Rebellion Record: a Diary of American Events: Documents and Narratives, Volume 7.
Frank Moore, Ed.

[154] out of range. The Tyler had received one shot and the Choctaw some fifty, but strange to say, no men were hurt. Waiting till toward evening I ordered the division of troops to disembark in full view of the enemy, and seemingly prepare to assault, but I knew full well that there was no road across the submerged field that lay between the river and the bluff. As soon as the troops were fairly out on the levee, the gunboats resumed their fire and the enemy's batteries replied with spirit. We could see them moving guns, artillery and infantry, back and forth, and evidently expecting a real attack. Keeping up appearances until night, the troops were reembarked. During the next day similar movements were made, accompanied by reconnoissances of all the country on both sides of the Yazoo.

Whilst there I received Gen. Grant's orders to hurry forward toward Grand Gulf. Despatching orders to the divisions of Steele and Tuttle at once to march for Grand Gulf, via Richmond, I prolonged the demonstration till night, and quietly dropped back to our camp at Young's Point. No casualties were sustained, save a slight wound from a splintered rail by a man of the Eighth Missouri.

Reaching Young's Point during the night of May first, the next morning Blair's division broke camp, and moved up to Milliken's Bend; at the same time Steele's division marched from Milliken's Bend, and Tuttle's from Dockport, Blair's & division remaining as a garrison until relieved by troops ordered from Memphis.

The march from Milliken's Bend to the plantation of Hard Times, on the west bank of the Mississippi; four miles above Grand Gulf, occupied until noon of May sixth, distance sixty-three miles. We crossed over the river during the night of the sixth and day of the seventh, and on the eighth marched eighteen miles out to Hankinson's Ferry, across the Big Black, relieving Crocker's division of McPherson's corps. . At noon of the tenth, by order of General Grant, the floating bridge across the Black was effectually destroyed, and the troops marched forward to Big Sandy. On the eleventh we marched to Auburn, and on the morning of the twelfth, at Fourteen Mile Creek, first met opposition. The Fourth Iowa cavalry, Lieut.-Colonel Swan, commanding, leading the advance, was fired on as it approached the bridge across the creek. One man was killed, and the horse of Major Winslow was shot under him. Lieut.-Colonel Swan dismounted the men armed with carbines, (about one hundred,) and began to skirmish with the enemy, which afterward proved to be Wirt Adams's cavalry, but the bushes were so dense that nothing could be seen but the puffs of smoke from their guns.

The bridge also was burning; arriving at the head of the column, I ordered Landgraeber's battery forward to give the bushes a few quick rounds of canister, and Wood's brigade of Steele's division to cross over, its front well covered with skirmishers. This disposition soon cleared the way; and the pioneer company was put to work to make a crossing in lieu of the burned bridge.

This affair delayed us about three hours, when we crossed over just in time to see the enemy's cavalry disappear over the hill.

General Grant in person was with my column at the time, and ordered me to camp there one division (Steele's) on the Edward's Depot road, aud the other (Tuttle's) toward Raymond. Whilst there we heard that the enemy had met General McPherson near Raymond, and was defeated.

Next morning we marched to Raymond, and passed on to Mississippi Springs, where we surprised a cavalry picket, capturing them, and on the following day, namely, May fourteenth, pushed on to Jackson by the lower road, McPherson's corps following the Clinton road.

We communicated during the night, so as to arrive at Jackson about the same hour. During the day it rained in torrents, and the roads, which had been very dusty, became equally muddy, but we pushed on, and about ten A. M., were within three miles of Jackson. Then we heard the guns of McPherson to the left, and our cavalry advance reported an enemy to our front at a small bridge at the foot of the ridge along which the road we travelled led.

The enemy opened on us briskly with a battery. Hastily reconnoitring the position, I ordered Mower's and Matthie's brigades of Tuttle's division to deploy forward to the right and left of the road, and Buckland's to close up. Waterhouse's and Spoore's batteries were placed on commanding ground and soon silenced the enemy's guns, when he retired about half a mile into the skirt of woods in front of the intrenchments at Jackson. Mower's brigade followed him up, and he soon took refuge behind the intrenchments.

The stream, owing to its precipitous banks, could only be passed on the bridge, which the enemy did not attempt to destroy, and forming the troops in similar order beyond the bridge, only that Mower's brigade, from the course he took in following the enemy, occupied the ground to the left of the road, and Matthie's brigade to the right, the two batteries in the centre, and Buckland's brigade in reserve.

As we emerged from the woods to our front, and as far to the left as we could see, appeased a line of intrenchments, and the enemy kept up a pretty brisk fire with artillery from the points that enfiladed our road. In order to ascertain the nature of the flanks of this line of intrenchments, I directed Captain Pitzmann, acting Engineer, to take a regiment of the reserve, namely, the Ninety-fifth Ohio, and make a detour to the right, to see what was there. While he was gone, Steele's division closed up. About one P. M. Captain Pitzmann returned, reporting he found the enemy's intrenchments abandoned at the point where they crossed the railroad, and he had left the Ninety-fifth Ohio there in possession. I at once ordered General Steele to lead his whole division into Jackson by that route, and as soon I heard the cheers of his men, Tuttle's division was ordered in by the main road. The enemy's infantry had escaped to the north by the Canton road, but we captured about two hundred and