 |
| Grant |
When Grant heard of the capture of Fort
Hindman, he was very upset. John McClernand had moved without
informing Grant, and Grant saw this as only a waste of time in the
main mission – to capture Vicksburg. Using this as an opportunity
to take out McClernand, a possible threat to his authority, Grant got
permission from Halleck to take command of the army himself.
When he arrived there on January 30th, he was
faced with a hard problem. Vicksburg was built on a bluff running
roughly along the Mississippi River. Repulsed at Chickasaw Bayou,
Sherman had shown the difficulty of attacking the bluffs themselves,
and Grant had already retreated from an attempt to march overland
because of strikes at his supply lines, and the batteries at
Vicksburg were so strong it was clear the navy would not attempt to
silence the guns. That left Grant with two options. He could try to
run the batteries, a dangerous proposition in unarmored transports,
or he could try to find a way to go around, which is what he set out
to do.
 |
| Grant's Canal |
It
was about
this time that the work was resumed on the first in his series of
attempts to find a way around Vicksburg through the complicated
rivers and bayous in the area. Grant planned to dig a canal across De
Soto's point, right across the river from
Vicksburg. If a canal could be opened, the Union ships could sail
through, avoiding the Vicksburg batteries, and land troops below the
town to capture it from the landward side. Work on a canal had
already been begun with what was called "Butler's Ditch."
But it was only six feet wide and six feet deep. Sherman set the men
to make it 60 feet wide and 7 feet deep. The Union soldiers worked
for weeks, many falling sick from diseases in the unhealthy, wet
climate. But then as they were working the Mississippi River suddenly
rose, as it is wont to do, filling the canal with dirt. With weeks of
work wasted, the project was abandoned as hopeless.
0 comments:
Post a Comment