36 



ARMY OPERATIONS. 



river, terminating in Haines's Bluff, a distance 

 of twelve or fifteen miles. They were fortified 

 throughout their entire length. These bluffs 

 front the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers. The 

 ascent is abrupt and precipitous, and the only 

 approach to the city by land from up the river 

 is by climbing their face. In the rear the ground 

 is high and broken, and somewhat rolling. It 

 falls off gradually to the Big Black river. 



The line of the Yazoo here is nearly north- 

 east. It is six miles distant from the bluffs at 

 Old river, and passes along their face until, at 

 Haines's Bluff, the river and the bluffs come to- 

 gether. This junction is nine miles from Vicks- 

 burg by the road along the foot of the bluffs, 

 and twenty-three miles from the Mississippi by 

 the course of the Yazoo river. On the trian- 

 gular-shaped bottom land between the bluffs 

 and the Yazoo down to the Old river, the troops 

 were disembarked for the purpose of getting in 

 the rear of Vicksburg and capturing it. 



About one third of the distance down the 

 Yazoo from Haines's Bluff, a bayou puts off from 

 the river at nearly right angles, until it ap- 

 proaches the bluffs, when it turns and follows 

 their base until it empties into the Mississippi. 

 It is called the Ohickasaw bayou. Between 

 this bayou and the bluffs is a plain, upon which 

 the timber had been felled to form an abatis. 

 The banks of the bayou are quite steep, and 

 about two hundred feet apart. At the base of 

 the bluffs, through their whole length, rifle 

 pits had been dug, in the rear of which, upon 

 the face of the bluffs, single-gun batteries had 

 been planted at short intervals from Vicksburg 

 almost to Haines's Bluff. At various command- 

 ing points along the range, both on its face and 

 upon the summit, field works were thrown up 

 for the reception and protection of light artil- 

 lery whenever it might be needed. 



Parallel with, and about half a mile north of 

 the Chickasaw bayou, is a deep'slough, having 

 no connection with the river. As it approaches 

 the base of the bluffs, it makes a sharp turn 

 and enters Chickasaw bayou near the point 

 where the latter makes its angle as it strikes 

 the bluffs. In the latter part of its extent it 

 contains but little water ; its bottom, however, 

 is a quicksand, which does not afford good 

 footing. The bottom land of the Yazoo is cov- 

 ered with a dense growth of cypress trees: 

 much of it is quite clear and free from under- 

 growth, while in other parts it is quite thick. 



The first troops landed, on the 26th, were a 

 brigade, under Gen. Blair, of Gen. Steele's divi- 

 sion, and a brigade from each of the divisions 

 under Gens. M. L. Smith and Morgan. They 

 were ordered to advance two miles into the 

 country, and make a thorough reconnoissance 

 in the direction of the bluffs. The brigade from 

 Gen. Morgan's division found the rebels in 

 force about two miles inland. The other brig- 

 ades met with no opposition. No conflict took 

 place. 



The force of Gen. Sherman was organized in 

 four divisions as follows : First division, three 



brigades, under Brig.-Gen. George W. Morgan ; 

 second division, three brigades, under Brig.- 

 Gen. Morgan L. Smith; third division, three 

 brigades, under Brig.-Gen. A. J. Smith ; fourth 

 division, four brigades, under Brig.-Gen. Fred- 

 erick Steele. The brigade commanders of this 

 fourth division were Gens. Frank P. Blair, jr., 

 John M. Thayer, 0. E. Hovey, and Col. Has- 

 Bendurbel. 



Under the plan of attack, Gen. Steele was 

 to hold the extreme left, Gen. Morgan the left 

 centre, Gen. M. L. Smith the right centre, and 

 Gen. A. J. Smith the extreme right. The divi- 

 sion under Gen. Smith, however, not having 

 arrived, Gen. Blair was placed on the right cen- 

 tre. All the divisions were to converge toward 

 the point of attack on the bluffs. The remainder 

 of the division of Gen. Steele was landed on the 

 27th above the Chickasaw bayou, to operate on 

 that part of the line. The entire day was spent 

 in getting the troops ashore. The bank of the 

 river was overgrown with brush, and the ground 

 was so soft that it was necessary to build roads 

 for moving the wagons and artillery. At night 

 the command had advanced* only two miles 

 from the shore. 



On the same day, the 27th, the divisions on 

 the centre, including Gen. Blair's brigade, ad- 

 vanced slowly toward the bluffs, in order to 

 give time to Gen. Steele to come into position 

 on the left. A battery of the enemy was found 

 near the point designated for junction with 

 Gen. Steele, not far from the angle of the bayou, 

 and silenced. The night ensuing was cold and 

 frosty, and the troops bivouacked without fires. 



On the next day, the 28th, the enemy was 

 driven across the Chickasaw, and night closed 

 with the troops of Gen. Sherman in full pos- 

 session south of the bayou, with one bridge 

 thrown across, and with two bridges partly 

 constructed. While reconnoitring the ground 

 and directing the movement of some infantry, 

 Gen. M. L. Smith was severely wounded in the 

 hip, and the command of his division devolved 

 upon Gen. David Stuart. Meanwhile, Gen. 

 Steele had pushed forward his command. The 

 slough on his right was deep and impassable, 

 and on the left the ground had become swampy 

 and full of small pools, so as to be also im- 

 passable. The only line of approach to the 

 bluffs was along a narrow levee or causeway, 

 which was exposed throughout to the enemy's 

 artillery. Three attempts were made to ap- 

 proach the causeway, but the destruction of the 

 troops was so manifest that they were with- 

 drawn. Gen. Sherman, under this state of af- 

 fairs, ordered Gen. Steele to return to the river, 

 reembark and land on the lower side of the 

 Chickasaw, thus holding still the extreme left, 

 and advance upon its bank until he met Gen. 

 Morgan. It was too late in the evening of the 

 28th when the troops were fairly on shore below 

 the bayous to move farther. At this time the 

 division of Gen. A. J. Smith came up and took 

 its position on the right of the line. It had re- 

 mained at Milliken's Bend as a support to a 



