...n, that Vicksburg would never be taken, were at last at an end and the Union sure to be saved. Bowen was received by General A. J. Smith, and asked to see me. I had been a neighbor of Bowen's in Missouri , and knew him well and favorably before the war; but his request was refused. He then suggested that I should meet Pemberton. To this I sent a verbal message saying that, if Pemberton desired it,...