ARMY OPERATIONS. Near the close of the year 1862, the battles at Fredericksburg and Murfreesboro were fought. The latter was not ended until the 3d of January, 1863. The armies engaged in these conflicts then ceased active operations. No other important military movement of the Federal or Confederate forces was in progress at that time except that under General Grant against Vicksburg, and the concentration of a force under Gen. Banks at New Orleans. The campaign against Vicksburg really commenced about the 28th of November. At that time, the forces of Gen. Grant were at Lagrange, three miles east of Grand tion, on the Cairo and New Orleans railroad, with garrisons at Columbus, Humboldt, Trenton, and Jackson, in Tennessee, and Bolivar and Corinth in Mississippi. These forces were designated as the Army of West Tennessee. The Confederate forces were at Coldwater and Holly Springs, about twenty miles distant. the 20th inst., and that without any resistance, except by a few men, who form an honorable exception; and this, too, after warning had been given of the advance all the cotton, public stores, and substantial buildings of the enemy northward the evening previous. With about the depot, it would have been perfectly prac. ticable to have made in a few hours defences sufficient brought against them, until the reenforcements, which to resist, with a small garrison, all the cavalry force the commanding officer was notified were marching to his relief, could have reached him. The conduct of officers and men in accepting paroles, under the circumstances, is highly reprehensible, and, Hill cartel, each party is bound to take care of their to say the least, thoughtless. By the terms of the Dix prisoners, and to send them to Vicksburg, Miss., or a Junc-point on James river, Va., for exchange or parole, unless some other point is mutually agreed upon by the generals commanding the opposing armies. By a refusal to be paroled, the enemy, from his inability to take care of the prisoners, would have been compelled either to have released them unconditionally, or to have abandoned all further aggressive movetheir recapture and the discomfiture of the enemy ments for the time being, which would have made The plan of Gen. Grant was-that Gen. Sherman should take command of the forces at Memphis in Tennessee, and Helena in Arkansas, and descend the river on transports with the gunboat fleet, and make an attack on Vicksburg by the 29th of December, and that Gen. McClernand should take the forces at Cairo and move down to Vicksburg, thus reenforcing Gen. Sherman soon after his attack on the town. Meanwhile Gen. Grant was to advance rapidly upon the Confederate troops in Mississippi north and east of Vicksburg, which formed the main body of their army, and keep them fully employed, and, if they retreated to Vicksburg, arrive there with them, ready to cooperate with Gen. Sherman. Large reënforcements and supplies were received, and the advance of Gen. Hamilton's corps, on the 28th of November, began to move in the direction of Holly Springs, which was reached on the 29th. By the 1st of December, Gen. Grant's forces had arrived, and were chiefly encamped at Lumpkin's Mills, south of Holly Springs, and seven miles north of the Tallahatchie river. The Confederate force, now under the command of Gen. Pemberton, retired to that river, and finally fell back beyond Granada. Meanwhile Gen. Grant advanced to Oxford, and on the 20th of December an attack was suddenly made in his rear, by a Confederate force under Gen. Van Dorn, on the garrison under Col. Murphy at Holly Springs, which surrendered. The prisoners were paroled, and the supplies collected there for Gen. Grant's army were destroyed; also a large quantity of cotton which had been purchased of the people in the vicinity. This surrender of Holly Springs is thus noted in the orders of Gen. Grant: HEADQUARTERS THIRTEENTH ARMY CORPS, DEPart- almost certain. It is gratifying to notice, in contrast with this, the conduct of a portion of the command, conspicuous among whom was the Second Illinois cavalry, prisoners. Their loss was heavy, but the enemy's was who gallantly and successfully resisted being taken much greater. Such conduct as theirs will always insure success. Had the commandant of the post exercised the usual and ordinary precautions for defence, the gar enemy, saved our stores from destruction and them rison was sufficiently strong to have repulsed the selves from capture. The General commanding is satisfied that a majority lessly, and from want of knowledge of the cartel referred of the troops who accepted a parole did so thoughtto, and that in future they will not be caught in the same way. By order of Major-General U. S. GRANT. JNO. A. RAWLINS, Assist. Adjutant-General. The post was under the command of Col. Murphy, who was surprised and captured with all his force except a small body of cavalry. The enemy estimated the stores destroyed as follows: "1,809,000 fixed cartridges and other ordnance stores, valued at $1,500,000, including 5,000 rifles and 2,000 revolvers; 100,000 suits of clothing and other quartermaster's stores, valued at $500,000; 5,000 barrels of flour and other commissary stores, valued at $500,000; $1,000,000 worth of medical stores, for which invoices to that amount were exhibited, and 1,000 bales of cotton and $600,000 worth of sutlers' stores." On the same day an attack was made at Davis's Mills, a little further north, which was bravely repulsed. Near Jackson, Tennessee, an attack was made by a body of cavalry under Col. Forrest on the 19th. The telegraph wire was cut and the railroad destroyed. On the next day Humboldt was captured and an attack made on Trenton. Other stations on the railroad, as Dyer's, Rutherford, and Keaton, were taken on the same day. The purpose appeared to be to destroy every railroad bridge from Columbus to Corinth, and thus cut off the communications and supplies of Gen. Grant. The consequence of these movements was to make Gen. Grant fall back upon Holly Springs. This left the Confederate Gen. Pemberton at liberty to concentrate his forces at Vicksburg to resist Gen. Sherman. Thus that part of the plan of the campaign against Vicksburg, which related to the movements of Gen. Grant by land, Was unsuccessful. The approach of the wet season of the year, the destruction of the railroads, and the difficulty and delay in making a further advance, caused the forces of Gen. Grant soon to be withdrawn for the purpose of joining Gen. Sherman before Vicksburg. TILLINOIS rendezvous. On the next day he was joined by Admiral Porter, in his flagship, with the gunboats Marmora, Capt. Getty, and Conestoga, Capt. Selfridge, to act as a convoy. The main body of the naval force was at the mouth of Yazoo river. On the same evening the troops at Helena, making another division, embarked in transports, and came to Friar's Point. The arrangements were completed by the military and naval commanders during the next forenoon, the 22d, and the fleet got under way, and moved down just below the mouth of White river, where it came to, at sunset. On the next Mammoth day it descended to Gaines's Landing, and at two P. M. came to anchor, to await the arrival of those transports in the rear, and also a division kཚེ TUCK of troops from Memphis. Half of the town of Gaines's Landing was destroyed by fire while the army was there. Similar destruction had also been made at Friar's Point. These acts led to stringent measures on the part of Gen. Sher man. On the night of the 24th and the morning of the 25th, the fleet arrived at the mouth of the Yazoo river. The fleet consisted of more than sixty transports, with a number of ironclad and other gunboats, and several mortar boats. The Yazoo is a deep, narrow, and sluggish stream, formed by the Tallahatchie and Yallobusha rivers, which unite in Carroll county, Mississippi. It runs through an alluvial plain of extreme fertility, about 290 miles, and empties into the Mississippi river twelve miles above Vicksburg. By this time Gen. Grant's communications in his rear had been cut off, and he had been compelled to fall back. The confederate forces in his rear retired toward Vicksburg, where they had already begun to concentrate, both from the east and the west, although these facts were unknown to Gen. Sherman. It was supposed by the Federal forces that they would now receive the coöperation of Gen. Banks and Admiral Farragut. The former had left New York, near the close of the year, with a considerable military force, for New Orleans, where the latter commanded the naval forces. On the 26th, the expedition, under convoy of the gunboats, moved up the Yazoo, and the troops were landed at various points from the junction of Old River with the Yazoo to Johnson's Farm, a distance of about three miles, without opposition. The distance from Vicksburg was about eight miles. A strong position, known as Haines's Bluff, some distance above on the river, was held by the Confederate forces, and in the mean while attacked by the gunboats De Kalb, Cincinnati, Louisville, BenMEXIC ton, and Lexington. It was the plan of Gen. Sherman to attack Vicksburg in the rear. For this purpose he was engaged, on the 28th, in getting his forces into position. Meanwhile Gen. William T. Sherman, who had been stationed at Memphis, embarked with one division on the 20th of December, and dropped down to Friar's Point, the place of The bluffs on which Vicksburg is built take their rise a little below the city, and extend in a direction north of northeast to the Yazoo river, terminating in Haines's Bluff, a distance of twelve or fifteen miles. They were fortified throughout their entire length. These bluffs front the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers. The ascent is abrupt and precipitous, and the only approach to the city by land from up the river is by climbing their face. In the rear the ground is high and broken, and somewhat rolling. It falls off gradually to the Big Black river. The line of the Yazoo here is nearly northeast. It is six miles distant from the bluffs at Old river, and passes along their face until, at Haines's Bluff, the river and the bluffs come together. This junction is nine miles from Vicksburg by the road along the foot of the bluffs, and twenty-three miles from the Mississippi by the course of the Yazoo river. On the triangular-shaped bottom land between the bluffs and the Yazoo down to the Old river, the troops were disembarked for the purpose of getting in the rear of Vicksburg and capturing it. About one third of the distance down the Yazoo from Haines's Bluff, a bayou puts off from the river at nearly right angles, until it approaches the bluffs, when it turns and follows their base until it empties into the Mississippi. It is called the Chickasaw bayou. Between this bayou and the bluffs is a plain, upon which the timber had been felled to form an abatis. The banks of the bayou are quite steep, and about two hundred feet apart. At the base of the bluffs, through their whole length, rifle pits had been dug, in the rear of which, upon the face of the bluffs, single-gun batteries had been planted at short intervals from Vicksburg almost to Haines's Bluff. At various commanding points along the range, both on its face and upon the summit, field works were thrown up for the reception and protection of light artillery whenever it might be needed. Parallel with, and about half a mile north of the Chickasaw bayou, is a deep slough, having no connection with the river. As it approaches the base of the bluffs, it makes a sharp turn and enters Chickasaw bayou near the point where the latter makes its angle as it strikes the bluffs. In the latter part of its extent it contains but little water; its bottom, however, is a quicksand, which does not afford good footing. The bottom land of the Yazoo is covered with a dense growth of cypress trees: much of it is quite clear and free from undergrowth, while in other parts it is quite thick. The first troops landed, on the 26th, were a brigade, under Gen. Blair, of Gen. Steele's division, and a brigade from each of the divisions under Gens. M. L. Smith and Morgan. They were ordered to advance two miles into the country, and make a thorough reconnoissance in the direction of the bluffs. The brigade from Gen. Morgan's division found the rebels in force about two miles inland. The other brigades met with no opposition. No conflict took place. The force of Gen. Sherman was organized in four divisions as follows: First division, three brigades, under Brig.-Gen. George W. Morgan; second division, three brigades, under Brig.Gen. Morgan L. Smith; third division, three brigades, under Brig.-Gen. A. J. Smith; fourth division, four brigades, under Brig.-Gen. Frederick Steele. The brigade commanders of this fourth division were Gens. Frank P. Blair, jr., John M. Thayer, C. E. Hovey, and Col. Hassendurbel. Under the plan of attack, Gen. Steele was to hold the extreme left, Gen. Morgan the left centre, Gen. M. L. Smith the right centre, and Gen. A. J. Smith the extreme right. The division under Gen. Smith, however, not having arrived, Gen. Blair was placed on the right centre. All the divisions were to converge toward the point of attack on the bluffs. The remainder of the division of Gen. Steele was landed on the 27th above the Chickasaw bayou, to operate on that part of the line. The entire day was spent in getting the troops ashore. The bank of the river was overgrown with brush, and the ground was so soft that it was necessary to build roads for moving the wagons and artillery. At night the command had advanced only two miles from the shore. On the same day, the 27th, the divisions on the centre, including Gen. Blair's brigade, advanced slowly toward the bluffs, in order to give time to Gen. Steele to come into position on the left. A battery of the enemy was found near the point designated for junction with Gen. Steele, not far from the angle of the bayou, and silenced. The night ensuing was cold and frosty, and the troops bivouacked without fires. On the next day, the 28th, the enemy was driven across the Chickasaw, and night closed with the troops of Gen. Sherman in full possession south of the bayou, with one bridge thrown across, and with two bridges partly constructed. While reconnoitring the ground and directing the movement of some infantry, Gen. M. L. Smith was severely wounded in the hip, and the command of his division devolved upon Gen. David Stuart. Meanwhile, Gen. Steele had pushed forward his command. The slough on his right was deep and impassable, and on the left the ground had become swampy and full of small pools, so as to be also impassable. The only line of approach to the bluffs was along a narrow levee or causeway, which was exposed throughout to the enemy's artillery. Three attempts were made to approach the causeway, but the destruction of the troops was so manifest that they were withdrawn. Gen. Sherman, under this state of affairs, ordered Gen. Steele to return to the river, reëmbark and land on the lower side of the Chickasaw, thus holding still the extreme left, and advance upon its bank until he met Gen. Morgan. It was too late in the evening of the 28th when the troops were fairly on shore below the bayous to move farther. At this time the division of Gen. A. J. Smith came up and took its position on the right of the line. It had remained at Milliken's Bend as a support to a The situation of the forces at this time was as follows: Gen. Morgan was in position on the south side of the Chickasaw; near its angle, at the base of the bluffs, and on his immediate right, was Gen. Blair's brigade; Gen. M. L. Smith's division, under Gen. Stuart, was on the right centre, and Gen. A. J. Smith was moving up to the extreme right. Gen. Steele was coming up on the left to act as a reserve to Gen. Morgan. At daylight on the 29th, the Confederate batteries began to fire upon Gen. Morgan's position, and continued it for an hour, although with little effect. With several cessations the cannonade was kept up during the forenoon. Occasionally engagements of infantry, as the opposing regiments came in reach of each other, took place. Several detachments were throwing bridges across the bayou, for the purpose of making an assault on the bluffs. The brigade of Gen. Blair had crossed the bayou before it turned along the bluffs, and was in position at the front of the hill, with a small abatis and a deep ditch between it and the point it designed to assail. On his right, at the point where the bayou makes its angle, was Gen. Morgan. Next to him was Gen. Stuart, and on the extreme right was Gen. A. J. Smith, preparing to throw a bridge across. No order had been issued by Gen. Sherman appointing an hour for the assault. But by order of Gen. Morgan, Gen. Blair advanced, and Gen. Thayer, of Gen. Steele's brigade, came up for his support. The difficulties of crossing the ditch, and passing the abatis, were such, that the line of Gen. Blair was thrown into some disorder, which, however, it soon recovered, and moved forward upon the Confederate works. The first movement was over a sloping plateau, raked by a direct and enfilading fire from heavy artillery, and swept by a storm 37 of bullets from the rifle pits. Undauntedly the brigade passed on, and in a few moments drove the enemy from their first range of rifle pits, and took full possession of them. Halting for a moment, the brigade pushed forward and took possession of the second line of rifle pits about two hundred yards distant. The batteries were above this line, and their fire still continued. A prompt and powerful support was necessary to make the attempt to capture them. Simultaneously with the advance of Gen. Blair, an order was given to Gen. Thayer, of Gen. Steele's division, to go forward with his brigade. He crossed the bayou by the same bridge as Gen. Blair, and, entered the abatis at the same point, and deflecting to the right, came out upon the sloping plateau, about two hundred yards to the right of Gen. Blair, and at the same time. As he reached the rifle pits, with a heavy loss, he perceived that only one regiment, the Fourth Iowa, Col. Williamson, had followed him. After his movement commenced, the second regiment of his brigade had been sent to the right of Gen. Morgan as a support. The other regiments had followed this one. Notice of this change of the march of the second regiment, although sent, had failed to reach Gen. Thayer. With little hope of success, he bravely pushed forward into the second line of rifle pits of the enemy on the right of Gen. Blair. Here, leaving the regiment to hold the position, he hurried back for reënforcements. Meanwhile, Gen. Blair, vainly waiting for support, descended in person to persuade the advance of more troops. He, and Gen. Thayer, both failed in their efforts, and were obliged to order their commands to retire. While Gen. Blair was urging the advance of more troops, his brigade fought with desperation to win the way to the top of the crest. Some fifty yards above the second line of rifle pits was a cluster of small willows. Thither many of the enemy, driven from the rifle pits, had fled. They were promptly pursued by the Thirteenth Illinois, and driven out by a handto-hand contest. They were supported at once by the other regiments of the brigade, but the position was exposed to a hot fire of the enemy's batteries. Meantime, a Confederate infantry force was concentrated to attack them, and after a sharp struggle the latter were forced back to the second line of rifle pits, when Gen. Blair's order to retire was received. The division of Gen. Morgan was not brought over the bayou in time to engage in the assault. The division of Gen. Stuart encountered so much difficulty in constructing their bridges over the bayou, under a hot fire of the enemy, that only one regiment finally crossed over. The bridge was then commanded by a flanking fire of the enemy, which prevented others from crossing. The regiment which had crossed returned after dark. A notice of the intended movement on the left had not been given to the division commanders on the right of Gen. Morgan. The division of Gen. Smith was so near to Vicksburg, and the strength of the enemy before him so great, that an assault would have been fruitless. Several sharp encounters, however, took place. The real assault on the left was made by about three thousand men, and the loss was about eight hundred. As soon as the assault on the left was concluded, Gen. Sherman determined to make another. A brigade, under the command of Gen. Hovey, was advanced to Gen. Blair's position at the mouth of the bayou, which was to assault the hill, supported by Gen. Morgan and the brigades of Gens. Blair and Thayer. The attack, however, was not made during the remainder of the day; and the next morning developed two new batteries of the enemy in position, and a portion of a new line of rifle pits. Firing was, however, kept up by both sides during that day; and on Wednesday, the 31st, a flag of truce was sent in by Gen. Sherman, and the dead were buried. Afterward, on the 31st, arrangements were made to attack Haines's Bluff, which was supposed to be defended by a small force. The design, as formed between Admiral Porter and Gen. Sherman, was for a combined naval and land assault on the extreme Confederate right, with a view of getting a position on the bluffs, in the expectation that by so doing they would secure the key to the Confederate position, and compel the enemy to withdraw from the entire range of bluffs and form a new line at Vicksburg. It was planned to land the division of Gen. Steele out of range of the guns of the bluffs, and that they should immediately storm and carry the position. At the same time, the gunboats were to make an attack. The troops were made ready to embark at 2 o'clock A. M. of the next day, but a dense fog having settled on the river prevented their departure. The purpose evidently having become known to the enemy, it was finally given up. The unexpected strength of the position of the enemy being manifest, and the failure of the forces under Gen. Grant to attack in the rear while Gen. Sherman made the attack in front, entirely disconcerted the original plan upon which the movement of Gen. Sherman was made. The loss of his communications by Gen. Grant, and the necessity for him to fall back, prevented this simultaneous attack on the front and rear of Vicksburg, and probably its capture at this time. It was supposed that the first assault under Gen. Sherman might have been successful if properly supported, so far as related to gaining the crest of the bluffs, although it was not thought that his force could have held it. Gen. Sherman, therefore, resolved to withdraw, and on Thursday night and Friday morning, January 2d, the troops were embarked and moved down to the mouth of the Yazoo river. The entire loss suffered in this expedition was 191 killed, 982 wounded, and 756 missing. Among the former was Lieut. Erwin, in command of a gunboat. Gen. McClernand, who had been ordered to proceed from Cairo, was at the mouth of the Yazoo on the arrival of Gen. Sherman. The former officer then took the command, and ordered the forces to Milliken's Bend, about twelve miles up the river. On the 4th of January, Gen. Sherman issued the following order: HEADQUARTERS RIGHT WING ARMY OF TENNESSEE, Pursuant to the terms of General Order No. 1, made this day by General McClernand, the title of our army ceases to exist, and constitutes in the future the Army of the Mississippi, composed of two "army corps; "one to be commanded by General G. W. Morgan, and the other by myself. In relinquishing the command of the Army of the Tennessee, and restricting my authority to my own corps, I desire to express to all commanders, to soldiers and officers recently operating berity, and courage manifested by them on all occasions. fore Vicksburg, my hearty thanks for the zeal, alacWe failed in accomplishing one great purpose of our movement-the capture of Vicksburg; but we were part of a whole. Ours was but part of a combined time; unforeseen contingencies must have delayed the movement in which others were to assist. We were on others. We have destroyed the Shreveport road, we have attacked the defences of Vicksburg, and pushed the attack as far as prudence would justify, and having found it too strong for our single column, we have drawn off in good order and good spirits, ready for any new move. A new commander is now here to lead you. He is chosen by the President of the United States, who is charged by the Constitution to maintain and defend it, and he has the undoubted right to select his own agents. I know that all good officers and cheerful obedience they have hitherto given me. soldiers will give him the same hearty support and There are honors enough in reserve for all, and work enough too. Let each do his appropriate part, and our nation must in the end emerge from the dire con flict purified and ennobled by the fires which now test its strength and purity. All officers of the general staff not attached to my person will hereafter report in person and by letter to Major-General McClernand, commanding the Army of the Mississippi, on board the steamer Tigress at our rendezvous at Haines's Landing and at Montgomery Point. By order of Major-General W. T. SHERMAN. J. H. HAMMOND, Assistant Adjutant-General. Subsequently, on the 8th, Gen. Pemberton, who had fallen back from before Gen. Grant, and had taken command at Vicksburg, issued the following address to his troops: HEADQUARTErs DepartmenT OF MISSISSIPPI AND LOUISIANA, VICKSBURG, January 8th, The Lieut.-General commanding this department of the army desires to express to its troops his high appreciation of their gallant demeanor in the defence of this important position. All praise is due them, not alone for so bravely repulsing the renewed assaults of an enemy vastly superior in numbers, but especially for the cheerful and patient endurance with which they have submitted to the hardships and exposures inci dent to ten successive days and nights of watchfulness close proximity of the opposing armies, while all have in trenches, rendered imperatively necessary by the performed their duties with benefit to their country and honor to themselves. Still, as must ever be the case in war, fortune has favored unequally those who by her favor held the posts of honor, and by their own resolute courage availed themselves of their opportu nity; to them special thanks are due. It will be a proud and agreeable duty of the Lieutenant-General |