CHAPTER XXXVI.

Battle of black river bridge—­crossing the Big black—­investment of Vicksburg—­assaulting the works.

We were now assured of our position between Johnston and Pemberton, without a possibility of a junction of their forces.  Pemberton might have made a night march to the Big Black, crossed the bridge there and, by moving north on the west side, have eluded us and finally returned to Johnston.  But this would have given us Vicksburg.  It would have been his proper move, however, and the one Johnston would have made had he been in Pemberton’s place.  In fact it would have been in conformity with Johnston’s orders to Pemberton.

Sherman left Jackson with the last of his troops about noon on the 16th and reached Bolton, twenty miles west, before halting.  His rear guard did not get in until two A.M. the 17th, but renewed their march by daylight.  He paroled his prisoners at Jackson, and was forced to leave his own wounded in care of surgeons and attendants.  At Bolton he was informed of our victory.  He was directed to commence the march early next day, and to diverge from the road he was on to Bridgeport on the Big Black River, some eleven miles above the point where we expected to find the enemy.  Blair was ordered to join him there with the pontoon train as early as possible.

This movement brought Sherman’s corps together, and at a point where I hoped a crossing of the Big Black might be effected and Sherman’s corps used to flank the enemy out of his position in our front, thus opening a crossing for the remainder of the army.  I informed him that I would endeavor to hold the enemy in my front while he crossed the river.

The advance division, Carr’s (McClernand’s corps), resumed the pursuit at half-past three A.M. on the 17th, followed closely by Osterhaus, McPherson bringing up the rear with his corps.  As I expected, the enemy was found in position on the Big Black.  The point was only six miles from that where my advance had rested for the night, and was reached at an early hour.  Here the river makes a turn to the west, and has washed close up to the high land; the east side is a low bottom, sometimes overflowed at very high water, but was cleared and in cultivation.  A bayou runs irregularly across this low land, the bottom of which, however, is above the surface of the Big Black at ordinary stages.  When the river is full water runs through it, converting the point of land into an island.  The bayou was grown up with timber, which the enemy had felled into the ditch.  At this time there was a foot or two of water in it.  The rebels had constructed a parapet along the inner bank of this bayou by using cotton bales from the plantation close by and throwing dirt over them.  The whole was thoroughly commanded