San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1883-07-05
= FRONT Of vICKSBURG.
"a, Of the siess-The Scene on the Day
nfb Of Surrender.

rH Of Surrender.
.,,o.n Civil War. by the Count Of Paris.
Almost continuous line of half
s.rs interspersed with redoubts
l'sn aSa 6sld artillery from the Iaines'
~ ~ 10 Big Black River, was compile
bun tbe 22d of June. This, enor-
ap' york of decentralization, which
noas development equal to THAT of the
@ - ceuntervallation, enabled Sher-
las'ty 20 hold in check all the force that
9 Ssnston could bring against him, by
j @~;ng him to concentrate the troops
s ~ o,rspalsing an attack, whatever might
Sthe point MANAGED. .,.,.
H This epoch, from the 22d to the 25th
Inne made the termination of the
~ neriod of the siege. The situa-
1l a" fof the two adversaries may be
W. mod M in q few words-Grant's
'a SUM- which on May % only numbered
%0o0 combatants, has now reached
s M It has erected around Vicks-
wv, I.vf from twelve to thirteen miles of
Ss%rtH;scations and constructed eighty
;na batteries, in which, few days
I au 22O pieces of artillery were placed
= nosition. Eight approaches have
Saan directed against the place by
W T Tuttle, Blair, Logan, "A. j.
smith, Carr, Lannan and Heron. At
v .ome points the foremost lays within
isn or fifteen yards of the enemy's
works. Finally, a corps Of observation
!, located between the Yazoo and the
Biz Black; it keeps watch over long
Inc of decentralization extending from
liver to river and resting it's left upon
tbe intrenched camp of Haines' bluff.
Meanwhile johnson has gradually
brmed an army of 10000 men; he has
rathered the material and the means of
pansportation, and is prepared to take
The field. In Vicksburg the scarcity of
provisions is beginning to be, felt; the
ammunition is used sparingly, and the
health of the able-bodied men, whose
numbers are daily reduced by the sick
ness, is attended to. The artillery fire
has ceased completely, and the combat
ants are so near each other that they
are obliged to fight at short range.
The Confederates are throwing gran
AIDES into the trenches of the besiegers,
which cause much damage. They try
to undermine their works, and the
Federals reply by resorting to the
same means. This kink of warfare
soon gives rise to fresh Incidents. Lo-
CAMS soldiers succeed in mining the
great redan situated on the Jackson
road, which was guarded by a portion
Of Forney's division. On the 25th of
June, at $3.50 o'clock in the afternoon.
aviolent explosion was heard, and the
air was filled with the fragments of the
salient angle of this work, leaving a
vast crater in it's place; the whole in
terror was laid in ruins; few sappers
engaged in digging countermine were
crushed nearly all the soldiers-fe
in number, however-who guarded the
redan were killed, and it is even assert
ed that some among them were thrown
alive into the Federal lines, where they
found themselves prisoners as result
Of this strange mode of travelling. A
column of infantry soon climbs over
the debris which the explosion has
piled up IN heaps, but the enemy is
not taken unawares; he has erected
second lines at the entrance of the
work. The 9th Missouri rushes for
ward in it's turn to dispute the redan
with the Unionists; being repulsed in
this attack it nevertheless succeeds in
maintaining it's position behind the
new obstacle and pours perfect tor
rent of grenades and packgages of
lighted cartridges upon the assailants,
who are crowded within the crater.
Cockerells brigade comes to it's assist
ance, and the combat is thus continued
the whole night. In the morning the
interior of the redan is abandoned by
both parties, and the Federals plant
themselves upon the remnant of the
exterior parapet. They had lost about
thirty men, and had only gained a few
feet of ground, but they had weakened
the enemy's line of defence.
In order to add to his discontinue a
new mine was begun under another
redan, situated on the left of the jack
son road, and on July its explosion
entirely destroyed this work, killing
and wounding a large number OF Con-
federates; some of them were buried
under the debris, but disinterred safe
andsound several hours after. In con-
sequence of the position of this mine
the greater portion of the earth was
thrown to the side of the besiegers,
who quickly took possession of this
knd of parapet and planted them
selves on it, but did not try to carry
the second line of the defenses.
Ihenceforth the shovel and the pickax
we're no longer sufficient; it was neces-
sary to prepare for the assault which
vas to give the final blow to the garrl-
son. The parallels were enlarged and
The drilling widened; all the
Necessary Observation-Disclosures, planks,
iascines, gabions-were got together