Grant's strategic objective was to take Grand Gulf, a small village on the east side of the river. It was situated about 50 miles south of Vicksburg on a high bluff. The Confederates had fortified the bluff with a line of earthworks and two sets of batteries. There was one above and another below the landing, and they were connected by a covered trench.
Today General Grant and Admiral Porter made a reconnaissance of the batteries and decided they were too strong to attack. Grant ordered his command to continue to Hard Times Landing. And so, the men of the 130th Illinois Infantry received marching orders this evening, and about 8 o'clock they got under way.
The roads were rough and the night was dark, which made the footing very uncertain. In the nearby bayous, the alligators made the night hideous with their bellowing.
