March 28, 1863, The New York Herald
Our Helena Correspondence.
HELENA, Ark., March 25, 1863.
The despatch steamer Wenona has just arrived from General Ross’ headquarters on the Tallahatchie river, near Fort Greenwood (or Fort Pemberton, as the rebels at first designated the place), having left there on the morning of Thursday, the 19th inst. She brings important despatches, and also some interesting news gathered on the trip. The substance of her news, relating to the operations and prospects of the expedition, is doubtless given in the letters of your special expeditionary correspondent, which were brought up the Wenona. Everything was quiet at Fort Greenwood when the Wenona left, and the prospects were that nothing further would be done at present in that direction. Our army occupies good camping ground at Shell Mound Place, on the plantation of Dr. Curtis, two and a half miles above the rebel fortifications, and would probably remain there until reinforcements and supplies should reach them to enable them to resume the offensive. There is no danger of their being attacked, as the same obstacles that exist to prevent their operating against the enemy will prevent the enemy from operating against them.
Lieutenant Colonel Wilson, the engineer of the expedition, has devised a scheme which may result in the capture of the rebel position without another struggle. The scheme was submitted to General Ross, and approved by him, and forwarded to General Prentiss, commanding at this post, who has at once set it in progress. The scheme is simply to drown the rebels out by letting a vast body of water into the Yazoo Pass, and thus swell the Coldwater and Tallahatchie rivers so as to overflow all the lands in the bottoms. The fall of water through the pass is now about eight feet, that is, the Mississippi river is eight feet higher at the head of the Pass than the Coldwater river at the foot of the Pass. The water now flows through the Pass with such violence that it is almost impossible for an ordinary steamboat to stem the current. At first the great Mississippi levee was only cut for a width of about eighty feet – just sufficient to let a steamboat through into the Pass. This gap has been widened by the wearing of the water, and is now about two hundred feet in extent; and yet the pressure of water seeking an outlet through causes a torrent in this particular spot that nearly resembles the violent flood a mile or two above the Falls of Niagara. The proposition now is to tear this levee away for a distance of several yards, or perhaps a mile, and let the water have a free course through. Gen. Prentiss has already sent a detachment of troops down to perform this work, and it will be fully accomplished in a very few days.
By referring to the charts of Fort Greenwood that have been sent you, you will observe that a portion of the rebel works are already submerged. They occupy a very narrow ridge of dry land, which is at present not over three and a half feet at any point above the water. A rise of four feet in the water at that point must inevitably drown them all out. Long before this can reach you all that we can do to accomplish this desirable object will have been done. We have then only to await the results. If the Mississippi river retains its present altitude – and it is not yet so high within two feet as it was last spring – there is no doubt of the success of the scheme. But it will require some time – perhaps two or three weeks – for the flood to reach Fort Greenwood, owing to the width of the bottom lands throughout all this extent of two hundred and fifty miles of river, that must be filled up according to natural laws. The whole valley of the Coldwater and the Tallahatchie must be filled by the overflow before it can work its results at Fort Greenwood. But the results seem sure to come.
At the present time guerillas are giving a good deal of trouble to our despatch and supply boats on the Tallahatchie river at every point where the banks are high enough for them to operate. Even gunboats are not exempt from the fire of these sneaking scoundrels. The gunboat Rattler, Acting Commodore Smithflagship, which the Wenona passed yesterday en route for Cairo, has been particularly and somewhat seriously annoyed by these lawless bands on her trip up. On Thursday night she tied up to the timber about seventy miles above the fort. Between her mooring and the dry land there was about two hundred feet of water. Soon after midnight she was hailed by parties on shore, who pretended to have despatches for Captain Bryant. (Captain Bryant formerly commanded the DeKalb, and hence their use of the name.) As there was no such person as Capt. Bryant in our fleet, the officers of the Rattler suspected some ruse, and wisely declined sending a boat out for the despatch. A few minutes after a volley of musketry was fired from the shore, which revealed the plot. Fortunately no one was hurt on the vessel. Her howitzers quickly responded with grape and canister, but with what result was not ascertained. It is possible the guerillas mistook the Rattler for a transport, and thought to lure a boat to the shore, by means of which to board and capture her.
On the following day the same vessel was fired into again some distance farther up the river, and unhappily with more fatal results. The rebels were concealed in a canebrake, and could not be seen until they fired. A seaman named Jeremiah Harrington was instantly killed by the volley, and George S. West, an ensign, at the time acting as officer of the deck, very seriously wounded. The ball entered his back near the waist, and passed around, lodging in the lower ribs. The Rattler threw a liberal volume of canister directly into the midst of the enemy, dispersing them quickly.
The Wenona met General Quimby’s division, which left here last week, yesterday, about half way down the Coldwater. They had overcome the worst of the route, and would reach General Ross in a couple of days, should they meet with no accident. They are embarked on seven of the largest transports that have yet passed through the Yazoo Pass. The Wenona notified them of the prevalence of guerillas and the points at which they might expect trouble.
Other troops of General McPherson’s corps are in readiness and awaiting transportation to the scene of operations in the Yazoo valley.
On Friday morning the Rattler discovered a squad of rebel cavalry, supposed to be the advance of General Tilghman force, at the mouth of Coldwater river. She opened her guns upon them and drove them away. The Petrel is probably at that place by this time, and will doubtless be able to prevent the rebels from planting any batteries at that point. Within a very few days they will find no dry land there upon which to plant a battery. The more complete destruction of the great Mississippi levee will completely inundate that region, and frustrate any plans the rebels may have conceived to disturb communication between our fleet and this place. It will also operate to stop the guerilla operations along the Tallahatchie, as there is no land along the immediate banks of that stream but that will be inundated.
The steamer Inella, bound hence with forty thousand rations and some ammunition for General Ross’ command struck a sunken snag in the Pass last evening and sunk. The boat and cargo will be nearly a total loss.