Friday, March 13, 1863

Confederate spies kept General Pemberton well informed of every movement Grant made.  When it became obvious the Union army was preparing to advance by the Yazoo, the Confederates took steps to slow them down.  Yazoo pass, as well as the Coldwater River, ran through a forest.  The Confederate army cut down a large number of trees, letting them fall  into the water.  This greatly slowed the advance of the Union boats, as the obstructions had to first be removed.

After testing the pass with some advanced troops, Grant ordered General McPherson to move his whole corps, about 30,000 men, down to Yazoo City, while two divisions of cavalry moved to the east to cut the Confederate's communications.

In the meantime, Confederate General Pemberton sent General Loring, with about 2,000 men and 8 heavy  guns to the mouth of the Yallabusha to halt the Union passage of the Yazoo.  About 5 miles below the mouth of the Yallabusha River, the waters of the Yazoo and Tallahatchie are within a short distance of each other because of a sharp bend.  Here Loring constructed a line of works, and called it Fort Pemberton.

The obstructions encountered by the Union troops gave Loring plenty of time to construct the fort and make preparations.  When the Union gunboats and transports arrived before the fort on March 11, 1863, they found the Confederates well prepared for battle.  The ground in front of the fort was filled with water, and so a troop assault was out of the question.  The only thing the Union gunboats could do was to fire on the Confederate's guns.

Yesterday the Union army established a land battery about 800 yards from the fort, and today the bombardment continued.  However, the union could do no damage to the fort.  Seeing no other options, General Ross moved his troops buck up the river until he met General Quinmby's division.  Quinby, being the senior officer, assumed command and ordered the whole expedition back to Fort Pemberton.