ds to his subordinate.

GRANT'S FINE GENERALSHIP.

General Grant never displayed his great genius more strikingly than in
the operations before Vicksburg. For days and nights he seemed scarcely
to eat or sleep. He was here, there, and everywhere, and was familiar
with all the minute details of his momentous enterprise. General
Pemberton confessed in his reports that the amazing activity of Grant
"embarrassed him."

Grand Gulf was made the base of operations, and, well aware that
reinforcements would be hurried to the garrison, Grant hastened his
movements. While pressing his attack he learned that Johnston was at
Jackson with a strong force, with which to reinforce Pemberton. He
immediately dispatched McPherson and Sherman thither, and, after a
fierce fight, Jackson was captured. Grant learned from deserters that
Johnston, the chief Confederate commander in that section, had sent
peremptory orders to Pemberton to leave Vicksburg and attack him in the
rear. The latter, with his usual promptness, met this danger, and, by
decisively defeating the enemy at Champion Hill, he accomplished the
splendid feat of keeping Johnston out of Vicksburg and Pemberton in. It
was a great exploit, for Jo Johnston was one of the ablest generals of
the war, and the fine campaign which he had planned was brought to
naught. Not only was he kept out of Vicksburg, but it was made
impossible for him to send any help to Pemberton, around whom the Union
commander was drawing the coils more tightly each day.

[Illustration: GRANT AFTER THE BATTLE OF BELMONT.]

Still the defenses of Vicksburg were too powerful to be captured by
storm, and Grant did the only thing possible--he besieged the city. The
siege began about the middle of May. The garrison had provisions for
barely two months, from which they had to supply the inhabitants of the
town. Jo Johnston saw the peril and set to work with such vigor to raise
a force to send to the relief of Pemberton, that Grant was hurried into
making an assault on the rebel works. This took place before daylight on
the morning of May 19th. Though successful at first, the Federals were
repulsed. A grand assault was undertaken three days later and pressed
with the utmost bravery, but it resulted in another repulse, in which
the loss of the assailants was three times greater than that of the
defenders. Porter tried to help with his fleet, but his vessels were so
badly injured by the batteries that they were com