wo rivers come within a few
hundred yards of each other. The land around the fort is low, and
at the time of the attack was entirely overflowed. Owing to this
fact, no movement could be made by the army to reduce it, but all
depended upon the ability of the gunboats to silence the guns of
the enemy and enable the transports to run down and land troops
immediately on the fort itself. After an engagement of several
hours the gunboats drew off, being unable to silence the
batteries. Brigadier-General I. F. Quinby, commanding a division
of McPherson's corps, met the expedition under Ross with his
division on its return from Fort Pemberton, on the 21st of March,
and being the senior, assumed command of the entire expedition,
and returned to the position Ross had occupied.

On the 23d of March I sent orders for the withdrawal of all the
forces operating in that direction, for the purpose of
concentrating my army on Milliken's Bend.

On the 14th day of March, Admiral D. D. Porter, commanding
Mississippi squadron, informed me that he had made a
reconnoissance up Steele's Bayou, and partially through Black
Bayou toward Deer Creek, and so far as explored these water
courses were reported navigable for the smaller iron-clads.
Information given mostly, I believe, by the negroes of the
country, was to the effect that Deer Creek could be navigated to
Rolling Fork, and that from there through the Sunflower to the
Yazoo river there was no question about the navigation. On the
following morning I accompanied Admiral Porter in the ram Price,
several iron-clads preceding us, up through Steele's Bayou to
near Black Bayou.

At this time our forces were at a dead-lock at Greenwood, and I
looked upon the success of this enterprise as of vast importance.
It would, if successful, leave Greenwood between two forces of
ours, and would necessarily cause the immediate abandonment of
that stronghold.

About thirty steamers of the enemy would have been destroyed or
fallen into our hands. Seeing that the great obstacle to
navigation, so far as I had gone, was from overhanging trees, I
left Admiral Porter near Black Bayou and pushed back to Young's
Point for the purpose of sending forward a Pioneer corps to
remove these difficulties. Soon after my return to You