The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1905-10-26
WAR OF THE REBELLION.
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held. II. therefore, you are invested
in Vicksburg, you must ultimately sur
render. Under such circumstances, in
stead of losing both troops and place,
you must, IL possible, save the troops.
II 1T fs not too late, evacuate Weeks
burg and Its dependencies. and march
to the northeast"
Pemberton Decides to Stay In vicksburg.
This was Sunday. May II. On that
day Gen. Pemberton wrote a letter.
which Gen. Johnston received the next
day, May Is, informing him that he had
been attacked and forced back from
the Big Black Bridge and that he had
ordered Hayness Bluff TO be abandoned.
His letter concluded with a sentence
which seemed to throw the blame on
Johnston for his misfortunes at Cham
pion's Hill and the Big Black Bridge,
for he said:
II greatly regret that felt compelled
to make the advance beyond the Big
Black. which has proved so disaster
Gus in it's results"
Gen. Johnston had come down far
as Vernon, so as to be as near as posi-
Bile to Pemberton and be able to direct
his movements with promptness and
CELEBRITY At Vernon, May 10, Johnston
received a reply from Pemberton dated
Vicksburg, May Is, to his order to
which he said that he had assembled
"a council of war of the general
officers Of this command, and having
laid your instructions before them.
asked the free expression of their opin-
ion as 20 the practicability of carrying
them out. The opinion was unani-
mously expressed that 1t was impossi-
BILE to withdraw the army from this
position with such morale and material
as to be of further service to the Con-
federacy."
Thereupon Gen. Johnston gave up all
hopes Of junction. and saw that his
only expectation would be to gather
an army outside sufficiently strong to
drive Gen. Grant off and raise the siege.
He sent a note to Gen. Pemberton, say
ing:
II am trying to gather force which
may attempt to relieve you. Hold out"
The same day he sent orders to Gen.
Gardner to evacuate Port Hudson and
join him with his garrison. Gardner
proved equally disobedient with Penn
berton, and replied. May 81, saying that
the enemy was advancing from Baton
Rouge against him and asking for re-
Inducements. Johnston repeated his
orders for the evacuation, and said:
You cannot be reinforced. Do not
allow yourself to be invested. At every
risk save the troops, and, IL practicable,
move in this direction"
Commodore Porter Gets In His Work.
Commod Porter, who had beer
left with his fleet in comparative idle
ness while these momentous events were
occurring on the land. was burning with
Impotence to do something, and the
instant that he received Gen. Sherman's
message that Haynes's Bluff was evacu-
ated he set his whole fleet in motion.
Lieut.. Walker, with five gunboats was
started up the Yazoo, and reached Yazoo
City at / p. M, May 20. He found the
navy-yard ard the vessels which had
been such a menace since the beginning
of the war in flames One of these YES
sells was the ram Republic, 80 feet
long by IS wide, and the Mobile, OF SIM
liar size, both ready for their iron plat
ing. In the navy-yard there were saw
and planning mills, extensive machine
shops and carpenter and blacksmith
shops. Ali Of these were burned, and
800 rebels, sick and wounded in hos
pitaI, We're paroled. Commodore Por-
ter reported to the Secretary of the
Navy:
."The works at Haynes's Bluff were
very formidable. There were IA of the
heaviest kind of mounted eight and To-
inch and seven and a half inch rifed
guns, with ammunition enough to last
long siege. As the gun-carriages
might again fall into the hands of the
enemy, I have had them burned. blew
UP TIE HIdSd1iiic, dIiu uCoticyCo eiic
works generally. ] also burned up the
encampments. which were permanently
and remarkably we'll constructed look
ing as though the rebels intended to
stay some time. Their works and en-
campments covered many acres of
ground, and the Notifications and rifle
pits proper of Haynes's Bluff extend
about a mile and a quarter. Such
network OF fCrts / never saw.
Commodore Porter has been severely
criticised for this destruction of val
liable war material, which would have
been of great service to Gen. Grant. He
should have known that Grants army
was near enough to take possession and
effectively guard It,