over $4,000,000. Besides cutting off all railroad communication with the rebel strongholds on the Mississippi, as well as entirely destroying muskets, tents, stores, leather, boots, saddles, etc., of great value to the rebels in a military point of view.

Although the loss to the rebels was very great, the gain to General Grant was of corresponding value.

The following is General Grant's first announcement of the success of the expedition:

Major-General HALLECK, General-in-Chief:

GRAND GULF, MISS., May 6.

I learn that Colonel Grierson, with his cavalry, has been heard of, first, about ten days ago, in Northern Mississippi.

He moved thence and struck the railroad thirty miles east of Jackson, at a point called Newton's Station.

He then moved southward, towards Enterprise, demanded the surrender of the place, and gave one hour's grace, during which General Lormniey arrived.

He left at once and moved towards Hazelhurst, on the New Orleans and Jackson Railroad. At this point he tore up the track. Thence he pushed to Bahala, ten miles further south, on the same road, and thence eastward, on the Natchez road, where he had a fight with Wirt Adams's cavalry.

From this point he moved back to the New Orleans and Jackson Railroad, to Brookhaven, ten miles south of Bahala, and when last heard from he was three miles from Summit, ten miles south of Brookhaven, and was supposed to be making his way to Baton Rouge.

He had spread excitement throughout the State, destroying railroads, trestle works, and bridges, burning locomotives and railway stock, taking prisoners, and destroying stores of all kinds.

U. S. GRANT, Major-General

CHAPTER XXVIII.

OTHER PRELIMINARY MOVEMENTS.-ATTACK UPON GRAND

GULF.

THE day after Colonel Grierson had started on his expedition, a party of Union troops, consisting of three regiments of infantry and one of cavalry, left Memphis, Tenn., on a reconnoissance into Mississippi. At Nanconnah they met a body of rebel cavalry, which, after a brisk fight, was repulsed with some loss. On the 19th another body of mounted rebels were met and driven over the Coldwater in confusion. The Union troops having been re-enforced at Hernando, Miss., again crossed the Coldwater and engaged the rebels at that point.

At about the same time General Banks's forces were making a demonstration in the neighborhood of Baton Rouge.

Owing to the limited number of transports below Vicksburg, it was deemed advisable by General Grant to extend his line of land travel to a little place in Louisiana, on the Mississippi River shore, locally known by the designation of Hard Times. As this place could only be reached by a very circuitous land route, the distance between the base of supplies at Milliken's Bend and the advance of the army was increased to seventy miles, with roads entirely unsuited for the operations of an army. But as the place was nearer to the point at which General Grant had intended to land his troops, on the Mississippi side of the river, he

was determined that the roads should not prove an obstacle to thwart him in his plans. He therefore detailed a portion of his pioneer force to prepare the line of travel, and to keep it in order after it was constructed.

The Thirteenth Army Corps was embarked during the night of the 28th and early on the morning of the 29th of April, 1863, and the Seventeenth Corps being well on its way to take their place, General Grant ordered the transports to move over to the front of Grand Gulf. The plan had been for the navy to attack the rebel works, and for the military forces to land under cover of the guns, for the purpose of taking the place by storm. At eight o'clock in the morning Admiral Porter's fleet opened upon the works, which he engaged for five hours in the most brilliant manner. It, however, soon became evident that the enemy's batteries could not be silenced or taken from the water front, as the whole range of hills was lined with rifle-pits, supported by field artillery, that could be moved from one position to the other with the greatest ease. General Grant therefore determined to change his plan and effect a landing, if possible, at Rodney, some distance below Grand Gulf. But to effect this it became necessary again to run the rebel batteries. A consultation was therefore held between General Grant and Admiral Porter, and a plan soon agreed upon.

At dark Admiral Porter's fleet again engaged the batteries, and under cover of this contest the transports ran by the rebel works, receiving but two or three shots in the passage, and these not inflicting any material injury.

During the whole of the naval engagement at Grand Gulf, General Grant was on board a tug in the middle of the stream, a witness of the contest, and ready to move his forces to the assault as soon as the time appeared propitious.

AFTER the withdrawal of the fleet from before Grand Gulf, the troops were again landed at Hard Times, so that the transports might run easily by the rebel batteries without endangering more lives than was actually necessary. These disembarked troops were then marched overland, across the upper end of Coffee's Point and D'Schron's plantation, to the Louisiana shore of the Mississippi River below Grand Gulf.

A reconnoitring party was next sent out to discover the best point at which the troops could cross the river to the Mississippi shore. General McClernand says in his report of June 17th, 1863: "The reconnoissance made by my cavalry, in pursuance of Major-General Grant's order, indicated Bruinsburg to be the point. Hence, embarking on the morning of the thirtieth, my corps immediately proceeded to that place, and disembarked before noon."

The advance was now on the Vicksburg side of the river, and every thing was to be subservient to activity and rapid motion. The orders were that there should be no delay under any circumstances. Promptitude was espe cially necessary, as by that only could success be guaranteed.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, after having halted just long enough to distribute three days' rations, the advance of the Thirteenth Army Corps took up its line of march

for the bluffs, three miles from the river. In this movement the corps commander states in his report that he acted "agreeably with General Grant's instructions." The bluffs were, therefore, reached and taken possession of some time before sunset.

The army had started in very light marching order, with out trains or baggage, so that nothing should interfere with their rapid movements. Each man carried his allotted quantity of rations, and the bivouac and not the camp was to be the order of the night.*

The Thirteenth Army Corps, after reaching the Bluffs, pushed on toward Port Gibson, for the purpose of surprising any enemy that might be found in that neighborhood, and if possible to prevent him from destroying the bridges over Bayou Pierre, on the roads leading to Grand Gulf and to Jackson. To accomplish this object, the corps had to make forced marches, and to travel as far as possible along the road during that night.

The following account is given by one who participated in this movement of the rear column of the Thirteenth Army Corps:

Events have followed each other so rapidly within the last three days,

*The following is related of the very light manner in which General Grant commenced the campaign :

A gentleman who participated in the Vicksburg campaign of General Grant, up to the time the enemy crossed the Big Black in the retreat towards Vicksburg, states that "in starting on the movement the General disencumbered himself of every thing, setting an example to his officers and men. He took neither a horse nor a servant, overcoat nor blanket, nor tent nor camp chest, nor even a clean shirt. His only baggage consisted of a tooth-brush.-He always showed his teeth to the rebels.-He shared all the hardships of the private soldier, sleeping in the front and in the open air, and eating hard tack and salt pork. He wore no sword, had on a low-crowned citizen's hat, and the only thing about him to mark him as a military man was his two stars on his undress military coat."