. Young folk's history of the war for the union . pi. In July,18G2, when Admiral Farra-gut went up the river fromNew Orleans, an attempt hadbeen made to cut a canalacross the Peninsula made bythis bend, which was only amile wide. If this could bedone, the Mississippi Avouldmake a new and shorter chan-nel through the canal, andvessels could go up and down the river without passing Vicks-burg, which would thus be left inland. Grant concluded toopen this canal, which had never been finished, but after labor-ing at it for several weeks the river rose and broke through thedam at its mouth, and the
. Young folk's history of the war for the union . pi. In July,18G2, when Admiral Farra-gut went up the river fromNew Orleans, an attempt hadbeen made to cut a canalacross the Peninsula made bythis bend, which was only amile wide. If this could bedone, the Mississippi Avouldmake a new and shorter chan-nel through the canal, andvessels could go up and down the river without passing Vicks-burg, which would thus be left inland. Grant concluded toopen this canal, which had never been finished, but after labor-ing at it for several weeks the river rose and broke through thedam at its mouth, and the work had to be given up. Severalattempts were then made to open passages through the bayous,but after long labor in pushing the vessels through denseswamps, where the limbs of moss-covered cypresses broke thechimneys and upper works of the steamboats, and amid stag-nant waters filled with wild-fowl and infested by alligators andmoccasin-snakes, to say nothing of Confederate sharpshootersalong the banks, the attempt had to be given up. Grant then. John A. McClernand. 1863.] RUNNING THE BATTERIES. 327 made up his mind to march his army down the Avest bank ofthe Mississippi below Vicksburg, to run by the batteries witlihis gunboats and transports, then to cross the river by their aidaijd get into the rear of Vicksburg. At that time General Joseph E. Johnston, who, it will beremembered, had been so badly wounded in the battle of SevenPines that he was obliged to retire for a time from service, wasin command of all the Confederate forces in Mississippi. Hecollected all the troops he could in his department for the pur-pose of relieving Vicksburg, or at least of saving Pembertonand his army. Grants object was to prevent a junction be-tween Johnston and Pemberton and to keep the former out ofVicksburg while he forced the latter into that place, so as tocapture him and his army. The march down the west side ofthe Mississippi was made with great difficulty, for much of thecountry was fl
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