May 25, 1863, The New York Herald
Two important events in the news received yesterday, and duly chronicled in an extra HERALD in the afternoon, created considerable excitement throughout the city. The first was the capture of Vicksburg by the army of General Grant; the other was the raising of the siege of Puebla by the French invading army in Mexico. The interest which the first piece of intelligence excites, pregnant as it is with hopes of grand successes over the power of the enemy in the Southwest, is hardly excelled by the news from Mexico, which predicts a failure in the designs of the French Emperor upon the American continent. The French accounts state that the siege of Puebla was raised temporarily in the absence of heavy guns and reinforcements. Other statements, however, from Mexican and English sources, represent a severe defeat and retreat of the invaders towards Orizaba.
The capture of Vicksburg, however, claims the first position in importance. After a brilliant and successful campaign of three weeks, Gen. Grant has taken possession of Vicksburg and planted the old flag there. The outer works and rifle pits having been taken, as we announced yesterday, the fall of the city was inevitable. It is said that Admiral Porter co-operated with General Grant in the siege, his fleet cannonading the city and its works, still in the hands of the rebels, by night, while Grant’s army assailed it by day, thus giving the rebels within the town and intrenchments not a moment’s relaxation from the perils of their situation. The garrison consisted of from fifteen to twenty thousand men, and are probably captured. The official accounts of the battles which preceded the fall of Vicksburg at Baker’s creek and Big Black river bridge are given in our columns today, together with a map of Vicksburg and its surroundings.
Information has also been received officially that Admiral Farragut’s fleet was actively bombarding Port Hudson.
The greatest enthusiasm was manifested in Washington last night upon the receipt of the news from Vicksburg. The victory of General Grant was looked upon as placing Missouri, Arkansas and Texas at the mercy of the Union forces, as shutting out the rebel armies from their usual supply of grain, cattle and war materials, most of which were received through Texas, giving to the United States the control of more than a million bales of cotton and large quantities of other productions, securing to the great Northwest the navigation of the Mississippi river, and opening avenues for the advance of the Union armies into the very heart of rebeldom. The federal repossession of Vicksburg was in fact regarded as of more value than the capture of Richmond.
A despatch from Cairo late last night says that General Sherman had taken Haines’ Bluff and the Chickasaw Bluff, capturing one hundred guns and eight thousand prisoners.
Admiral Porter sends an official report to the Navy Department, which we give in another column, of the capture of Alexandria by the Mississippi squadron.
The only news from General Hooker’s army is that the enemy are busy in digging on the bank opposite where the lower bridges were thrown over previous to the late crossing, and that their pickets have been strengthened on the river.