Admiral Farragut . ved two guns before shefloated. On the i8th of June the squadron was assembledjust below Vicksburg, having in company also seven-teen schooners of the mortar flotilla, still underPorters command. These were placed as rapidlyas possible in suitable positions on the two sidesof the river, opened fire on the 26th, and con-tinued it through the 27th. Upon the evening of thelatter day Porter notified the flag-ofiicer that he wasready to cover, by a steady bombardment, the in-tended passage of the fleet before the batteries. Vicksburg is situated on the first high land meton the e
Admiral Farragut . ved two guns before shefloated. On the i8th of June the squadron was assembledjust below Vicksburg, having in company also seven-teen schooners of the mortar flotilla, still underPorters command. These were placed as rapidlyas possible in suitable positions on the two sidesof the river, opened fire on the 26th, and con-tinued it through the 27th. Upon the evening of thelatter day Porter notified the flag-ofiicer that he wasready to cover, by a steady bombardment, the in-tended passage of the fleet before the batteries. Vicksburg is situated on the first high land meton the east bank of the Mississippi after leavingMemphis, from which it is four hundred miles dis-tant. The position was one of peculiar strength andimportance for commanding the navigation of theriver. Not only was it exceptionally lofty, and onone flank of that series of bluffs which has before HARTFORU, CI poflT£/fs GUN ems 9 MOffTAR BOATS,. Passage of Vicksburg Batteries, June 28, of Attack. THE FIRST ADVANCE ON VICKSBURG. 187 been mentioned as constituting the line upon whichthe Confederate grip of the stream was based, butthe tortuous character of the channel gave particularfacilities for an enfilading fire on vessels both beforeand after they came abreast the works. They werethus exposed to a longer and more dangerous can-nonade than is the case where the stream flowsstraight past the front of a battery. The channelhas now changed; but in 1862 the river, which fromMemphis had pursued its winding course throughan alluvial country, made when abreast of Vicksburga sharp turn to the northeast, as though determinedto reach the bluffs but four miles distant. As itneared them it swung round with a sharp turn tothe southwest, parallel to its recent direction, flow-ing for the most part close to the foot of the the two reaches, and formed by them, im-mediately opposite the town, ther
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