. The Mississippi Valley in the Civil War . ed in militaryhistory. The distance to he traversed along theseserpentine streams was full 700 miles, — as faras from New York to Cincinnati, or from Londonto Marseilles, and as striking an illustration asone could wish of the inaecessibleness of thiswonderful stronghold of Vickshurg. This experiment, like the others, was begunimmediately upon Grants arrival. On the 2d ofFebruary a mine was exploded in the levee, andthe waters rushing in completed its Yazoo Pass was thus opened so that vesselscould enter, but the enemy had been before
. The Mississippi Valley in the Civil War . ed in militaryhistory. The distance to he traversed along theseserpentine streams was full 700 miles, — as faras from New York to Cincinnati, or from Londonto Marseilles, and as striking an illustration asone could wish of the inaecessibleness of thiswonderful stronghold of Vickshurg. This experiment, like the others, was begunimmediately upon Grants arrival. On the 2d ofFebruary a mine was exploded in the levee, andthe waters rushing in completed its Yazoo Pass was thus opened so that vesselscould enter, but the enemy had been the bayou and the system of rivers to whichit gives access wind their way through dense for-ests of pecan-wood, sycamore, oak, and other hardwoods, and it was easy by felling trees across thestream to make a formidable barricade. Severalmiles of the Yazoo Pass were thus obstructed. Inone place eighty prostrate trees, reaching frombank to bank, and intertwining their huge brancheswith the dense and tangled growth on either side,. THE YAZOO PASS AND BIG SUNFLOWER EXPERIMENTSFEBRUARY AND MARCH, 1863 The Vichshurg Problem 217 formed a barrier more than a mile in length. Itwas necessary to chop the boughs and haul thegreat trunks, often weighing from twenty to thirtytons, quite out of the stream. The men, in partiesof 500, worked like beavers, and in two weeks hadcleared the way to the Tallahatchie river. Successnow seemed assured in this direction. GeneralKoss, with 4500 men, embarked on 22 steamers,and convoyed by a couple of ironclads, madehis way 250 miles through the wilderness withoutlosing a man, for there was so much of a freshetthat the rebel sharpshooters could not reach thebanks. By the 10th of March Eoss was sailingupon the lower waters of the Tallahatchie, Quim-bys division had been sent to support him, andGeneral McPherson, with his whole corps, waspreparing to follow as soon as steamers enoughcould be got together. But the Confederates hadmade good use of
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