Using the flatboat they procured yesterday, General Osterhaus and his troops crossed the flooded area and occupied New Carthage. Harrison was forced to retreat to Perkins' plantation in Somerset.
With the land route to New Carthage secure and the flood waters continuing to fall, General Grant was nearly ready to make his combined land and river move. Admiral Porter began to prepare his transports to pass the Vicksburg batteries by lining the decks with bales of cotton and sacks of grain. Barges were loaded with coal, supplies and equipment, and prepared to be towed by the transports.
