It had been reported in the rebel army that General Pemberton had "sold" the battle-fields of Champion's Hill and Big Black River Bridge. After the repulse of the Union assault upon the works at Vicksburg, General Pemberton made the following brief but pithy speech to his command:

You have heard that I was incompetent and a traitor, and that it was my intention to sell Vicksburg. Follow me, and you will see the cost at which I will sell Vicksburg. When the last pound of beef, bacon, and flour; the last grain of corn; the last cow, and hog, and horse, and dog shall have been consumed, and the last man shall have perished in the trenches, then, and only then, will I sell Vicksburg.

The above will show with what determination the rebels intended to resist the advance of General Grant and the reduction of their fortified city.

In the mean time Colonel Cornyn's Brigade of Union cavalry was making very successful raids into Alabama, etc., destroying lines of communication, factories, mills, workshops, ammunition, ordnance stores, dépôts of supplies, and other valuable property belonging to the rebel government, or its military authorities. Private property, however, was almost universally respected, with the exception of such supplies as were needful for his command, and for which proper receipts were given.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

THE SIEGE OF VICKSBURG.

AFTER the failure of the assault of May 22d, upon the works of Vicksburg, General Grant determined to resort to the slow, but certain method of a regular siege. The troops having been now made fully aware of the necessity of taking the works by regular approaches, performed their part with alacrity, diligence and cheerfulness.

The advance of each corps was pushed up as close as possible to the rebel works, which were nearly invested by the troops already under General Grant's command. But still there were points at which portions of the rebel garrison would slip out, and supplies be taken into their works, The communication between General Johnston, who was at Canton, Miss., and General Pemberton at Vicksburg, was but partially interrupted, and while this leak existed, it was impossible to reduce the place by siege. General Herron's command was therefore withdrawn from northwestern Arkansas, and added to the force at the extreme left of the Union lines. This secured the complete investment of the fortified city.

The position of the army at the end of May was as follows:

General Grant was well up to the rebel fortifications, and was daily enlarging and strengthening his own. The extreme left, occupied by General Herron, was so situated topographically as to require less formidable opposing

works than at any other point; but even there the works were on a scale sufficiently important to successfully oppose any demonstration the rebels might make in that direction.

The Thirteenth Army Corps had the perfect range of the forts opposite their position, and kept down the rebel sharpshooters, and prevented the successful working of rebel artillery.

The Seventeenth Corps planted a heavy battery of siege guns within a hundred yards of the opposing fort, and expected to do excellent service in battering down the earthworks. Advantage had been taken of the topographical peculiarities of the ground, and a covered pathway had been constructed, through which the canonniers could pass to and fro without danger from the sharpshooters.

The Fifteenth Corps, on the extreme right, was equally busy. General Tuttle, of this corps, had constructed a fort, the guns of which enfiladed one of the enemy's most important, and, to us, destructive positions. This, of course, rendered it practically useless, and, had it not been for the line of rifle-pits on the Vicksburg side, which commanded the interior, it might have been stormed and carried any time.

General Blair held Haines Bluff, and the country between the Yazoo and the Big Black River.

About this time, the Union commanding general discovered an intention on the part of the rebel forces under General Johnston to advance and attack General Grant's army in the rear. The manner in which the latter officer obtained his information is thus related by one of the officers of his army:

General Pemberton was anxious to indicate to General Johnston his exact situation, and sent a trusty fellow, named Douglas-son of a prom. inent citizen of Illinois, who several years since migrated to Texas, and there joined the rebel service-through his lines, with instructions to make his way by night past the Union pickets, and, seizing the first

horse he met, to ride to General Johnston at Jackson. On the night of May 27th, at dark, he started, and, holding a pass from Pemberton, was allowed to leave the inclosure in the rear of Vicksburg. Young Donglas had, unknown to his superiors, for a long time meditated escape, and he could not neglect this golden opportunity. Instead of trying to avoid our pickets, therefore, he marched boldly up to them, and surrendered himself a prisoner. General Lauman conversed with him long enough to discover that there was meat in that shell, and sent him to General Grant. To him he delivered the message he was instructed to deliver to Johnston. It was in effect as follows:-"I have 15,000 men in Vicksburg, and rations for thirty days—one meal a day. Come to my aid with an army of 30,000 men. Attack Grant in his rear. If you cannot do this within ten days you had better retreat. Ammunition is almost exhausted, particularly percussion caps." This is the substance of the message, although not its exact terms. Douglas volunteered also other valuable information, which leaves no doubt of the ultimate capture of the rebel army.

General Pemberton saw plainly that the siege might be a long, one, and as his supplies had been cut off, he, for the sake of economizing rations, ordered every horse and mule, except those used by field and staff officers, to be turned outside his lines. Of those thus turned out, the Union troops secured several thousand. When General Grant first opened a concentrated fire upon Vicksburg from his lines of circumvallation, the rebel herd of beef cattle was exposed and a large number killed. The rebels soon removed these animals to a place of greater safety.

In order to prevent Johnston's forces from getting to the rear of General Grant's army, General Osterhaus, with his division, was sent to the Big Black River to guard the crossings, and to resist any attempt of the enemy to force a passage. A reconnoissance was also sent out under General Blair to ascertain the position of Johnston's army, and reported no enemy within striking distance.

The following is a brief account of what was accomplished by the expedition under General Blair:

Information reaching the ears of the commanding general, that Johnston, in possession of a considerable force, was moving towards the Big Black River with an intention of making a demonstration on our army now in the rear of Vicksburg, induced the movement of a sufficient body of troops in that direction, to meet the approaching enemy, if found, as reported, and engage him before he could effect a crossing, or at every hazard to repel any attempt he might make to secure a foothold on this side. Accordingly, an expedition was sent out under General F. P. Blair, Jr., composed of men selected from each corps of the army, with their artillery and a command of cavalry. On the 27th of May, the party started on their mission, and marching hastily towards Mechanicsburg, the cavalry in advance, when near that place, fell in with about one thousand men, partly of the Twentieth Mississippi mounted infantry, commanded by Colonel Wirt Adams, and the rest, composed of detachments, all under command of General Adams. A brisk skirmish ensued, resulting in forcing back our cavalry. The infantry was soon formed and thrown forward, and after a brief engagement the enemy left the field in haste.

This affair being over, the troops pushed forward, scouring the country in all directions, seizing stock, bacon, and every other thing useful to the enemy. The advance marched within twenty miles of Yazoo City, without meeting any force, then struck across the country and returned to take their part in the investment of Vicksburg.

son.

The facts collected concerning the enemy were, that Johnston had at his call twenty thousand men at Canton, and a similar number at JackThis force was composed of very old and young men, all conscripted for the occasion, and were without arms. His serviceable force did not number more than fifteen thousand, though by the inhabitants it is estimated much higher.

The expedition returned, confident that no fears should be entertained of serious difficulty from the direction of the Big Black, at any rate for some time. His last experience had so intimidated the rebel general that there was little danger of great boldness on his part, and so long as he remained on the other side of the river, General Grant was informed that he need have no concern about him. Our cavalry was always in movement in that direction, and kept close watch on all his plans.

The captures made during the expedition amounted to five hundred head of cattle, five hundred horses and mules, one hundred bales of cotton, and ten thousand pounds of bacon. All bridges were either burned