American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1851-1863, 1863-02-20
The Situation in the Southwest.

The following is an extract from long ed
itorial upon This subject in the New York
Herald of the 5th inst.
We have news to the 30th ultimo from
Vicksburg. Al that day General Grant. chief
in command, had arrived. The work of
widening and deepening the famous " cut off -
was progressing; but the rebels shutting
their danger, had planted battery on the
opposite, Mississippi, side of the river
which commanded the outlet of the canal into
the main stream. That battery, however,
will be silenced when the time comes for &C.
ton.
A rebel dispatch from vicksburg, of the
30th ultimo, says that some Federal scouting
PARTIES had appeared that morning on the
river bank. Immediately in front of the town,
but on the Louisiana side of the river, and
had burned four houses under the range of
the rebel batteries. the river being less than a
mile in width, and the rebel batteries being
on the Vicksburg bluffs, where they possess
advantages of plunging fire. This would
seem to indicate design On the part Of Gen.
eral Grant 10 plant line of batteries in front
of yicksburg. to keep the rebels we'll en-
ployed in his front while our gunboat squad
ron is running below the town, by way of the
cut of But whatever may be the design
of General Grant, we have the fulIest coma
dence in his success. not only in removing
the Mississippi river, but in removing the
rebels from Vicksburg, " in moving upon
their works"
From rebel reports. it appears that their ir-
repressible guerrilla. Wheeler, has been very
active of late in cutting among and cutting
up the river transports and railroad trains of
General Rosecranz. All these things dis
close desperate determination on the part of
the rebels to maintain foothold in Tennes-
see, and TO hold the points which they pos
sess on the Mississippi river. In Tennessee
and Vlcksbulg there is doubtless hot work
very near at hand. 1t is possible that within
the next ten days the most important events
of the war viii; come off in that quarter, and
the most decisive against the rebellion.
From Port Hudson-the only remaining
rebel obstruction after Vicksburg on the
whole line of the Mississippi I've have no
very late intelligence We informed.
however, that a cut off is feasible at that
point, and that the project is under consid
Grafton. This may explain the requisition of
General Banks for large supply of intreneh
ing tools. But let Vicksburg be taken, and
the combined forces of Grant and Admiral
Porter. from above, and of Banks and Ad-
miral Farragut from below, will make short
work of Port Hudson. The Mississippi and
its tributaries are in excellent condition for
aggressive operations side from Ten
nessee to the Gulf: and we are confident that
before those waters subside the advantages
which they offer will have been fully
EN- ployed IN crushing the rebellion in the
Southwest
Our greatest victories last year were achIev-
ed between the LIST of February and the LIST of
June; and this year. from the same advsn-
tages of navigable rivers, we anticipate, with
in the same period. the same results, but on a
much grander scale The administration has
the men and the means its most favorable
season for great successes has come: and
surely notwithstanding all the blunders of
the past, We may expect henceforward some
glorious compromising victories. If not. we
may look for the peace makers and Union
breakers by the LIST Of May.
81 Some of the best Yankee Genera Is have ex
pressed much soiicitude in regard to the Yankee
regiments whose two years term of service expire
in April or May. The first thirty-eght regiments
from the State of New York will 90 ont Of serrs.s