June 6, 1863, The Charleston Mercury
LATEST FROM VICKSBURG.
JACKSON, MISS., June 4. There has been heavy firing in the direction of Vicksburg all day, but we have no authentic intelligence from there since Sunday.
A courier has arrived with intelligence that KIRBY SMITH threw his forces across the Mississippi, into Port Hudson, on Sunday. The enemy’s gunboats had made another furious assault upon the place, but were again repulsed. We sunk one steamer, drowning 700 men. The siege of Port Hudson will be raised. No doubt is felt regarding the result.
We have some interesting details of Friday’s fight at Vicksburg. GRANT, in attacking our position, used cotton bales for moveable breastworks. PEMBERTON mounted his 200 pounder guns, and directing his fire at the cotton bales, mowed down whole platoons of the enemy. Official despatches states that the losses of GRANT during the operations of the siege thus far, have been fully 40,000 men. Our entire loss, including that in the action at Baker’s Creek, was 5,000. Confidence in General PEMBERTON since his reply to GRANT’S demand for a surrender, is fully restored. No fears are felt for the result, either at Vicksburg or Port Hudson.
(From the Mobile Tribune.)
JACKSON, June 1. A scout just in reports that the enemy continues to assail Vicksburg daily in the rear, and suffers with tremendous slaughter. The enemy also continues his bombardment in front, but slowly. A cavalry skirmish occurred last Friday above Canton, towards the Yazoo, but without any important result. The Yankees are burning all their small craft, ferry boats, etc., on the Big Black. At the last assault on Vicksburg, the enemy lost four Generals, viz; SHEA, LAY, BURBRIDGE and REAUMER. A fight is daily expected towards the Yazoo. JOHNSTON is all right. There is no flagging, and high hopes of a final grand victory are entertained.
Mr. SAUNDERS, of Selma, Ala., has just come through from Vicksburg; reports that the enemy lost on Friday, the 22d, twenty thousand. His loss altogether is estimated at from thirty-five to forty thousand. On the 21st the gunboats Natchez and Nightingale were sunk.
Major Generals KERR, BURBRIDGE, LAY, REAUMER, and one other General, name unknown, were killed. Within Vicksburg one or two houses had been burned by the enemy’s fire, and some women and children had been killed. There was not much other damage done to the city. Thirty-one Tennesseeans had deserted to the Yankees, taken their oath of allegiance, and reported that PEMBERTON’S loss was one thousand.
PEMBERTON had sent a flag of truce to GRANT demanding that he should bury his rotting dead, and also remove the wounded Federals that had been lying unattended within a radius of six miles around our works. GRANT was endeavoring to comply as best he could.
At Big Black the enemy is seizing all the carriages, buggies, and all other vehicles for the purpose of using them as ambulances. GRANT speaks disparagingly of JOHNSTON, and boasts that he will whip him if they meet. He claims that he has a force of seventy-five to one hundred thousand men. The enemy, it is believed, is losing from three to four hundred daily by our sharpshooters.