The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1863-08-22
OFFICIAL REPORT OF MAJOR GENE
RAJ GRANT.
Review OF Operations from the
Commencement of his Com.
m0n0.


Commencement his Com.
mand.
HDQR'S. DEPT. OF THE TENNESSEE, !
VIcKsBURG, Miss, July 6.
COLONEL: l have the honor to submit
the Army of the Tennessee and co-opera-
ting forces, from the date of my assuming
the Immediate command of the expedition
against Vicksburg, Mississippi, to the re-
duction ofthat place.
THE PENINSULAR CANAL.-From the
moment of taking command in person, 1
became satisfied that Vicksburg could only
be turned from the south side, and in ac-
cordance with this conviction, prosecuted
the work on the canal, which had been To-
| Gated by Brigadier General Williams
across the peninsula on the Louisiana side
| the river, with ali vigor, hoping to make
a channel which would pass transports for
moving the army and carrying supplies to
the new base of operations thus provided.
The task was much more herculean than
it at first appeared, and was made much
more so by the almost continuous rains
that fell during the whole of the time this
| work was prosecuted. The river, too, con-
| tinued to rise and make a large expendI-
ture OF labor necessary to keep the water
| out of our camps and the canal.
Finally, on the Sth of March, the rapid
| rise of the river, and the consequent great
pressure upon the dam across the canal,
near the upper end, at the main MISSISSIPPI
pi levee, caused it to give way let through
the lowlands back of our camps torrent
Of water that separned the north and south
shores of the peninsula as etfectually as if
the Mississippi flowed between them
This occurred when the enterprise prom
ised success within short time. There
was some delay in trying to repair DANA
4
the then stage OF water, some other plan
would have to be adopted for getting below
Vicksburg with transports.
Captain I. E. Prime, Chief Engineer,
and Colonel G.. G. Pride, who was acting
on my staff, prospected a route through
the bayous which run from near Milliken' s
Bend on the north, and New Carthage on
the south through Roundaway Bayou into
the Tansas river. Their report of the prac-
ticability of the route determined me to
commence work upon it. Having three
dredge boats at the time the work of open
ing this route was executed with great ra-
pidity. One small steamer and number
of barges were taken through the channel
thus opened, but the river commencing
about the middle of April to fall gapidly,
and the roads becoming paSsable between
Milliken's Bend and New Carthage, made
it impracticable and unnecessary to open
water communication between these points.
The LAKE PROVIDENCE AND CoLDwA-
TER CANALS.-Soon after commencing the
first canal spoken of 1 caused channel to
be cut from the Mississippi river into
Lake Providence; also one from the Mis-
sissippi river into COldwater by way of
YazOo Pass.
had no great expectations of important
results from the former of these, but hay
lug more troops than could be employed to
advantage at Young's Point, and knowing
that Lake Providence was connected by
Bayou Baxter with Bayou Macan, a navi-
gable stream through which transports
might pass into the Mississippi below,
through Tansas, Wachita, and Red rivers,
1 thought it possible that route might be
opened in that direction which would ena-
BILE me to cooperate with Gen. Banks at
Port Hudson.
By the Yazoo Pass route only expected
at first to get into the Yazoo by way of
Coldwater and the Tallahatchie with some
lighter gunboats and few troops and des-
troy the enemy's transports in that stream
and some gunboats which knew he was
building. The navigation, however, prov
ed so much better than had been expected,
that thought for time of the possibility
of making this the route for obtaining
foothold on the high land above Haines'
Bluff, Mississippi, and small class steamers
were accordingly ordered for transporting
an army that way. Major General s. b.
Mcpherson, commanding 18th army corps,
was directed to hold his corps in readiness
to move by this route; and one division
from each, the 18th and 18th corps were col
lected near the entrance of the pass, to be
added to his command. 1t soon became
evident that sufficient number of boats of
the right class could not be obtained for
the movement of more than one division.
The MCLERNAND AND Ross EXPEDI-
TONS - GREENWOOD. - While my forces
were opening one end of the Pass the enc
my were diligently closing the other end,
and in this way succeeded in gaining time
to strongly fortify Greenwood, below the
junction ofthe Tallahatchieand allobusha
The advance of the expedition, consisting
of one division of McClernand' corps, from
Helena, commanded by Brig. Gen. L. F.
Ross, and the 18th and 18th regiments Mis-
souri, infantry, from Sherman's corps as
sharpshooters on the gunboats, succeeded
in reaching Coldwater on the I'd day of
March, after much difficulty, and the par
tial disabling of most of the boats. From
the entrance into Coldwater to Fort Penn
berton, at Greenwood, Mississippi, no diff
Guilty of navigation was experienced nor
any interruption OF magnitude from the
enemy. Fort Pemberton extends from the
Tallahatchie to the Yazoo at Greenwood.
Here the two rivers come within few
hundred yards of each other. The land
around the tort is low, ana at the time OF
the attack was entirely overfiowed. Owing
to this fact no movement could be made by
the army to reduce it, but aildepended up
on the ability OF the gunboats to silence the
guns of the enemy, and enable the trans
ports to run down and land troops imme-
diately on the fort itself. After AN engage
ment of several hours the gunboats drew
off, being unable to silence the batteries.-
Brigadier General j. F. Quimby, COM
handing division of McPhersons corps,
met the expedition under Ross with his
division on its return, near Fort Pember-
ton, on the 2lst of March, and, being the
senior, assumed command of the entire ex-
petition, and returned to the position Ross
had occupied.
THE EXPEDITIONS THRoUGHT SEELE's
AND BLACK BAYoUs.-On the 23d day of
March sent orders for the withdrawal of
all the forces operating in that direction,
for the purpose of concentrating my army
at Milliken's Bend. On the Gath day of
March, Admiral D. d. Porter, commanding
the Mississippi squadron, informed me that
he had made a reconnaissance up Steele's
Bayou, and partially through Black Bayou
toward Deer Creek, and so far as explored