Weekly national intelligencer., 1863-03-19
THE SIEGE OF vIcKsBURG.

The Memphis Bulletin of the 18th instant an
arrival from the Mississippi fleet Of the preceding day BY
which was put in possession of interesting nte-
relative to the operations of the Union forces against
Vicksburg We extract the following:
On Saturday, the 7th instant the embaIkment at the
mouth of the canal opposite Vcksburg gave way aud the
water which fourteen feet above it, poured through
at furious rate This Of prevents further opera
tions by land The dredge boats however had got TO
work, and they were performing finely. Each Of them
cleans out sixty square yards hour and makes svse
goes The tumps being removed BY operators
the dredge boats and is anticipated that in short tims
the canal will be- perfect aud complete The peninsula
below tho canal flooded from The high water and fears
are INDUCED that the evee above which has recently given
indications of breakage may give way, which would food
tho present camping grounds Of troops To prevent
such contamination large force at work the leyee.
and with every possible indication of success
1t was reported on Monday, (he 9th and generally
believed that Com Porter had received information Of tho
success OF the Yazoo Pass expedition far had eese
Yazoo Ci it stated had been captured and tho
bel fleet had been attacked somewhere between YaxoO
City and Hanes Bluff and either captured destroyed
SO confident were our forces of the fact that 1t stated
that Com Porter momentarily looking for friendly
signals from forces from Haines' Bluff. At Lake
Providence and at Helena on Thursday (the l2th)
ported fall Of Yaz City, and the destruction Of tho enc
my feet but the particulars of the affair were not fully
known
The rebels, consisting of two companies, had succeed
ed in cutting The evee at point between Grand Lake and
Lake Providence, and the water pouring over and
flooding tho country for miles The object of this move
the part Of the rebels food the country to
prevent forces from operating successfully on the
little creek slough between Lake Providence and Bayou
Macon. This slough very narrow, and is filed with
sfumrs and other obstrucons, which forces are at
tempting to and the rebels thought they could de-
feat the whole scheme by cutting the levee which they
have done for space of about hundred and fifty
yards The effect thus far, has been to induce rise Of
three feet in the slough but still men are at work and
if all other fail the dredge boats can be used sue
cessfully at Vicksburg Thus The responsibility Of
flooding the country and destroying millions of property
will rest not upon the Federal army but upon the rebels
Themselves.
"The health Of our troops which seriously impaired
at time rapidly improving, and matters before Vicks
burg daily growing brighter and brighter"
The latest accounts from Vicksburg are to Tuesday
the 9th instant The report Of the capture of Yazoo city
could not be traced to any reliable source nor was such
speedy anticipated The river had risen 90 high
that Gen. McCernands troops had been compelled To en-
bark for Mlikens Bend, sixteen miles above Vicksbure
The evee broken in several places The gupboats it
reported bad arrived above Haines' Buff, and were
about to attack 1t Is nine miles from Vicks-
burg The fleet below Helena, having board Qunby's
division, waiting for forty stern-whesers and small
sdewhee steamers to carry them through Yazoo Pass the
steamers on which they had embarked being too large
The steamer Emma, from the Coldwater river arrived
Cairo the l4th instant with two hundred negroes
This boat had great difficulty in coming through Yazoo
Pass. The branches of trees that projected from each
side of the stream tore away beth wheelhouses crushed
in the cabin and rendered the boat almost floating wreck
Other transports, being smaller, successfu in
getting through. The Emma left the expedition on the
4th instant