Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1863-03-04
- Eaem vIoKsHoae.

YlCKsBURc March !, 1868
Two or thres DIS Is before the close Of tie last
vssrt ire enemy attempted a. onward march by
uav of Chiekasaw bayou, fer the purpose Of
capturing Vicksburg. a little band Of intrepid
Tennessee and Louisiana volunteers so effect
ualy checked their sdvsnce, that the whole
force had TO be drawn off discounted, democrat
lied, and reduced IN numbers Horn the severe
handling he received. For The time being The
siege had to be abandoned in order to recuperate
his b~rokeR-down lines, and to restore confidence
aud spirits among his troops, before another
effort could be made.
Nearly the whole Of the first month OF the
new year was wasted on the river above, until
about the both, when be agsin made his advent
in cur sight. Il was then believed that no time
would be wasted in prolonged preparations, but
that an assault upon the city would forthwith be
made with the combined power Of the army and
navy, without giving US time for additional pre-
partitions Bat in these expectations we were
disappointed, as no demonstration against the
city was made. Day after day has expectation
been rife, locking to an approach Of the enemy
against our defenses, but day AFTER day has come
and gone, and sill no effort made 10 take yieks-
burg.
The cause Of this ts-diness On the part Of the
enemy is easily accounted for. When be at
tempted to take the place previously, with an
army of forty thousand men, and was repulssd
by a handful Of less than three thousand Con
federates, he made the important discovery that
be must bring a large force in order to insure
success to the expedition. he withdrew, reoF-
gsnized hiss army, concentrated his feet, and
collected all the available material ia Yankee
land fox The next effort After spending near
one month in this, he appeared again At the old
place, but by this time The battle-ground Of
Chiekasaw bayou was one vast expaase Of
water. and approach from that direction entirely
cut Of
This rendered 6 change OF base necessary,
and the force was brought down to within sight
Of the city, instead of the old place of rendez.
vous in Old river. But here the fowning battle
mens Oh the nights Of the city Of 8 hundred hills.
presented an insupeTable barrier TO his further adj
vance. Luckily for him The Louisiana swamp
presented a spot of dry ground Of sufficient d.
mengions for him to plant bis camps, where he
could give his troops an airing, end'set them 10
work in digging out the canal, aud in buryi1g
tdeir dead companions. Another month has
passed away and still the eneely is engaged at
the same work.
Now the ides of March has come, and Jet are
the citizens of Vicksburg in quiet possession Of
their homes, and stronger by far is the placa
against the enemy to-day than it was on the first
day of January. It is evidently an ineEplieable
puzzle to the Federal commander to figure Out
would be The most feasible plan for
taking this place, and, not being at all able to
arrive at a satisfactory conclusion, he waits for
" something to turn up" Every effort he has
yet made has proved a disaster to him, and every
prospect for disaster in the future steres him in
the face. OF late there has been 3 great deal Of
activity among the boats, but besides this moth
Jog has been discovered like a hostile demon
stration.
We have derived some advantage from his
.pressncs-the acquisition of two gunboats to
0 II feet below, and tbs additional preparations
which his presence has caused US to make.
Since the feeble attempt to shell the placs last
week, very little has been seen of the enemy on
the peninsula. They have evidently found out
the locality of som Of oar guns, and they feel
disiuclined to expose themselves within their
range. 1t has been expected that another gun
boat would be run down, but it appears that
the former experience in running gunbgats be-
has been ample to satisfy the enemy Of the
danger OF losing them, and they are more eau
sious now how they venture on such a hazard
Gus trip, aud this is to be regretted By us as it
will deprive us Of the pleasure Of eaPtupng a
more, EEsToR