March 25, 1863, The New York Herald
Our Expeditionary Correspondence.
ON THE WAY, SEVENTY-FIVE MILES DOWN THE TALLAHATCHIE, March 10, 1863.
The date I prefix to this communication gives the present locality of the Yazoo Pass expedition with as much exactness as I can command. We have reached a very fair stream for navigation by small steamers, but are yet sadly cramped for room in which to work boats of any considerable size. Our progress is, therefore, very slow and far from satisfactory. The extreme upper end of this river and the lower part of the Coldwater were moderately good rivers, and we got along at a rate of twenty or thirty miles per day. But suddenly the Tallahatchie narrowed its borders and became exceedingly crooked, so as nearly to rival the ever to be remembered pass, and boats experienced the greatest difficulty in getting along at all, and therefore we were two or three days in advancing about twenty miles.
COTTON FARMS ALONG THE COLDWATER.
In the parts of the Coldwater and Tallahatchie mentioned as good, we found high banks and well cultivated plantations in abundance. The owners of these plantations, with their colonies of negroes, were, as a general thing, at home, attending to their ordinary avocations as though there existed no war in the land. At these places we were repeatedly told that the rebels had recently visited them in boats, picking up cotton to be used in building fortifications lower down the river to oppose our progress. But we met with no manner of resistance or trouble from any of these people. Their disposition seemed perfectly friendly, and we passed them without further molestation than levying a few hundred bales of cotton from them to strengthen the defences of our gunboats and transports. Of this staple there was no lack in that region, nor had there apparently been any efforts made to conceal or destroy it. This was the more remarkable since the planters admitted that they had been expecting this expedition for a month past. They evidently knew but little of war, and feared it as little. No cotton burners had ever prowled about their gins; no guerillas infested their neighborhood. An invading army had never trod their soil, and even a rebel force had never visited them. It was a single miniature sketch of Southern life as it was before the war.
AFTER PASSING DOWN THE TALLAHATCHIE ABOUT TWENTY- FIVE MILES, its banks become low, and at the present high stage of the water are sadly overflown. We then travelled for forty or fifty miles with scarcely a break in the wilderness. Not a plantation is to be seen on either hand. The course of the stream became exceedingly tortuous, the bends sharp and abrupt, the timber scraggy and hanging far over the water, and the whole appearance wild and forbidding. We have just emerged from this desolation, and are now steaming along, at a fair rate of speed, in a moderately wide and straight river, with frequent plantations of considerable pretensions along the banks. Here we begin to discover the handiwork of the enemy. At nearly every one of these plantations we find a huge, smoking, smouldering pile of what was but recently cotton worth a dollar a pound. These gins and cotton piles have evidently been but recently fired, evidencing that the enemy are close in front of us, most probably falling back before us to lure us on to what they may consider our sure destruction. It is
THE FIRST INDICATION OF AN ENEMY that we have met with. They might spare themselves the pains of luring us forward, as we are bound to advance any way. And probably when they get us in that tight place where they expect to entrap us – which is most likely the Yazoo river, between Greenwood and Yazoo City – they will find themselves in possession of an animal of larger proportions than they have calculated on, and I shall be grandly mistaken if they do not find us more than a match. At all events, we are keeping a sharp lookout for them, and shall give them as good a fight as we can whenever we catch them.
FRAUDS UPON THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT.
There has been much said of the frauds practised upon the government by contractors and agents at the East in purchasing and chartering transports for the several coastwise expeditions that have been fitted out, and several investigations have been indulged in with greater or less profit. I would suggest that these investigations be extended to the chartering of vessels on the Western rivers. I am confident that such an investigation would be productive of the most profitable results. Take, for example, the vessels chartered for this expedition. Government pays for them an average of from one hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty dollars per day each. There is hardly one in the fleet that would sell for more than fifteen thousand dollars at auction to-day, and the most of them are not worth half that sum. They are nearly all old, broken down, water logged boats that can scarcely be kept afloat in any water. For an expedition of this nature stout, serviceable boats were required that would stand a good deal of thumping and knocking about in these narrow, crooked streams. We have been delayed most provokingly by reason of these boats breaking down. One or two of them have been finally condemned and sent back to Helena. Others have to lay by constantly to repair and patch up, so as to be able to get along. Of course when this occurs there is a gap made in the fleet, or else the whole expedition must wait for them. Somebody is to blame for sending such boats, and doubtless somebody pockets a good price for securing charters for these old tubs. I don’t pretend to know who the culpable party is; but I do know that had we been provided with better and stronger boats we could now have been twice as far on our way. The steamer Raymond left Helena a week ago with commissary stores. She sprang a leak in the Yazoo Pass, and was obliged to throw half her stores overboard to save the rest. The little ferry boat Carl overtook her three days ago and brought forward the greater part of the freight the Raymond had left. The Raymond has not yet caught up with us. So it seems that somebody is still chartering unseaworthy boats. The matter ought to be looked into.
THE WEATHER.
It has rained incessantly and with great violence during the last twenty-four hours, and there are as yet no indications of a cessation. The river is running over the banks at every low spot, and the whole country is rapidly becoming inundated. The effect of all this is good for us, as it prevents the operations of guerillas or other forces of the enemy against us along the river.
THE HEALTH OF THE EXPEDITION is moderately good, though there are large numbers affected by the bad water, poor diet, and the usual climatic disorders of this region.
CURTIS PLANTATION,
TEN MILES ABOVE GREENWOOD, March 11, 1863.
FURTHER ADVANCE – A CHASE.
My last letter closed about seventy-five or eighty miles above this place. Almost immediately after the closing of that letter accounts began to come in from the front to the effect that the advance of our fleet had fallen in with the enemy, or rather had come in sight of them, and some brisk work appeared to be close at hand. The rebel steamers – Ben. McCulloch and J. W. Sharp, under convoy of a little black gunboat, were industriously employed picking up cotton at the plantations along the river, the gunboat keeping a little above them to give notice of our approach. The gunboat discovered us and commenced a rapid retreat down the river, screeching at every turn of her wheels, a warning to her companions to get out of the way. The McCulloch was the uppermost of the two transports, and was delayed in getting away from the bank and getting her head down stream, so that the federal ram Lioness was close at her heels before she fairly got under headway. But, once under weigh, she made good time, and ran off at an exceedingly rapid rate. But the ram crowded her hard, and as she was so heavily laden with cotton and corn she failed to make so good time as seemed desirable. A gang of negroes was therefore set at work to lighten her up, and a large amount of cotton was quickly tumbled overboard. With this relief she was able to widen the distance between herself and the ram so rapidly that the pursuit was finally abandoned.
THE REBEL STEAMER PARALLEL BURNED.
Yesterday afternoon the side-wheel steamer Parallel was cruising along fifteen or twenty miles above here, and had picked up an immense load of cotton, supposed to be not less than three thousand bales. While engaged in gathering her load of cotton the smoke of our approaching fleet was discovered curling up in heavy black masses over the heavy timber. She immediately turned about and made all possible speed down stream; but in turning a sharp bend in the river she manifested more haste than wisdom, and ran foul of a large tree, which so disabled her that she was unable to proceed any further. Her officers and crew therefore abandoned her, previously setting her on fire, and when our fleet overhauled her she was completely enveloped in flames, and subsequently proved a total loss. Large quantities of her cotton fell overboard, the water extinguishing the flames, so that for several miles in that vicinity the river was covered with floating cotton bales. This is now being gathered up by our boat for additional protection to our gunboats. In this capacity it will be of immense service to us.
OUR ARRIVAL HERE – THE REBEL WORKS.
We arrived at this point at about nine o’clock this morning. Here we are ten miles above Greenwood, and but two and a half miles from the rebel works. The rebel position is more clearly defined in the map I send you with this. Just below our position the river turns to the eastward, and after describing a wide horseshoe bend again resumes its southerly course at a point nearly south of this. The neck formed by this bend, or rather the base of the peninsula, is something less than a mile across. Directly in this neck the rebels have thrown up their fortifications. These are not so formidable in themselves as might be supposed. They consist of a single line of breastworks composed of cotton bales and earth, facing westerly, and flanked on the right by quite a heavy battery fronting the river and mounting three siege guns. Besides these they seem to have several small field pieces in position. Directly on the right flank of this line of defence they have constructed a raft of logs as a blockade of the river to prevent our boats from running by their batteries.
The ground upon which these works are built is as high as any to be found in this region. It is probably elevated above any possible overflow; but with the river as high as it is at present it is but two or three feet above the water level.
IN FRONT OF AND BELOW THE WORKS.
Directly in front of their line of breastworks there is quite a deep slough, extending across the neck, and admirably serving the purpose of the ditch usually dug around fortifications. This slough is close to the base of their works at the upper end, but gradually recedes from them until at the lower end it is several hundred feet removed. Still beyond this slough there is an almost impenetrable and very extensive canebrake, with a deep forest reaching far back into the country. About six miles below this fortification, and directly in the arc of the bend, is the confluence of the Yallobusha and Tallahatchie rivers, and from that point down to the Mississippi the joint stream takes the name of the Yazoo river. The little village or settlement of Le Flore lies directly at the junction of the two streams. Greenwood lies upon the Yazoo, four miles below.
WHY THE WORKS WERE SO LOCATED.
The object of the peculiar location of this fortification will now be apparent. The purpose was unquestionably not merely to defend Greenwood, which is a point of no considerable importance, nor yet merely to prevent our passing below, as the defences at Yazoo City are susceptible of being made infinitely stronger than anything they could build here. Grenada is located on the Yallobusha river, about one hundred and ten miles above its mouth. The rebels consider this one of their most important points in Northern Mississippi, and manifest a determination to hold it at all odds. Besides this, they have a number of steamers concealed in this and other streams tributary to the Yazoo, which they have no desire to destroy or lose possession of. It was probably with a view of defending the entrance to this stream that the rebel works were located as they are.
THE REBEL STRENGTH – THEIR COMMANDER.
It is very difficult to arrive at anything like an intelligent estimate of the strength the rebels have in these works, the accounts are so various and conflicting, ranging all the way from five to fifteen thousand men. I very much doubt if they have more than eight thousand here, and probably not so many as that. They are under the immediate command of General Loring – the Major Loring of the old United States Army, who won so much distinction at the battle of Chapultepec, in Mexico.
THE CHILLICOTHE – RECONNOISSANCE.
Immediately on arriving at this point this morning two reconnoissances were started out. One was made down the river by the gunboat Chillicothe, Lieut. Commander Foster, commanding. Acting Commodore Smith and General Ross accompanied the Chillicothe. They ran down to within about a quarter of a mile of the rebel battery, exchanging several shots with it. The Chillicothe was struck four times in this affair, once in her square hull and twice in her massive turret, in each case the ball making a deep indentation in her three and a half inch iron, plainly marking the unmistakable stamp of steel pointed sixty-four-pounder shot propelled from rifled pieces. No pieces of larger caliber than this were disclosed by the enemy. The Chillicothe returned from the reconnoissance without having sustained the slightest injury.
MOVEMENTS OF THE MILITARY FORCES.
At the same time detachments of the Forty-sixth and Forty-seventh Indiana infantry were sent out to feel the enemy’s position on the land side. They came upon quite a large body of rebel skirmishers on the westerly side of the slough, about a mile from our point of debarkation, and after a short skirmish drove them across the slough. Our party then advanced down the slough a short distance and commenced fording it, and quite a spirited engagement followed, resulting in a second repulse of the enemy, when they finally retired within their fortifications. Our forces were then withdrawn across the bayou, and now hold their position. Our casualties in this affair were but two men wounded.
A CURIOUS ACCIDENTAL SHOT.
This afternoon the Chillicothe was again ordered down to engage the rebel battery. She moved down promptly, and soon her heavy eleven-inch guns were heard, to which the enemy made a brisk response. The Chillicothe fired but seven rounds, during which she dropped three shells directly into the enemy works with good effect. At this juncture she met with a most unfortunate and disastrous accident. Her men were just loading her port gun, the charger being engaged at the moment in cutting the fuse of the shell which had already been placed in the muzzle of the gun, when a sixty-four pound shell from the rebels struck directly in her half open port, throwing apart and unshipping the heavy iron port shutters, one of which was thrown overboard, and, lighting directly upon the muzzle of the gun, exploded simultaneously with the shell that was being put in the piece. The casualties by this double explosion were fourteen in all – three killed and eleven wounded. The wounded were mostly but slightly hurt. I append a
FULL LIST OF THESE CASUALTIES.
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THE CHILLICOTHE WITHDRAWN.
Captain Foster exhibited the utmost coolness and courage when this severe accident befell him, ordering his men to remain quiet, and giving the necessary directions to bring his starboard gun into range, as if nothing had happened, and manifesting a disposition to continue the engagement, when he received orders to withdraw out of range. The Chillicothe was again brought out of action without any material damage. He merely lost a shutter from one of his ports; but otherwise the vessel and her splendid battery were as good and serviceable as when she went into the action.
PROSPECTIVE ENGAGEMENT.
To-morrow morning at daylight we shall resume the attack upon the fortifications both from the river and land. The river is so narrow at this point that it is impossible to bring many gunboats into play at once. The Chillicothe and Baron DeKalb will probably have the bulk of the work to do. They will be assisted by a single mortar, lying off at a considerable distance above them. The nature of the land in front of the rebel line readers an assault impracticable, and the width of the slough will prevent our forces from getting up into position to use their small arms, but working parties are busy to-night throwing up cotton bale defences, behind which batteries will be planted. The action will, therefore, be principally artillery.
MARCH 12, 1863.
EFFECT OF THE ACCIDENTAL SHOT.
Since my last letter closed an additional death has occurred on the Chillicothe among those injured yesterday. This was private Thomas J. Henderson, of the Forty-eighth Ohio. Sergeant J. F. Holliday, of the same regiment, who was wounded in his ankle, has had his leg amputated. Several who were at first represented as but slightly wounded are found to be in rather a worse condition than was at first supposed; but they will probably all survive their injuries. The muzzle of the gun of the Chillicothe which was struck by the rebel shell has been found to be slightly fractured on the interior rim; but it is not thought to be a serious injury. The gun will yet be required to do some work against the rebels.
A UNION BATTERY CONSTRUCTED.
Working parties of soldiers, detailed from the Thirty-third Missouri and some other regiments of General Fisk’s brigade, were at work all last night throwing up a battery facing the enemy’s position. The location of this battery is shown in the diagram I send you. It is within a quarter of a mile of the rebel fortifications, and stands just within the edge of the timber on the west of Clayton’s slough, having a perfect range directly up the neck on which the enemy stand, and sweeping their entire line. It is built of two tiers of cotton bales, covered on the outside with earth. A single thirty pound Parrott rifle, taken from the gunboat Rattler, was mounted in this work, and a temporary magazine well stocked with ammunition, so that at daylight this morning the battery was in complete readiness for work. As day light approached brush was thrown on the outside of the battery to conceal it from the enemy. The battery was located and its construction superintended by Lieutenant Colonel Wilson, of General Grant’s staff, engineer-in-chief of this expedition. The gun was manned by a crew from the gunboats, and is supported by General Fisk’s brigade.
THE ATTACK POSTPONED.
It was intended to commence the assault on the enemy works at daylight this morning, but the non-arrival of our mortar fleet, together with the incompleteness of certain preparations on the gunboats, made it advisable to postpone the attack, and the day has been passed without the occurrence of anything of interest. The mortar fleet arrived during the forenoon, and the gunboats are now so protected that it will be almost impossible to hurt them unless another chance shot should find its way into one of their ports. To- morrow morning will doubtless bring about a decisive engagement.
Lieut. Col. Wilson is busy to-night with a large force putting another Parrott rifle in position on the shore. Whether he will construct an entirely new battery, or enlarge the one built last night so as to accommodate another gun, will be determined by him after inspecting the materials at his command.
MARCH 13, 1863.
THE BATTERY – THE GUNBOATS PROTECTED.
This morning opened most gloriously. It was like a June morning in the Northern States. Everything in nature was fresh and beautiful, and the men, partaking of the spirit that surrounded them, felt equal to any task. It was the morning fixed upon for the final assault upon the enemy’s position which resists our descent of the river. During last night Lieut. Col. Wilson and his working parties were again busy, and had extended his shore battery so as to accommodate another Parrott gun, which was procured from the gunboat Forest Rose and placed in position before midnight. During the night the Chillicothe and DeKalb had both been covered with cotton bales, to make sure that they should not be hurt. They are the mainstays of this expedition, and should we lose one of them we would probably be required to abandon the whole movement. Hence the precautions that are taken to insure their safety.
PREPARATIONS FOR THE FIGHT.
The engagement was to have been commenced at daylight this morning; but at that hour the Commodore was not ready, and as the fight was to be wholly naval our army commanders had nothing to say in the matter. The Commodore, therefore, took his own time, and at half-past ten o’clock declared himself perfectly ready to give the enemy a trial of strength. It had been determined to send both the iron-clad gunboats down together into close range of the batteries, and to bring the mortar and land battery into play at the same time. The mortar was manned by a select crew of mortar gunners, under command of Acting Lieutenant Fentrecs, executive officer of the flagship Rattler. The land battery was placed in charge of Acting Lieutenant Domine, of the Signal, and was manned by a force of practiced gunners, taken chiefly from that boat, under the command of Master’s Mate Sloan. The light draught gunboats, with the rams, were ordered to keep back out of range, and remained about three-quarters of a mile above the rebel fortifications, protected by a bend in the river, which threw the range of the enemy’s guns far to the right of them.
OPENING OF THE BALL.
The ball was opened by Lieutenant Domine with his land battery at precisely half-past ten o’clock, the time that had been fixed upon. At the same moment the Chillicothe let go her fastenings, and turned her head down stream in readiness to proceed to work. Here a little delay occurred, owing to the trouble experienced in getting the mortar boat into position, which prevented the DeKalb from moving, compelling the Chillicothe to wait for her. The delay was of nearly twenty minutes’ duration, and resulted in the enemy training all their guns upon Battery Wilson, the name given to our land battery in compliment to Lieutenant Colonel Wilson, the engineer who built it. No thing more serious occurred to the battery, fortunately during the short time it was alone exposed to such a fearful fire, than the knocking off of a couple of bales of cotton, which were quickly replaced. The battery had both its guns directed full upon the enemy’s rifled sixty four-pounder, and the embrasure in which that piece stood was terribly mutilated by the spicy shells of these Parrott guns.
THE GUNBOATS OPEN FIRE.
But soon the diversion came that was to relieve our little battery. A little before eleven o’clock the two gunboats got under weigh together and proceeded down the river to within six hundred yards of the rebel works. They had hardly turned the bend and obtained a glance at the rebel fortifications when they both opened. This fire quickly drew the rebel fire from the land battery, which was left to the tender mercies of half a dozen small pieces placed in position on the rebel fortifications.
THE ARMAMENT OF FORT PEMBERTON.
Allow me here to digress to say that, from the most reliable information yet received at the headquarters of this expedition, the enemy’s fort mounts but five guns of any pretensions. These are a rifled sixty-pounder (an old thirty-two-pounder, altered), one thirty-pounder Parrott (said to have been captured at Shiloh), and three twenty-four-pound Dahlgrens. Besides these, however, they probably have one full field battery, which is used when and how it may be most convenient. These guns are mounted behind a parapet composed of seven tiers of cotton bales, covered on the outside with eight feet of earth. To penetrate such a wall is no small matter.
RESULT OF THE ENGAGEMENT.
We have tried to-day most desperately to reduce this fortification. We have brought our heaviest artillery to bear upon it at a close range, and have kept it at play as long as it was possible to do so; still we have made but a slight impression. To be sure, we compelled them to stop firing. We poured such an incessant and deadly fire into the embrasures in which their guns are located that their gunners could not stand it but yet the fort holds out. We fired the last shot, indeed, we fired for three hours after the enemy had ceased. Yet no one supposes they have given up the contest. They are plucky, and will fight to the last. Some of our officers fancy we disabled some of their guns, but there is no evidence of this further than their silence. My own opinion is that their silence is a deep game. They discovered defects in the location of their guns and wish to remedy them. They ceased firing, supposing that we would follow their example. We did slacken our fire when they ceased; but still we kept hammering at them until dark. I fancy that when we call on them in the morning again we shall find they have changed the positions of their pieces. Our Parrott battery ranged directly on their sixty-four-pounder, and the aim of our gunboats was at the same piece. One gun cannot well be worked under such a heavy fire. Doubtless we shall find to-morrow that that piece has been placed where it will have only the gunboats to fight against.
THE CHILLICOTHE was under fire to-day a little over an hour and a half. She was not withdrawn until long after the enemy had ceased firing, and then only because her store of ammunition was about expended, requiring a replenishment of her magazine. The rebels singled her out as their principal target, and they peppered her well. She was struck to-day thirty-four times. Her storm roof and wheelhouses were riddled and badly cut up. Her launch was all stove to pieces. Her ensign was four times shot through, and her pennant was shot away. Her massive iron plating was indented all over her front where balls had struck her. Yet she withstood the terrible ordeal, and is to-night as good for a fight as she was this morning.
HER CASUALTIES.
Notwithstanding she was struck so many times, the casualties to her crew were nothing in comparison to those received when she was last under fire. But two men were injured on her. These were Francis O’Neal, seaman, compound fracture of the arm, Sergeant Leopold Trott, of the Twelfth Missouri regiment, face badly burned.
THE BARON DEKALB was the unlucky vessel to-day, and, considering the length of time she was engaged, she got off very lightly. After the Chillicothe withdrew the DeKalb was ordered to remain and continue firing until dark. She did so, firing once every twenty minutes, but getting no response after the main engagement closed. She received about a dozen shots during the action, at least three of which were very severe blows. One passed obliquely through her starboard casemate, just forward of the first porthole, and raked through the main deck, finally lodging in the wardroom in the extreme after part of the vessel. The shot penetrated through a section of her casemate which was not covered with iron. In its course it struck a gun against which one of the ship’s quartermasters was leaning – John O’Neal – and, glancing, mortally wounded him. A shell exploded directly in her wheelhouse, which damaged one or two buckets and splintered the bulkhead a little, but did no further mischief. Still another lodged in the forward casemate under the heavy iron plating. Shells striking on the outside of the vessel frequently set on fire the cotton with which she was covered; but no damage resulted therefrom.
THE CASUALTIES SUSTAINED ON THE DEKALB
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We shall give the rebels another trial to-morrow, when I hope to be able to report more satisfactory results. I have already said the position is a formidable one. It is more than that: it is an unapproachable one. We can’t get at them. If we could we should have been able half a dozen times to-day to drive them out by storm. But infantry can do nothing in the water, and this fortification is completely surrounded by water.
In a former letter I think I said that Gen. Loring commanded the rebels at this place. Gen. Loring was relieved on Monday last by Gen. Lloyd Tilghman, who is still in command. Gen. Tilghman’s surrender of Fort Henry got him but little credit in Rebeldom, and he will be very slow to commit himself by another surrender, if it can be avoided at any sacrifice.
Every place must have a name, and battles are usually designated by a name corresponding with the place at which they are fought. This is no place. Our base is at Curtis’ plantation. The rebels call their position Fort Greenwood. I suppose, therefore, that history will record this as the battle of Fort Greenwood.