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| Grierson — the raider who puzzled Pemberton To the enterprise of Lytle, the Confederate Secret Service photographer, we owe this portrait of Colonel B. H. Grierson, at rest after his famous raid. He sits chin in hand among his officers, justly proud of having executed one of the most thoroughly successful feats in the entire war. It was highly important, if Grant was to carry out his maneuver of crossing the Mississippi at Grand Gulf and advance upon Vicksburg from the south, that Pemberton's attention should be distracted in other directions. The morning after Admiral Porter ran the batteries, Grierson left La Grange, Tennessee, to penetrate the heart of the Confederacy, sweeping entirely through Mississippi from north to south, and reaching Baton Rouge on May 2d. Exaggerated reports flowed in on Pemberton as to Grierson's numbers and whereabouts. The Confederate defender of Vicksburg was obliged to send out expeditions in all directions to try to intercept him. This was one of the numerous instances where a small body of cavalry interfered with the movements of a much larger force. It was Van Dorn, the Confederate cavalryman, who had upset Grant's calculations four months before. |
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[133]
Review of Reviews. New York. 1912.
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