The National tribune., 1908-01-23
THE YAZOO PASS EXPEDITION.
A Great Expenditure Of Time and Ell
fort Which Might Have Succeeded.

Editor National Tribune: In a re.
cent issue of the best of all soldiers
papers, The National Tribune. I saw
request from Comrade o. w. Carl
son, of Milwaukee, Wis, that some
comrade write something about the
Yazoo Pass Expedition, and also an
article from the pen of Comrade Cor
don, of the seth Iowa. Now, while
do not wish to criticize Comrade Cor
don's statement at all in what he says
as I think he tells the truth as far as
he goes, yet it seems to me that his
account would make it a rather small
affair. Now. I will try to give some
extracts from my diary, which I kept
while in the service of our Uncle Sam
On Feb. "a, 1868, my regiment, the
2Sth Wis, took passage on the trans
port Diana, and with a goodly number
of other transports and some guliboats
we left Helena, Ark, steamed down the
Mississippi River a few miles to the
cut and entered Moon Lake, Where we
anchored for the night. The run down
to Fort Pemberton was a slow one, as
the rebels did all they could to pre-
vent our passage by telling trees in
the river, and the gunboats had hard
time in clearing the distractions. On
the morning Of March IL We got to
within couple of miles of Fort Penn
ii,
anchor, and we went to work at un-
loading the heavy guns from the ves-
sells. The gunboats in the meantime
ran down near the fort and began fir
ing. Our regiment was ordered down,
and we were the first infantry on the
ground. The Johnnies soon began to
pay their compliments to us in the way
of shot and shell. but did damage to
no one only by spelling some of the
Il W. l.
gunboats did not fare as well, as a shell
entered one of the port holes while the
men were in the act of loading the gun
and exploded, killed three and wound
ed nine men. I went on board of her
the next morning, and saw some of the
damage done. We remained there un-
til the 10th, when he were ordered
aboard the boats again for return
trip. There was more or less firing
every day during our stay. We made
good time up the river until toward
night of the 21st. when we met rein
forcements coming down to our aid,
when we turned back, and on the
morning of the 23d we again unloaded
at our old camp, and then went to-
wards the fort and captured IA prison.
ers from a scouting party. On the 25th
two companies, A and c, were sent out
on a fOraging expedition, getting some
1reSh peer, cnfckehS, geese, etc. MdTCn
81 the 2Sth Wis. and a part Of the
46th Ind, with a company of cavalry,
went out some 18 or 20 miles to a
small town, called McNutt, where we
took few prisoners and some horses,
and went back to camp without the fir
ing of a gun. March 81 detail from
Co. 4 was set to work putting up some
breastworks rs a protection for the
artillery. There was more or less fir
ing between the batteries gunboats and
the fort, and we succeeded in silencing
some of the guns in the fort. This skir-
mishing kept up until the 5th of April.
when we We're again ordered to get
aboard the transports ard back to He
lena, which we did, arriving there on
the 7th of April, as Comrade Gordon
says, with as sorry lot of boats as
anyone ever saw; smokestacks down to
two or three feet above decks, ginger
bread work all knocked off, covering
of the paddle wheels all gone, etc.
There was much conjecture and Won
derment among us boys why it was
that we were ordered back without
more effort put forth to capture the
fort, for with the men and guns we
had it seemed to us that we could have
taken the fort in short order, and if
there is anyone alive that can throw
any light on the matter /, for one.
would be glad to know the reasons for
the failure.-G. H. Coleman, Co. A,
2Sth Wis, Jackson, Mich.