthage, determined to occupy the
latter place,it being the first point below
Vicksburg that could be reached by land
at the stage of water then existing, and
the occupying of which, while it secured
to us point on the Mississippi river,
would also protect the main line OF com
munication by water Accordingly, the
18th army corps, Major General John A.
McClernand commanding, was directed
| totake up its line of march on the 29th
| dav Of March for New Carthage, the 10Th
and 18th TO follow, moving no faster than
supplies and ammunition could be trans
ported to them.
The roads, though level, were intoler-
ably bad. and the movements were there
fore necessarily slow. Arriving at
Smiths plantation, two miles from New
Carthage. it was found that the levee at
Bayou Vidal was broken in several
places, thus leaving New Carthage an
Island
All the boats that could be collected
from the different bayous in the vicinity
and others were built, but the transpor
tation of an army in this way was found
exceedingly tedious Another route hao
to be found. This was done by making
, a further march round Vidal to Perkin''
p.antation, distance of twelve mile
! more, making the whole distance to b,
= marched from Milliken's Bend to reacl
3 water communication on the opposit
side of the point, thirty-6ve miles. Owe
/ this distance, with bad roads to conten
: against, supplies of ordnance stores an
provisions had to be hauled by wagon
4 with which to commence the campaig
Y on the other side of the river.
v At the same time that l ordered tn
' occupation of New Carthage, prepar'
t tions were made for running transport
e by the Vicksburg batteries with Admiri
of Porter gunboat feet.
m On the night of the 10th of April, A
l. miral Porter's feet, and the transpor
h Silver Wave, Forest Queen and hem
r Clay, ran the Vicksburg batteries II
e A. mara rr0tocte