three miles. During that night and the next day they were carried across the stream, and on the 8th commenced their march into the interior.

Both Sherman and Grant were aware that the army could discriminate between a feint and a genuine attack, and that their spirit would not be depressed by a seeming repulse; and the result showed that they had exactly understood the character of the men under their command.

In his report Grant shows that he felt the importance of prompt action, by the following allusion to a proposi tion he received from General Banks, who proposed to join him with twelve thousand men. Time was, however, of more importance than any prospective reënforcement. The iron was to be struck when hot.

"About this time (May 4) I received a letter from General Banks, giving his position west of the Missis sippi River, and stating that he could return to Baton Rouge by the 10th of May; that by the reduction of Port Hudson he could join me with twelve thousand

men.

"I learned, about the same time, that troops were expected at Jackson from the southern cities, with General Beauregard in command. To delay until the 10th of May, and for the reduction of Port Hudson after that, the accession of twelve thousand men would not leave me relatively so strong as to move promptly with what I had. Information, received from day to day, of the movements of the enemy, also impelled me to the course I pursued."

CHAPTER XIX.

THE DEFENCES OF VICKSBURG.-A REPETITION OF STRATEGY IN ACTION. — MISSISSIPPI ELOQUENCE, AND ITS RESULTS.

HAVING now succeeded in establishing a foothold, before we attempt to follow Grant in his movements, it will be well to glance at the obstacles in the way of his approach. The town of Vicksburg is situated on a sharp bend, or bow, in the river, on a high line of bluffs, extending from Haine's Bluff, touching the Yazoo, on the north, to a point below Warrenton on the south, a distance of about fifteen miles. The river front was impregnable, and was, as we have seen, considered so by General Grant. Perhaps immediately after the fall of New Orleans it might have been carried, but the Confederates had been too busily engaged since then in strengthening its defences.

On the land side, at the time of Grant's approach, it was hardly less formidable. Pierre Bayou, with its steep banks, formed an outer line of defence; then came the Big Black River, with its tributaries, the Big Sandy, Five-mile, Fourteen-mile, and Baker's Creeks: besides this, the city itself was surrounded with defensive works, constructed with great skill, and taking every advantage of the natural strength of the position. It seemed, and was afterwards proved, that nothing but an attack

by overwhelming numbers, secure from any interference by a succoring army, and able by a regular investment and siege to starve the defending army into surrender, could hope to obtain possession of the place. Yet this was the work Grant had proposed to himself and his

army.

The defence of Vicksburg was intrusted to Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton, with about sixty thousand men. Having secured his position, General Grant went personally to Grand Gulf, to superintend the landing of supplies, and found that the Confederates had retreated in such haste as to leave behind them thirteen heavy guns. A careful study of the operations of the war which were carried on in Grant's department, affords more and more conclusive proof of how much the efficiency of the armies under his command depended upon his unwearied activity and his minute supervision. He was indefatigable, and inspired this quality in all of his subordinates. Computing the amount of work he did, the despatches he wrote, the orders he gave, the hours he must have spent in making himself personally almost ubiquitous, it seems nearly impossible that he could have found time to do so much in the short twenty-four hours of the day.

On the 8th of May, Sherman having reached him, the main army was at once marched forward to the Big Sandy. An army was gathering, under Johnston, to aid Pemberton, by operating upon Grant's rear, and he conceived the plan of cutting away from his base, and by deceiving Pemberton, hold him in check, then quickly advance upon Jackson, the capital of the state,

at which place Johnston was posted, and be back in time to meet Pemberton outside of Vicksburg. It was a repetition of the bold tactics at Corinth. The plan, however, when proposed, met with nothing but opposition from his subordinates. Grant, however, had learned from his experience at Holly Springs, that it was possible to support his army, without a base of supplies, from the enemy's country.

Meanwhile the Confederates were making every effort to raise all the troops possible, since they had become thoroughly alarmed at the situation. The governor of Mississippi, John J. Pettus, issued from Jackson, the capital of the state, a proclamation containing the following

extracts:

"Recent events, familiar to you all, impel me, as your chief magistrate, to appeal to your patriotism for united effort in expelling our enemies from the soil of Mississippi. It can and must be done. Let no man capable of bearing arms withhold from his state his services in repelling the invasion. Duty, interest, our common safety, demand every sacrifice necessary for the protection of our homes, our honor, liberty itself.

"The exalted position won in her name upon every battle-field where Mississippi's sons have unfurled her proud banner, and hurled defiance in the face of overwhelming numbers, forbids that her honor, the chivalry of her people, the glory of her daring deeds on foreign fields, should be tarnished, and her streaming battleflag dragged to the dust, by barbarian hordes on her own soil.

"Awake, then; arouse, Mississippians, young and old,

from your fertile plains, your beautiful towns and cities, your once quiet and happy, but now desecrated homes; come and join your brothers in arms, your sons and neighbors, who are now baring their bosoms to the storm of battle at your very doors, and in defence of all you hold dear.

"Meet in every county with your arms; organize companies of not less than twenty (under the late act of Congress), forward your muster-rolls to this office, and you will be received into the service with all the protection and rights belonging to other soldiers in the field. Fathers, brothers, Mississippians! while your sons and kindred are bravely fighting your battles on other fields, and shedding new lustre on your name, the burning disgrace of successful invasion of their homes, of insult and injury to their wives, mothers, and sisters, of rapine and ruin, with God's help, and by your assistance, shall never be written while a Mississippian lives to feel in his proud heart the scorching degradation. Let no man forego the proud distinction of being one of his country's defenders, or hereafter wear the disgraceful badge of the dastardly traitor who refused to defend his home and his country."

Before Grant's army started on their expedition, the following congratulatory order was read at the head of every regiment, which the curiously accurate reader may compare with the one from which we have just given extracts, and by the comparison obtain some assistance in arriving at the spirit and motives which actuated the two armies: