Abbeville press. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1860-1869, 1863-06-26
LATE, IMPORTANT AND RELIABLE INTEL.
L1GENCE FROM THE TRAEs.MI5SIssIFPI
DEPARTMENT, VICksBURG AND PORT IIUD-

LATE, IMPORTANT AID RELIABLE INTEL.
L1GENCE FROM THE TRANs.mIss1ss1rp1
DEPARTMENT, vICKsBURG AND PORT HUD.
! SON.
| We have at last direct and positive intel.
: llSence from beyond the Mississippi, which
! clears up all the doubts, tbs and rumors
which have been vcximg Us f,r some weeks
). past
! Wcgathcr our information from al in
! telligcnt geni"nan, Just from the hca.lruar-
tets of Gen. Kirby Smith, who has onicia |
relations with that army and who crosse,
tn" Mississippi River at Na.chez, last
! Friday. The first important fact we Ica,n
! is that Gen. Smith is fully posted ne TO the
situation at EicEsNnrs and Port Hudson,
ana IS directing the forces Of his depart
! ment with II view to second Cen Johnston
on this side oil the river, in the work of
rasi = the siege Of those two cities Gen.
: Snith'S headquarters we're at Skreveport,
/ from which point he has easy water com
mnRisaion with the Missis sippi to IL point
near 'Viickaburs, hv tho Red, Black and
| lens"s ltiv"rs. His troops are already at
the posts selected COR .hem in carrying out
! Cen. :;ini;h great plan, which Is to cut of
Gen. Grants supplies. To this end Gencr-
al Walkers division, oi Gen. Dick Taylo.'s
army. was already at iouEg's Point with
. 1000 men, and the artillery necessary to
/ command the river as to transports and
| olhcr oo,len vessels.
Three thousand men, under Brigalier-
! General Green. were on the perinsular
; opposite to Port Hudson. and in Il position
with TIC ii of Gen. Gardeners batteries.
to completely closo the river 10 the euemv's
! boats.
Marmahnkc, of General PRICES :r:nv.
was near Helena, and General Price, with
! 1900 men, was on the march for that
point, bis object heing the same, to com
mand the river, and ell, eff Grants sup
plies. The great fall in the Mississippi
River, 2s feet below high water mark,
afforded grea: facilities to these opera
! tiuhs. The uairowncss OF Tie stream
forced passing vessels to come within easy
range Of the shore batteries, while the river
hal sunk y" low that the attacking parties
could not be reached by tie enemy's gum
boats.
The garrison Of Port Hudson and Vicks.
burg are both well provided and in fine
spirit<, each uneasy about the fate Of the
o'her, hu, entirely conftlen. in tlcir own
! situation. wLcy have abundant supplies.
! News has been received from Nicksburg up
| 10 Saturday night. Grants army is un-
duubteh!y suffering for want OF wafer, and
| suffering moro from being obliged to
dunk the wafer Of the Big Black. which is
very nnwho.esome. As our informant
! says, General johnston is in no hurry to
! move, for this, among other reasons, that
| he does moi Ike to interfere with !hc action
Of The wa'ers. lie is III regular communi-
cation with the West OF the Mississippi,
a i all ;,re wc'ling to common end
J til, starvation Of ti. enem,, the raising
OF the siege, ard the capture Of as ma
II. as possible, when he begins to move
! of
; /. uis,ana has been abamdonel b. H..
enemy, arl there are no Yankee troops
eXcen: about Donaldsyiilc. General Mon
ION with seven thousand men is at Frank
n: St. Mary's Parish. LII their retreat,
the Yankees carried of mules and dcs-
troyei many wagons. But most OF the
negroes have been recaplurcd and arc be-
! ing sent back to their owners.
The Red River is free of Yankee YES.
Sells. Communication between the East
and West banks OF the Mississippi Al
Na'chcz and many other places WAS con
slant and uninterrupted. Tie enemy's
gun-boats are pcwerless to prevent It.
| 10000 bead of cattle vera on theic way
to this side apd have probably pasAaby
,!.is time. q:
The Crescent regiment and the ~isf:
Louislana, both Of which were formerly
slatiopaAear Mobile, are at Bayou La
moys Sixteen miles below Alexau-
Gen. Magruder has lis eyes fixed on
Vick>b burg, and is cooperating with
his fellow. .sol llers near the scene of nc.
ton.
! The foregoing facts may be rrlied upon
for their general accuracy; and they eut
new face on the great campaign in tbe
Valley. Pcmberton and Gardner-shut
up in their strongholds, with plenty to eat
and drink, and ample powder and ball for
the entertainment Of the enemy-deiy and
laugh at the hosts who are scowlipg and
digging outside Of their works. While
Grant sits down quietly-that is, as quiet
ly a. Big Black water and the sun and
mosquitoes will permit-to starve out Penn
berton. Kirby Smith, Price and Taylor
are arranging little details TO starve him
out and compel him to abandon his un-
healthy locality.
Once again, our climate comes to our
aid. The rivers have falIon with unwonted
rapidi,y and the enemy's vessels stranded
on sandbanks, are beauty spots OIL the
picturesque scenes Of the great river. Il!
Grant is forced to retire, many of the
vessels Of the Yankee feet between {Vicks-
burg and Port Hudson must be- ;lost
When scarcity, bad water, malaria and
decentralization have done their work upon
Grants hosts, Johns,on's opportunity will
baye a.rired, and We have strong hopes
that combined attack between him and
Pemherton will result in releasing one
Of those 'pulverising'' military operations
Of which we read 90 much in Northern
papers. y
we think the "si,uatiof fsgreatly reliev.
ed and we certainly "bre he freer." We
! can now afford to await ents with be-
coming pa.ienoe.-Mobila Register, June