The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1905-10-26


Vicksburg.
Gen. Grant said to the officer that
the order came too late, and that Gen.
Halleck would not give 1t now il he
were there and saw the situation. The
officer who brought the order was
and began presenting reasons for this,
| when Gen. Grant heard a great cheer
ing, and saw Col. Lawler In his shirt
sleeves leading the successful charge
against the enemy. Gen. Grant rode
off at once in that direction, and never
saw the officer again.
All this was over at o'clock, and
at once Gen. Grant gave orders for the
construction of bridges by which the
river could be crossed and the pursuit
kept up. Gen. Mcpherson superintend-
ed the construction cf one personally,
Gen. Ransom Of another and Lieut..
Hains. Of the Engineer Corps, q third.
Lieut.. Hains built a raft bridge Gen.
Mcpherson took the cotton bales found
in the works for pontoons, and Gen.
Ransom resorted to the lumberman's
that they would fall with their tops
across the river. Cotton-gins, barns,
houses and other buildings near were
torn down to supply the lumber for this
purpose. They worked all night at this,
and had them ready the next morning.
Gen. Sherman Crosses the Big Black.
Gen. Sherman reached the Big Black
River at Bridgeport about noon, and
found Blair's Division had arrived an
hour before. Gen. Sherman gives this
account Of his crossing the river and
his capture of the redoubtable fortifi-
cations at Haynes's Bluff, which had
been such frowning obstacle to the
Army Of the Tennessee during the long
months Of the Winter and Spring:
II found Gen. Blair In person, and
he reported that there was no bridge
across the Big Black; that it was swim
ming deep; and that there was a rebel
force on the opposite side, intrenched.
He had ordered detachment of the
18th U. s., under Capt. Charles Ewing,
to strip some artillery horses, mount
the men, and swim the river above the
ferry, to attack and drive awa- the
party on the opposite bank / did not
approve of this risky attempt, but crept
down close to the brink OF the river
bank, behind a corn-crfb belonging to
a plantation house near by, and saw
the parapet on the opposite bank. Or
derfng a section of guns to be brought
forward by hand behind this corn-crib,
a few well-directed shells brought out
OF their holes the little party that was
covering the crossing. viz, a Lieutenant
and 10 men, who came down to the
river bank and surrendered. Blair's
pontoon-train was brought up, consist
ing OF fndia-rubber boats, one Of which
was inflated, used as a boat, and
brought over the prisoners. A pontoon-
bridge was at once begun. finished by
night, and the troops began the pas
sage. After dark the whole scene was
lighted up with fires OF pitchpine. Gen.
Grant Joined me theres and we sat on q
log. looking at the, passage Of the troops
by the Jtght OF those Gres; the bridge
sWayed to- and fro under the passing
feet, and made fine war-picture.
7ovy yt>vno L.
ing the ridge, and by 10 a. m. the head
of our column, long drawn out, reached
the Benton road. and gave us command
Of the peninsula between the Yazoo
and the Big Black. I dispatched Col.
Swan, Of tie 4th Iowa Cav. to Haynes's
Bluff, to capture that battery from the
,ear. and he afterward reported that
he found it abandoned. It's garrison
having hastily retreated into Vicksburg,
leaving their guns partially disabled.
magazine full OF ammunition, and q
hospital full of wounded and sick men.
Col. Swan sew one Of our gunboats ly-
ing about two miles below in the va
roo, to which he signaled. She steamed
up, and to its commander the cavalry
turned over the battery of Hayness
Bluff, and rejoined me in front of
Vicksburg."
PembertOn's Army Doomed.
The advance of Sherman to Haynes's
Bluff settled the fate of Pemberton's
army and dashed to earth all the hopes
OF Gen. Joseph e. Johnston of getting
1t out where he could use it, in connec-
tiOn with his own forces, against Gen.
Grant
In response to a resolution by the
Confederate Congress, Gen. Johnston
wrote a long history of these opera
tions, with detailed Information as to
his efforts to save Pemberton's army by
getting him to abandon Vicksburg and |
unite with him.
Undoubtedly Jefferson Davis's med
ding was primarily responsible for the |
loss of both PembertOn's army and Gen.
Gardner's at Port Hudson. Mississippi |
was Jefferson Davis's own State, and |
he was adverse to giving up it's chief |
places to the invading army. He had a |
plan In his own mind that by holding |
Vicksburg and Port Hudson Gen. Grant !
could be cut off from access to the Mis- |
sissippi River and starved into retreat |
or surrender, while Gen. Johnston with |
the forces under his command could |
prevent Grant from advancing farther |
into the country, IL not infiict a severe |
defeat upon him. This plan would have |
succeeded with a commander less ener- |
getic and capable than Gen. Grant. At |
the same time commander Of less |
caliber than Grant would never have |
placed his army in the position that |
Grant did his.
In his statement Gen. Johnston says
that on May IA, after the capture of |
Jackson, he sent dispatch to Gen. |
Pemberton in which he said that pro-
badly one-half Of Grants army was at |
Jackson, and Pemberton could decide |
the campaign by coming out promptly |
and defeating the other half, which |
was Immediately in front of him. This |
dispatch was not answered, and Gen. |
Pemberton afterwards said that he only |
received it while on the retreat from |
Champions Hill.
May 15 Johnston marched to CAL
houn Station to come into junction
with Pemberton. At that point Gen.
Johnston received from Pemberton a
dispatch dated $40 p. m. of May IA
stating that he was moving out a col !
umn of 1000 men, with the hope of
cutting off Grants Communications and |
forcing him TO attack him. Pember-
ton did not feel strong enough to make |
an attack himself. This communication
showed that Pemberton had not moved
for 10 hours after the receipt of john
ston's order to do SO. had disobeyed his |
orders. and acted In opposition to the |
majority Of the council of war.
May 16 Pemberton informed John
ston that he was about to move to- |
ward Clinton to join him, but he re-
minded Johnston that he probably did |