Southern Historical Society Papers, Volume 8.
Reverend J. William Jones, Ed.

[51] General Joe Johnston and his small force almost to Meridian. Raymond, Jackson and Brandon had already felt the “Sherman torch,” and monumental chimneys marked the localities of these towns. The country from Vicksburg to Brandon had already been laid waste and desolated, and beyond Brandon towards Meridian was a poor, piney-woods country, destitute of supplies for either army. Notwithstanding this condition of affairs (well known to Sherman), there remained at Natchez a large division of Federals under General Davidson; at Vicksburg, McPherson's Seventeenth army corps; at Memphis, Hurlbut's Sixteenth army corps, and about ten thousand cavalry under his command, including General W. S. Smith's in West Tennessee--amounting in all to about forty thousand effectives, guarding the Mississippi bank of the river, and not including the immense gunboat fleet on the river itself. Pemberton's and Gardner's Confederate States armies having been captured, there remained in observation of this large force in Mississippi two small divisions of Confederate States infantry, Loring at Canton, and French at Morton — about nine thousand men. S. D. Lee, with four brigades of cavalry — Stark and Ross of Jackson's division and Ferguson's and Adams' brigades — covering the country from opposite Yazoo City to Natchez, numbering about three thousand five hundred (3,500) effectives.

Forrest was south of Tallahatchie river in northwest Mississippi, picketing towards Memphis and the Memphis and Charleston rairoad; his command being principally at Panola, Abbeville, Oxford and Grenada — his aggregate force for duty being about thirty-five hundred (3,500) in the four brigades of Jeff. Forrest, Bell, McCullough and Richardson. The entire Confederate force in Mississippi not exceeding sixteen thousand (16,000).

This was the condition of affairs in January, 1864. About January 23d the spies in Vicksburg reported that Sherman would soon leave Vicksburg for the interior with an army of at least four divisions of infantry. This information was at once reported to Lieutenant-General Polk, commanding the Department, who discredited such a movement — saying it was impossible, as such an expedition had no objective point which could hurt the Confederacy, excepting Mobile or Selma, and a march over the country could not benefit or advance the cause of the Federals. He further said a concentration near Selma or Mobile (by virtue of interior lines) could readily crush such an ill-advised movement should it be attempted; and to these views he steadily adhered. It was