{"id":33271,"date":"2019-07-04T04:06:19","date_gmt":"2019-07-04T04:06:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/07\/04\/fire-and-blood-how-the-navy-almost-found-a-back-route-to-vicksburg\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:44:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:44:13","slug":"fire-and-blood-how-the-navy-almost-found-a-back-route-to-vicksburg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/07\/04\/fire-and-blood-how-the-navy-almost-found-a-back-route-to-vicksburg\/","title":{"rendered":"Fire and blood: How the Navy almost found a back route to Vicksburg"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

During the winter and spring of 1863, Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had tried every trick in the book to get his army across the Mississippi River to attack the Confederate fortress of Vicksburg<\/a>. All had failed, and his soldiers languished in the fever-ridden swamps on the \u201cwrong\u201d side of the river.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He had recently sent a 10,000-man infantry division in 25 steam transport ships guarded by several powerful ironclads on a circuitous 400-mile route through the back bayous, rivers and swamps, hoping to catch the Rebels off-guard above the city. This was known as the \u201cYazoo Pass Expedition<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It had been driven back, however, though Grant did not know it yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Acting Rear Adm. David Dixon Porter<\/a>, the U.S. Navy commander on the scene, came up with yet another scheme to surprise the Rebels in their own backyard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to get the Yazoo Pass Expedition out of the Mississippi and into its backwaters route, it had been necessary to blow up a levee some 200 miles north of Vicksburg and this, in turn, had flooded the entire countryside for hundreds of square miles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Porter smelled an opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It was now the middle of March, and Grant, as yet uncertain about the fate of the thousands of men he had sent down the Yazoo Pass, found himself \u201cmuch exercised for [their] safety.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being a man of action, Grant decided to see for himself if there was another way to prevail, for Rear Adm. Porter had come up with his own bizarre proposal for attacking Vicksburg from the rear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It involved yet another amphibious expedition that would take advantage of the now flooded bayous and rivers that the rear admiral asserted would not only get the troops above the Confederate batteries at Haines\u2019 Bluff, but get them past the Rebel guns of Fort Pemberton as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The scheme was to steam into the Yazoo River to an obscure stream opposite Vicksburg called Steele\u2019s Bayou, then follow it north, away from the city, through Cypress Lake, Black Bayou, Deer Creek to the Rolling Fork where, a hundred miles later, they would then turn southward again into the Sunflower River for another hundred miles back down to the Yazoo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a tortuous loop of 200 miles, but it left Fort Pemberton about 30 miles to the east, before reentering the Yazoo 20 miles above the Confederate batteries at Snyder\u2019s, Drury\u2019s and Haines\u2019 Bluffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As luck would have it, Major Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman himself got tapped for the duty, along with one of his divisions, and on March 16 he embarked 7,000 infantrymen on transports that were to follow close behind the van, which consisted of five ironclads, four mortar boats and four tugboats, commanded by Porter himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman of 13th Regular Army Infantry Regiment in uniform. (Library of Congress)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

They had no sooner shoved off than things began to go awry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surely it was one of the strangest wartime expeditions in naval history. Because of the levee break, the water was so high that in many places the big ironclads sometimes found themselves steaming above drowned roads and houses and even entire forests, with only the very tops of their trees showing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keeping in the channel became a major project. The ironclads drew 7 feet of water, whereas in normal times, according to Porter, these streams \u201cdid not contain enough water to float a canoe.\u201d But the flood had put 15 feet under them, provided they did not sail off into an underwater hill or vale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almost immediately, another problem presented itself, similar to the one encountered by the Yazoo Pass Expedition \u2014 only worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The twisting narrowness of the streams and the rise in water level often put the boats right in the path of overhanging trees and limbs that, when struck, carried away almost everything on deck, especially on the river steamers with their tall smokestacks, elevated pilothouses and ponderous loading tackle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only that, but the trees and branches were inhabited by all species of swamp creatures that had sought refuge from the flood. Whenever a boat crashed or bumped into one of these natural obstacles, its decks were immediately inundated with a perfect shower of live zoological specimens: \u2019coons, possums, snakes of all descriptions and temperaments, rats, mice, cockroaches, lizards, squirrels, wildcats, and a host of insects so varied and plentiful that their identification could only be guessed at.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sailors manned brooms to sweep these startled visitors overboard, but some refused to go, which made life aboard ship more interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a few days, Sherman\u2019s flotilla began to look like a moving shipwreck; most smokestacks had been torn off the transport boats, or bent beyond use. Wheelhouses, booms, ships\u2019 boats, masts, sometimes entire superstructures had been demolished, and whenever the steamers hit a dead or damaged limb, it would come crashing straight to the deck, smashing skylights and framework, adding to the chaos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As with the Yazoo Pass Expedition, smoke from burning cotton billowed from whatever high ground there was, and often obscured navigation. Porter was appalled by the \u201cwicked[ness]\u201d of such wanton destruction, and shouted to a grizzled old overseer, \u201cWhy did those fools set fire to that cotton?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecause they didn\u2019t want you fools to have it,\u201d was the equally discourteous reply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At one point, pyres that blazed along Cypress Bayou actually threatened to roast Porter\u2019s gunboat crews alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As he described it, the bayou \u201cwas exactly 46 feet wide. My vessel was 42 feet wide.\u201d On both sides of the stream some 6,000 bales of Confederate cotton were aflame. After learning from a slave that the cotton would burn for two or three more days, Porter was determined to push through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll the ports were shut in and the crews called to fire quarters, standing ready with fire-buckets,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A tugboat that was in the lead disappeared into the inferno after soaking everything down and when it emerged on the other side, all the paint was blistered and many of the crew singed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The gunboat Cincinnati, one of seven flat-bottom ironclads built at Carondelet, Missouri, and Mound City, Illinois, during the latter half of 1861. (New York Public Library)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On the deck of Cincinnati<\/i>, Porter was forced to jump into a small iron-plated closet, followed by the captain, to keep from getting scorched, while the helmsman \u201ccovered himself with an old [wet] flag that lay in the wheelhouse.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust after we passed through the fire,\u201d Porter reported, \u201cthere was a terrible crash, which some thought was an earthquake. We had run into and quite through a span of bridge about fifty feet long, and demolished the whole fabric, having failed to see it in the smoke.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that was just the beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cypress Bayou was so crooked, Porter said, \u201cAt one time the vessels would all be steaming on different courses. One would be standing north, another south, another east, and another west through the woods. The tugs and mortar-boats seemed to be mixed up in the most marvelous manner.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was also filled with huge soggy logs with their ends pointing upward, \u201cpresenting the appearance of chevaux-de-frise<\/a>, over which we could no more pass than we could fly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All this had to be cleared by hand, and no sooner had it been done than they heard the sinister racket of chopping from the dismal swamps ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ironclads, which had no tall masts or booms, managed to weather the damage better than the transports, and as a result Sherman and his infantry fell farther and farther behind the armored van.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By March 20, Porter\u2019s naval force had reached the head of the Rolling Fork, the pass that would take them into the wide and deep Sunflower River. From there, the sailing promised to be fast and smooth all the way back down to the Yazoo River and victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But just then a combination of bad luck, misapprehension and Rebel ingenuity brought the operation up short.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Right at the entrance to the Rolling Fork was a small collection of houses, and along the banks a number of slaves stood watching the gunboats as they gathered to enter the pass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suddenly Porter looked out over his bridge and saw \u201ca large green patch extending all the way across. It looked like the green scum on ponds,\u201d he wrote in his memoir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he asked the slaves what it was, one of them replied that it was willows, which they weaved into baskets. The slave thought he might be able to navigate through it like an eel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was not so. As Porter\u2019s new flagship Carondelet <\/i>entered the strange patch of vegetation \u201cfull-steam-ahead,\u201d it first slowed abruptly, and then came to a complete halt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe little withes caught in the rough iron ends of the overhangs and held us as if in a vice,\u201d Porter reported. \u201cI tried to back out, but t\u2019was no use. We could not move an inch, no matter how much steam we put on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Before it got stuck in willow roots, the ironclad gunboat Carondelet had become famous for battling the Confederate warship Arkansas. This engraving depicts the 15 July 1862 battle. (U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The men brought out large hooks and tried to snag off the willow branches to no avail. Porter looked to the banks for the man who had originally advised him about the willows and received a sobering reassessment \u2014 the willows were tougher than ropes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presently the crew produced \u201csaws, knives, cutlasses and chisels\u201d and went over the side, but soon as the little willow switches were cut away, \u201cothers sprang up from under the water and took a fresher grip on us, so we were worse off than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And even that was wishful thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suddenly from ahead came a boom of artillery fire, along with the chilling \u201ccrack\u201d of a Whitworth rifled gun (possibly the same one that had helped thwart the Federal armada at Fort Pemberton during the Yazoo Pass Expedition) which had a dead-on accurate range of more than a mile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier, as the flotilla was waiting for the other ironclads to catch up, a Lt. Murphy, who commanded one of Porter\u2019s boats, pointed out that there was an old Indian mound ahead, and that it might be a good idea to fortify it with several artillery pieces \u2014 just in case \u2014 while they were waiting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Porter agreed, wondering why, if it was such a desirable strong point, the Confederates had not occupied it themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It must have been because they thought it worthless,\u201d he recalled thinking. \u201cThey showed themselves to be poor judges in such matters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Rebel shells began bursting all about them, Porter quickly came to appreciate why the enemy hadn\u2019t occupied the Indian mound \u2014 it was indefensible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSuddenly I saw the sides of the mound crowded with officers and men. They were tumbling down as best they could; the guns were tumbled ahead of them. There was a regular stampede,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just as he was taking that in, scores of Rebel sharpshooters abruptly opened up on them from the swamps, behind trees, stumps and hummocks and worse \u2014 if such a thing was possible \u2014 \u201cWe could not use our large guns; they were way below the banks, and lying so close to it that we could not get elevation enough to fire over.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Rear Adm. David Dixon Porter, most likely taken in 1865. (U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Porter was in a fix for sure. His boats were stuck fast in the willows and surrounded by enemy sharpshooters, who made any attempt to free them up suicidal; he was powerless to return fire, and Sherman\u2019s infantry, his only salvation at this point, was somewhere back down Deer Creek, oblivious to his predicament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For all Porter knew, there may have been Confederates behind him as well as ahead and on both sides, and if they could obstruct the creek, and keep his crews pinned down inside the boats, then a boarding attack was probably imminent. A shiver of fear must have run over him when he realized what would happen if the Rebels actually seized his ironclads \u2014 in a nutshell, the whole face of the war on the Mississippi would instantly be changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Porter was determined that would not happen on his watch and took measures to prevent it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, even if he could not elevate his own guns, the four mortar boats he\u2019d brought along had no such problem, and he immediately set them into action lobbing their big 13-inch shells. It took a while to get the range, but finally the mortars managed to silence the Rebel batteries \u2014 at least temporarily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next Porter sent out riflemen of his own to try to deal with the sharpshooters, and when their fire had slackened \u2014 also temporarily \u2014 he \u201cset to work again to overcome the willows.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the gunfire stopped, the slaves again began to gather on the bank and one of them overheard Porter grumble to himself, \u201cWhy don\u2019t Sherman come on? I\u2019d give ten dollars to get a telegram to him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the slaves, \u201cTub,\u201d replied that he\u2019d take the message to the general for a half-dollar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With nothing much to lose at that point, Porter handed him the half dollar and scribbled out a message: \u201cDear Sherman: Hurry up for heaven\u2019s sake\u2026,\u201d which Tub tucked into his hair, and then vanished into the swamps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No sooner had this hopeful measure been set into motion than word reached Porter that Rebel steamers were in the process of debarking some 2,000 troops at a landing up ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As if to emphasize how unpromising the situation had become, the Confederate artillery opened up on them again from a different location.<\/p>\n\n\n\t