The Portland daily press., 1883-06-22
In Front of Vicksburg.
The Last Days of the Siege The Scene on
the Day of Surrender.

The American Civil War, by the Count of Parish
An almost continuous line of half bas-
tions, interspersed with redoubts for the
field artillery from Haines' Bluff to Big
Black River, was completed by the 22d of
June. This enormous work of circumvalla-
ton, which had development equal to
that OF the lines Of CONTEMPLATION
enabled Sherman to hold in check all
the force that Johnston could bring against
him, by allowing him to concentrate the
troops for repulsing an attack, whatever
might be the point menaced.
This epoch, from the 22d to the 25th of
June, made the termination of the frs. Pc
Rod of the siege. The situation of the two
adversaries may be summed up in few
words-Grant's army, which on May % only
numbered 10000 eomhatants, has now
reached $4,000. 1t has erected around
Vickshurg from twelve to thirteen miles of
Notifications and constructed eighty-nine
batteries, in which, few days later, 22O
pieces of artillery are placed in position.
Eight approaches have been directed against
the place by Woods, futile. Blair, Logan,
A. j. Smith, Carr, Lanman and Heron
At some points the foremost saps are within
ten or fifteen yards of the enemy's works
Finally, corps of observation is located be-
tween the Yazoo and the Big Black; it keeps
watch over long line of decentralization.
extending from river to river and resting
its left upon the intrenched camp of Haiues
Bluff.
Meanwhile Johnston has gradually formed
an army of $4,000 men; he has gathered the
material and The means of transportation.
and is preparing to take the field In Vicks-
burg 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 sick
ness, is attended to. The artillery fire has
ceased completely, and the eombatants are
SO near each other that they are obliged to
fight at short range. The Confederates are
throwing grenades into the trenches of the
besiegers, which cause much damage They
try to undermine their work, and the FEEDER
ais reply by resorting to the same means.
This kind of warfare soon gives rise to fresh
incidents. Logan's soldiers succeed in min
ing the great redan situated on the jackson
road, which was guarded by a portion of
Forney's division. On the 18th of June, at
$50 O'Clock in the afternoon, violent ex-
plosion was heard, and the air was filed
with the fragments of the salient angle of
this work, leaving a vast crater in its place:
the whole interior was laid in ruins; a few
sappers engaged in digging a eountermine
were crushed; nearly all the soldiers-few in
number, however, who guarded the redan
were killed, and il is even asserted that
some among them were thrown alive into
the Federal lines, where they found them
selves prisoners as result of this strange
mode of travelling A column of infantry
soon climbs over thesdebris which the explo-
sion has piled up in heaps, but the enemy is
not taken unawares; he has erected second
line at the entrance of the work. The 9th
Missouri rushes forward in its turn to dis
pute the redan with the Unionsts; being re-
pulsed in this attack it nevertheless sue
ceeds in maintaining its position behind the
new obstacle and pours perfect torrent Of
grenades and packages delighted cartridges
upon the assaiants, who are crowded with
in the crater. Cockerell's brigrade comes to
its assistance. and the combat is thus contin-
ued 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
gained 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, situa-
ted on the left of the Jackson road, and on
July its explosion entirely destroyed this
work killing and wounding large number
of Confederates; some of them were buried
uncer the debris, but dsinterred safe and
sound several hours after In consequence of
the position of this mine the greater portion
Of the earth was thrown 10 the side of the
besiegers, who quickly took possession of this
kind OF parapet and planted themselves on
it, but did not try to carry the second line of
the defences. Thenceforth the shovel and
the pickax were no longer Sufficient; it was
necessary to prepare for the assault which
was to give the final blow to the garrison.
The parallels were enlarged and the drilling
grounds widened; all the necessary materi-
als-ladders, planks, fascines, gabions--were
got together near the points of attack, and
the batteries so arranged as to concentrate
their fire at a given signal. The solemn
hour was approaching.
On the morning of the 4th of July--a day
when the whole of America celebrates the an
iyersary Of the Declaration of Independence
the white flags reappeared upon the
Confederate works. They made known to
both parties that Grants conditions had
been accepted by Pemberton after consul
tation with all his Generals. AT 10 O'Clock
precisely the Federals beheld long columns
of men, dressed in brown or in gray, emerg-
ing from these works which, until then,
they had not been able to approach except
OF the peril Of their lives. Some defie BY
way Of the postern gates, others jump over
the parapets, which are thenceforth useless;
they stack their muskets, and, silently plant
ing their colors upon that soil which has
been watered by the blood of their comrades,
range themselves in front of their lines.
These troops number $4,000 men, of whom
2,138 are officers and fifteen are Generals;
the artillery consisted of seventy-two guns,
hnIR lnfr.r snI. .GaIl