April 25, 1863, The Charleston Mercury
Despatches from Port Hudson on the 17th state that Farragut had gone up the river with the Hartford, Albatross and Switzerland. This move is no doubt in conjunction with that of Admiral Porter, above, in sending the eight gunboats down to Vicksburg on Thursday night. If the gunboats which passed Vicksburg succeed in joining Farragut’s forces, there will certainly be warm work at Grand Gulf. Our batteries there have been greatly strengthened since Farragut passed that point.
The concentration of thirty thousand troops at Corinth, and the sending of thirteen regiments designed to act as cavalry in Mississippi, denote that the Federals have adopted a new plan, or revived an old one, of flanking Vicksburg by way of Jackson. Let the enemy’s object be what it may, one fact is certain – there will be stirring times at an early day in Mississippi, involving events in which the fate of this struggle may be virtually decided.
The enemy has laid waste everything on the west side of Deer Creek for a distance of thirty miles. On the east side but little was done, Colonel Ferguson having destroyed all the bridges, thus preventing their advance. Every gin and all the fodder and corn from Smith & Hood’s to Dr. Thomas’, has been destroyed, and five or six hundred negros carried away, together with hundreds of horses and mules. Major Lee, father-in-law of Col. Ferguson, fared better than any planter on the route, losing but two or three negros. Some of the Yankee officers proposed marrying his house servants, if they would go off with them, but the negros preferred being the slaves of Major Lee to being the wives of Yankees. Numerous other acts of vandalism were perpetrated by them, which we have not space to enumerate.
The Vicksburg Whig of the 18th gives some additional particulars of the late passage of Federal gunboats by our batteries at that point. The fleet consisted of the gunboats Benton, General Price, Cincinnati and Tuscumbia; rams Aleck Scott and Lafayette, and transports Henry Clay, Forest Queen and Silver Wave – the latter a stern wheel steamer. The Henry Clay was among the first boats to come down, but ere she passed Hoadley’s guns it was discovered she was in a sinking condition, and the crew abandoned her. Some reached the Louisiana shore and were brought to Vicksburg. The Henry Clay was a side wheel transport and had six thousand rations on board. The other boat sunk proves to have been the ram Lafayette, and the one burned the transport Silver Wave.
The damage to the other boats is not known, but advices from below Warrenton state that where the boats were lying the vessels were all undergoing repairs, and that the groans of persons on board indicate they sustained serious damage. Our loss here was small. Two men were killed at the upper batteries by the premature discharge of a gun, and one by the enemy’s shell. Seven government mules were killed in one lot by the explosion of a shell from the passing boats, and several buildings injured. We heard of no casualties below. The firing of our guns was very good, generally being very accurate.
A woman who was on board the Henry Clay at the time she sunk, informs the Whig that four or five lives, including the captain and pilot, were lost. The Clay was struck three times, once in her upper works, her wheel house and stern. The third shot tore a tremendous hole in her hall, and she immediately commenced settling, when the crew abandoned her in two boats, and started for the Mississippi shore, but fearing they would be shot, wheeled round and went over to the point, where four remained until we sent boats after them yesterday. A wooden gunboat or ram was next to suffer severely. As she rounded the point, Hoadley’s men poured shot after shot into her, and our informant says that this craft, too, was run towards the shore, where she sunk out of sight.
This woman asserts, positively, that it was the Silver Wave which we set on fire and destroyed. This steamer had two barges in tow, loaded with hay to protect her, which our guns set on fire, and in a few minutes the flames became communicated to the steamer, when it became evident that the boat could not be saved, and she was abandoned to the devouring elements, which very soon consumed her. All the boats were either protected by hay or cotton. Even the iron-clads had small craft in tow with bales of hay piled up to protect their sides. There were few men on the boats – only enough to work them – and they were forced on board. One man was taken on board the Silver Wave in chains, by order of Grant. But half the expedition came down on Thursday night. The other was to come down about the same time last night, if the first was in any way successful. The object of the expedition, says this woman, was to get all the boats possible below, and then cross Grant’s army to the Mississippi side, below Warrenton.