Dec. 20, 1862. |
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destroying, blowing up the arsenal, and burning the public property,1 Van Dorn's men departed at five o'clock in the evening, highly elated, and immediately afterward assailed in rapid succession the National troops at Coldwater, Davis's Mills, Middleburg, and even Bolivar, but without other success than the effect produced upon Grant by a serious menace of his communications.2 two hours after they had left Holly Springs, the four thousand troops which Grant had dispatched by railway to re-enforce Murphy arrived.
They had been detained by accident on the way, or they might have reached the place in time to have saved the property.
Its loss was a paralyzing blow to the expedition, for Grant was. Compelled to fall back to Grand Junction, to save his Army from the most imminent peril, and perhaps from destruction.
This left General Pemberton at liberty to concentrate his forces at Vicksburg for its defense.
in the mean time General Sherman had been preparing for his descent upon Vicksburg.
While in command of the right wing of the Army of the Tennessee, with his Headquarters at Memphis, he had thoroughly drilled his troops, and put that important post in the most complete defensive state.
In Fort Pickering he had constructed one of the finest of the numerous look-outs that were so extensively used by both parties during the war, from which, on several occasions, notice of the approach of guerrillas was given in time to save the place from pillage.
Sherman left Memphis with a little more than twenty thousand troops in transports, on the day of the sad disaster at Holly Springs,
leaving Ie as a guard to the city a strong force of infantry and cavalry, and the siege-guns in place with a complement of artillerists.
He proceeded to Friar's Point, a little below where Hovey landed, where he was joined by Admiral D. D. Porter (whose naval force was at the mouth of the Yazoo River) in his flag-ship Black Hawk, and with the gun-boats Marmora and Conestoga to act as a convoy.
On the same evening the troops at Helena embarked, and joined Sherman at Friar's Point, and
made his entire force full thirty thousand strong.
Arrangements for future action were completed the following morning
by the two commanders.
The army and navy moved down the stream, and were all at the mouth of the Yazoo River, about twelve miles above Vicksburg, on the 25th.3 the plan was to make an attack upon Vicksburg in the rear, with a strong force, and for that purpose
1 the kind and value of the public property destroyed was as follows:--1,809,000 fixed cartridges and other ordnance stores, including 5,000 rifles and 2,000 revolvers, $1,500,000; 100,000 suits of clothing and other quarter-masters' stores, $500,000; 5,000 barrels of flour and other commissary stores, $500,000; medical stores, $1,000,000; 1,000 bales of cotton and $600,000 worth of sutlers' stores.
2 it was at about this time, as we have observed (page 551), that Forrest was making his raid in West Tennessee.
3 the fleet consisted of more than sixty transports, besides a number of gun-boats (some of them armored), and some mortar-boats.
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