June 8, 1863, The Charleston Mercury
We gather from our Western exchanges the following additional information of the progress of hostilities at Vicksburg:
A despatch from Rodney to the Natchez Courier states, on the authority of a paroled prisoner, that the enemy’s dead were five to one of ours on the battle field of Baker’s Creek. At Big Black bridge our loss was ten, the enemy’s four hundred. The enemy had taken, in all the operations, 5000 prisoners, of which 1600 were captured after crossing Big Black.
Gen. Osterhaus was mortally wounded at the battle near Raymond, which was a desperate fight on both sides, with clubbed muskets – a real hand to hand fight. This appears to refer to a part of the operations known as the battle of Baker’s Creek.
After the terrible slaughter on Friday, General Grant issued an order for new ladders to be made and the assault to be renewed on Saturday, at 2 o, but the men refused to be led again to the […..] pen.’ The Twentieth Ohio sent a petition to General McClernand, and positively refused to participate again in the murderous work.
Col. Womack, Chief of Grant’s staff, expressed the opinion that Vicksburg would not be taken for six months, if ever. They imagine now that our forces in Vicksburg is from 75,000 to 100,000 men. The entire Federal loss around the entrenchments at Vicksburg is estimated by them at from 35,000 to 45,000.
Gen. Grant sent in to know why we fired railroad spikes and poisoned balls at them? The only answer General Pemberton made to this question was that the whole story was a lie. The Federals are seizing upon all sorts of pretexts to account for their tremendous losses.
One of our sharpshooters has already immortalized himself in the Yankee army. He tells them he is a one-eyed man, and as he shoots a Belgian rifle, whenever the peculiar whistle of that weapon is heard the Yankees call out, ‘Look out, boys, there is old one-eye!’ They say he can kill at one thousand yards, and never misses. One day two Yankee captains were looking from behind a cotton bale, and old one eye killed them both at one shot. Mr. Saunders also saw one other captain with an amputated leg, which he owed to the same unknown man. Col. Hundley knows the man, and says his name is Elliott, and that he belongs to the Thirtieth Alabama. He is known in Alabama as the best marksman in the State.
A correspondent of the Mobile Register says that: If Grant, after compelling Pemberton to abandon the indecisive field of Baker’s Creek, and then forcing him to hurriedly throw the Big Black in his rear – I say if he had followed up his advantage by advancing his fresh troops, he might have gone pell mell into Vicksburg with a large portion of Pemberton discomfited soldiers. The point at which he made his attack on Tuesday was the most vulnerable, and on Sunday night it is my opinion that Grant could have carried it like a […..], but he dallied until Tuesday. Meanwhile Pemberton eats no […..] bread.’ It was dig, work, work, and by the time General Grant was ready to ‘come and see General Pemberton,’ his house had been set in order, and he was prepared to ‘see company,’ and Grant received one of the most bloody entertainments of modern history.
I have not learned whether Grant wanted to bury his dead or not. If he had Pemberton would not have permitted it, for it would require stouter hearts than there are in Grantarmy to march or charge over the Golgotha in front of the Vicksburg batteries.
Yesterday the city was full of rumors, all of a good nature, but believing them to be sensational, I did not telegraph them. One was that Kirby Smith had pushed on after Banks, and had crossed over at Port Hudson and joined his forces with those of Gardner. The report is possible, but I hardly think that Smith has yet had time to reach the banks of the Mississippi. At Port Hudson, Gardner has the means of transporting troops across the river, but the Federal fleets are above and below. The monitor fleet is reported below coming up. It is reported that the Federals own up a loss of 39,000 since landing at Grand Gulf. I give these as reports.
The Chaplain of the 12th Louisiana, just from Western Louisiana, states that Smith’s forces pushed those of Banks so hard at Vermillion bridge as to capture his wagon trains, consisting of 900 wagons and teams. Banks came to Bayou Sara on transports from Alexandria.
The Mobile Advertiser’s correspondent, alluding to the frequent burning of cotton, at various times, says: It is my deliberate opinion that every bale of Government cotton will be burnt by some means, and charged to the general account of incendiarism and accident.