March 23, 1863, The Charleston Mercury
GOOD NEWS FROM THE YAZOO PASS EXPEDITION – THE YANKEE FLEET RETREATING.
MOBILE, March 21. – The Advertiser has the following despatch, which it gives as official:
FORT PEMBERTON,
YAZOO RIVER, March 20.
LORING has whipped the enemy back from this point, and they are now in full retreat for Yazoo Pass.
Fort Pemberton is situated at the confluence of the Tallahatchie and Yallabusha Rivers – streams which form the Yazoo. Yazoo Pass, of which so much has been heard, is a sort of bayou, formed by the overflow of the Mississippi during the rainy season, and makes a connecting link between that stream and the headwaters of the Tallahatchie. In ordinary times, this pass is navigable only for dugouts, and even in times of high water was thought impassable to anything but flat-boats. The Yankees have ditched it out, cut down the trees, rooted up the cypress trees, and converted this shallow pass into a ship canal, through which their gunboats have steamed, and, after a voyage of a hundred or more miles, reached Fort Pemberton and attacked it – only to be defeated and compelled to fall back.
LATEST FROM PORT HUDSON.
PORT HUDSON, March 21. – Reports prevail here that the U.S. sloop-of-war Richmond has sunk from the injuries she received here in the fight on the 15th inst. Nothing definite, however, has been ascertained. The mortar fleet still occupies its former position, below and out of range of our batteries. Yesterday the enemy fired slowly at our transports with long range guns, but without effect. A party landed from their transports and burned the residence of Capt. J. HERN, formerly that of Col. SIDNEY ROBERTSON, on the opposite shore. Some activity has prevailed amongst the enemy’s transports during the last two days, but there are no indications of an attempt to pass our batteries. During the past two days twenty deserters arrived. They are constantly coming in, and confirm the previous reports of the demoralization of BANKS’ army. Our batteries sustained no injury during the engagement, and are again ready to give the enemy a warm reception.
MOVEMENTS IN TENNESSEE.
CHATTANOOGA, March 20. – The falling back of the enemy from Murfreesboro’ is fully confirmed. It is supposed they have gone towards Nashville. Passengers on this evening’s train report three Yankee brigades went down the Cumberland River three days ago, supposed to be intended to reinforce the enemy at Vicksburg. VAN DORN is reported on the north side of Duck River, the enemy having fallen back from Franklin. Mrs. General BRAGG is dangerously ill at Winchester. The bridge over the Holston River, at Zollicoffer, is completed.
MOVEMENTS IN MISSISSIPPI.
PANOLA, March 19. – The Yankee engaged in the late raid upon Hernando have retreated. The report that they had abandoned the Memphis and Charleston Railroad is untrue, the old troops having been replaced by new ones, and the old garrisons withdrawn to Memphis. The Mobile and Ohio Railroad has been abandoned from Jackson, Tenn., to Columbus, Ky. Five hundred cavalry have crossed the Coldwater, sixty miles northeast of here, and moved towards Holly Springs.