Admiral David D. Porter, The Naval History of the Civil War.

[320] board to open fire on the works, which was done. A stray shell found its way into a cotton-bale — in ten minutes this formidable work was in a blaze, and in less than an hour the whole fabric was consumed.

This was the last work built by the Confederates on the Mississippi River. All the appliances of a fort and a quantity of stores were in the houses at Warrenton. which the Confederates set fire to and destroyed. And what houses were left in the town were destroyed by the Mound City's men. Warrenton had been a troublesome place and merited its fate.

On the 15th of May, the admiral joined the fleet in the Yazoo, and on the 16th firing was heard in the rear of Vicksburg — a sign that General Grant's Army was not far off, and that he was driving Pemberton into the

Lieut.-commanding (now captain) Byron Wilson, U. S. N.

city. The flag-ship pushed up the river as near as she could get to the combatants, and it was soon discovered by the aid of glasses that General Sherman's division was coming in on the left of Snyder's Bluff, cutting off the enemy at that place from joining the troops in the city.

The DeKalb, Lieutenant-Commander Walker, the Choctaw, Lieutenant-Commander Ramsay, the Linden, Romeo, and Forest Rose, all under the command of Lieutenant-Commander Breese, were now sent up the Yazoo to open communication with the Army. In three hours, letters were received by the Admiral from Generals Grant, Sherman and Steele, informing him of their complete success in driving General J. E. Johnston away with his Army of 40,000 men, and forcing Pemberton into Vicksburg with about the same number of troops.

In the meantime the DeKalb pushed on to Haines' Bluff, which had been the great obstacle to our advance in that direction, and which the enemy had commenced evacuating the day before. A part of the garrison had remained behind in hopes of carrying off a quantity of stores, but they were driven away by the DeKalb and were cut off by some of Sherman's command who had marched in that direction.

The Confederates had been so completely surprised by the sudden appearance of our gun-boats and Army that they had not time to destroy anything — guns, tents, equipage and all kinds of stores were left in good order and fell into the hands of the Federals.

As soon as the Army appeared, driving the Confederates into Vicksburg, all the gun-boats below the city were ordered up to attack the batteries, which fire was kept up for three hours. At midnight the fire was reopened and directed to all points where it might be possible to harass the enemy's troops, and it was continued all night. The Confederates must have had an uncomfortable time of it, after marching and fighting all day with little hope of rest within their trenches. Shot and shells were whistling about them and every now and then a fire broke out in the city, threatening destruction to their stores and munitions of war.

The Admiral ordered up the army transports with stores and provisions, which the Union forces were glad to get that day before sunset.

The works at Haines' Bluff were found to be very formidable — far too much so to have been taken by our Army; or from the water side; there were eighteen of the heaviest guns (8-inch and 10-inch columblads, and 7 1/2-inch rifles) with ammunition enough to last a long siege, and much of it suited for the guns of the naval vessels. The works and encampment (which consisted of permanent houses), covered many acres of ground, and the fortifications and rifle-pits extended over one mile and a quarter. Wide ditches, chevaux-de-frise, and net works (obstructions that would delight any military engineer,) formed part of their defenses; and these were but a counterpart of miles of the same kind of work, in and around Vicksburg. Most of these works were destroyed as not conducing in any way to the requirements of the Federal Army, and to prevent their being used to check the advance of the gun-boats, in case the enemy by superior force caused the siege to be raised.

As soon as the Confederates had evacuated Haines' Bluff, and all the rafts which blocked the river above had been removed,