Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Yazoo Pass Expedition, a Driving Tour Guide
    Yazoo Pass Expedition, a Driving Tour Guide
    Yazoo Pass Expedition, a Driving Tour Guide
    Ebook109 pages1 hour

    Yazoo Pass Expedition, a Driving Tour Guide

    By David Dumas

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    This book is designed for the amateur historian who is interested in visiting location related to the Vicksburg campaign. This book contains photographs, locations along with mileage and GPS coordinates of significant places along the march. Also included are excerpts from the Official Records of the War Rebellion.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAuthorHouse
    Release dateDec 4, 2012
    ISBN9781477275368
    Yazoo Pass Expedition, a Driving Tour Guide
    Author

    David Dumas

    David Dumas, born in Potsdam, New York in the late 60's has always had a fascination with the human body. Working his way through college as an EMT and Army Medic, he focused his career on Trauma and Critical Care Medicine. He coupled his interest in serial killers with the devastating personal loss of his young wife to suicide to create The Honing, a piece of work that encompasses the frailty of life with the intricacies of being a serial killer. David, who lives at the southern edge of the Adirondack mountains in Upstate New York is lucky to be surrounded by a loving family and a supportive girlfriend who never leave him feeling alone in the world. They care for a number of pets, one, a cat aptly named Bradley. website: daviddumas.org email: ddumas1@roadrunner.com

    Read more from David Dumas

    Related to Yazoo Pass Expedition, a Driving Tour Guide

    Related ebooks

    Relationships For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Embracing The Brazos

      Jun 30, 2022

      Embracing The Brazos
      8 min read

    • Article

      Holding The East Pass

      Apr 26, 2022

      Holding The East Pass
      8 min read

    • Article

      A Dam Fine Solution

      Jun 25, 2019

      A Dam Fine Solution
      9 min read

    • Article

      A History Written In Stone

      Nov 24, 2022

      A History Written In Stone
      13 min read

    • Article

      Big-water Smallies

      Jun 27, 2023

      Big-water Smallies
      4 min read

    • Article

      Wisconsin Waters

      Sep 6, 2022

      Wisconsin Waters
      9 min read

    • Article

      Quest for Glory

      Aug 24, 2021

      Quest for Glory
      2 min read

    • Article

      Calico And Cake

      Nov 17, 2020

      Calico And Cake
      9 min read

    • Article

      Battle Of New Orleans

      Nov 1, 2018

      WORDS MARC DESANTIS  FORTS JACKSON AND ST PHILIP, NEAR NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA 18-24 APRIL 1862 “THE WAR FOR THE MISSISSIPPI WOULD BE ONE OF NOT JUST RIVERINE NAVAL FORCES BUT ALSO OF FORTIFICATIONS AND GUN BATTERIES SITUATED ON ITS BANKS” Stretchi

      13 min read

    • Article

      Soaring With Stone Eagles

      Jun 11, 2022

      Soaring With Stone Eagles
      10 min read

    • Article

      Rebound Breakdown

      Apr 18, 2023

      Rebound Breakdown
      8 min read

    • Article

      It's A Grand Canyon

      Jul 1, 2019

      It's A Grand Canyon
      3 min read

    • Article

      Life On The Colorado

      Aug 24, 2021

      Life On The Colorado
      10 min read

    • Article

      Descents

      Nov 15, 2021

      Descents
      15 min read

    • Article

      Workhorse In The Wilderness

      Feb 22, 2016

      Workhorse In The Wilderness
      11 min read

    • Article

      Descents

      Mar 12, 2019

      Dupont State Forest, NC: Mid-spring Ryan Mcavoy and Michael Ferraro began scouting High Falls like a sick obsession, drawing lines down photos of the rock dome trying to negotiate a path down. This slide drops a total of 300 feet in elevation in abou

      18 min read

    • Article

      Controlling the River

      Apr 1, 2023

      Seasonal flooding is a natural event for a river. When a river floods, it spills beyond its banks into nearby low-lying areas. When the flooding ends and the river recedes back to its channel, it leaves behind silt on the floodplain. Silt is a fine d

      3 min read

    • Article

      Battle Of New Orleans

      Mar 25, 2021

      Battle Of New Orleans
      7 min read

    • Article

      Takethe High Road

      Jun 4, 2020

      Takethe High Road
      9 min read

    • Article

      Hub Lakes

      Sep 1, 2022

      Hub Lakes
      1 min read

    • Article

      The Dean Richmond

      May 22, 2018

      The Dean Richmond
      16 min read

    • Article

      River Run

      Aug 13, 2019

      River Run
      5 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Yazoo Pass Expedition, a Driving Tour Guide

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Yazoo Pass Expedition, a Driving Tour Guide - David Dumas

      © 2012 David Dumas. All Rights Reserved.

      No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,

      or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

      Published by AuthorHouse 11/26/2012

      ISBN: 978-1-4772-7535-1 (sc)

      978-1-4772-7536-8 (e)

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2012918333

      Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

      and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

      Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

      Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

      missing image file

      Contents

      Prologue

      Yazoo Pass Expedition

      Yazoo Pass at Moon Lake

      Planned Ambush Vicinity

      First Obstruction

      Second Obstruction

      Hunt’s Mill

      Third Obstruction

      Yazoo Pass at the Coldwater River

      Cole’s Plantation

      Junction of the Coldwater and Little Tallahatchie Rivers

      The Federal Fleet learned of Fort Pemberton

      Union Camps, Cotton-bale Battery and Fort Pemberton

      Additional Points of Interest

      Appendix

      Prologue

      The Vicksburg Campaign was bogged down in early 1863, following the repulse of the Union forces in north central Mississippi under Major General Ulysses Grant and at Walnut Hills (or Chickasaw Bayou) under Brigadier General William T. Sherman late the previous year. Grant then tried to turn the Confederate right flank by once used waterways that connected the Mississippi River to the Yazoo River. This operation once put in motion became known as the Yazoo Pass Expedition because it used a waterway of that name. The Yazoo Pass Expedition was the first bayou attempt by Grant to turn the Confederate right flank north of Vicksburg.

      The Yazoo Pass was a natural water way located about six miles below Helena, Arkansas. The Yazoo Pass allowed passage from inland waters to the Mississippi River. The upper portion of Yazoo Pass had its mouth at the Mississippi River and it flowed through Moon Lake and out the eastern side of the lake into the Coldwater River, only 10 miles from the Mississippi River. From the Coldwater one could navigate by the Tallahatchie River to the Yazoo River and on to Vicksburg, turning the Confederate’s right flank[1].

      In 1856 a levee was built across the Pass cutting off navigation from inland waters to the Mississippi. The fertile bottomlands in this portion of the Delta were lower than the Mississippi in high water. To protect these fertile lands from periodic flooding a large levee approximately 100 feet thick and 18 feet high had been built across the Pass[2].

      The Pass entered the northern portion of Moon Lake that is a crescent shape body of water and a former bend in the Mississippi. The lake is approximate 8 miles long and an average width from a half mile to two-thirds mile wide. The Lake was sufficiently deep to float the largest steamships. The Pass leaves Moon Lake about half way down its eastern bank. From here the Pass follows a tortuous path to the Coldwater River. The Pass seldom exceeded 100 feet in width and often narrowed to 75 feet in width. The Pass was lined with large cypress, sycamore and cottonwood trees. The vegetation covered the waterway forming an arch overhead cutting out all sunlight. On occasion some of the steamboats lost their tall chimneys to the vegetation. Once in the Coldwater, ships would have easy navigation to the Yazoo River[3].

      On January 29, Lieutenant Colonel James H. Wilson was sent to Helena to examine the feasibility of Yazoo Pass[4]. Wilson arrived at the Pass on February 2 and determines it was a viable route to use. Wilson, on the 3rd at the head of 500 pioneers dug two gaps in the levee. They then buried 50 pounds of powder under the dike near one of the gaps. At 7 P.M. on February 3, Acting Master George W. Brown of Forest Rose detonated the mine opening up the levee. At this time, the difference in water level between the river and the former stream bed was eight feet, so the water rushed through the openings with great vigor, enlarging the gap and carrying away everything in its path. By the next day, the gap had increased in size to 80 yards. The flow was so great that the vessels assigned to the expedition could not safely enter for several days[5].

      The expedition was a joint venture between the army and the navy. The naval flotilla was commanded by Lieutenant Commander Watson Smith and consisted of two ironclads, six tinclads and two rams. A force of 600 infantry was assign to the navy to serve as marines. The army was initially led by Brigadier General Leonard Ross. This forced consisted of Ross’s Thirteenth Division which included the 1st Brigade, Brigadier General Fredrick Salmon commanding and the 2nd Brigade, Brigadier General Clinton Fisk commanding.

      There was a section of artillery that included 12 guns.

      On February 7, Wilson onboard the Forest Rose entered the Pass and navigated Moon Lake to where the Yazoo Pass emerges from the lake[6]. Wilson explored the Pass and found toppled trees in three locations. Wilson realized that due to the narrow width of the Pass that many of the large trees had to be cut down. By February 10, the Pass had been cleared for a distance of 1 mile from where it emerged from Moon Lake. By nightfall of February 21, all obstruction had been removed from the Pass to the Coldwater River. The flotilla of gunboats and army transports then passed through the gap on February 24 and immediately proceeded into Moon Lake. By February 28, the van of the task forced entered the Coldwater[7]. It took the flotilla three and one-half days to navigate the 12 miles from Moon Lake to the Coldwater. On the night of March 10, the warships were within 32 miles of Greenwood. Here the Federals first learned of the Confederate stronghold at Fort Pemberton. The next morning on March 11, Officers Smith, Ross and Wilson onboard the ironclad Chillicothe reconnoiter Fort Pemberton. At 800 yards they spotted Fort Pemberton and the fort opened fire on the ironclad with five guns[8].

      General John C. Pemberton first heard of the Federal operations at Yazoo Pass on February 9[9]. On February 11, General William W. Loring received dispatches about the activities at Yazoo Pass and on February 17 was assigned to check the Federal advanced from Yazoo Pass. Loring went to Greenwood where he was shown by Major Minor Meriwether the location at which fortifications were to be constructed. The largest

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1