On the morning of the 16th, when the fleet got under way, a river gun-boat joined us as escort, bringing up the rear of the line. Its importance was soon felt by all. These boats were iron-clad, having roofs slanting like the gable-roof of a house, with port-holes, out of which grimly peeped the muzzles of some 10-pounder Parrott guns. About eleven A.M., while in the neighborhood of Columbus, Ark., the "Meteor," being in the van of the fleet, suddenly received from the western shore a sharp volley, the bullets striking the boat in several places, fortunately doing no serious injury. The boat following the "Meteor," at the same time, was also fired on, and was less fortunate, one man of the Seventeenth Michigan being wounded, and two horses killed. The gun-boat and the "guerilla guards" immediately opened a heavy fire. The enemy found the place rather hot, and soon their gray-clad forms could be seen running "helter-skelter" from their ambush. Whatever damage was done them we never knew; but it is doubtful if they all escaped the Minies and bursting shells which for a few minutes flew in volleys after them. This incident tended to vary the monotony of life on board, and the usual good fortune of the Thirty-sixth seemed to attend it still. Late in the afternoon the fleet arrived at Lake Providence, and remained over night. This place was famous for the feat of engineering which, by means of a short canal, had shortened the river very much, by diverting the channel from one of its great bends. The First Kansas and Sixteenth Wisconsin regiments were stationed here, and the Massachusetts boys were soon fraternizing with the hardy Western pioneers, armed in the same good cause.
June 17th the boat entered the Yazoo river, and, at eleven A.M., arrived at Snyder's Bluff, where the regiment debarked, and then marched about four miles, passing Haines' Bluff. On every hand were fortifications crowned with cannon, encampments of troops, army wagons, etc., etc.
This day, to a part of the regiment, was one of peculiar import. Company B, of Charlestown, had in its ranks many who were lineal descendants of the men who made the 17th of June glorious in our history; and to them the booming of the cannon, heard from early in the day, was a grim reminder of many a holiday at Bunker Hill, where, to use a trite expression, "the day was ushered in with the ringing of bells and firing of guns."
The first impressions of the men upon landing, far from favorable, were never changed, except for the worse. In many places the soil was so dry and parched with the heat that it seemed to have cracked open like a blistered skin beneath the tropical rays of the sun. The wind blew hot from every point of the compass, bringing clouds of dust along with it. Gnats and flies made night hideous, and drove sleep from the weary. Venomous snakes and other reptiles infested the woods and thickets. Lizards soon became no novelty, and even the resort of keeping them out of one's boots, by wearing them day and night, would not prevent their crawling down one's back occasionally, causing a sensation like an animated icicle.
But these were minor inconveniences. It is not pleasant to have a thunder-squall burst almost from a clear sky and find the guys of one's tent slacked up for air. Any old soldier knows the result of such negligence. It means a sudden breaking up of house-keeping, and a wet day to move.
During the 18th, 19th, and part of the 20th of June, the regiment lay quietly in camp in a wood somewhere in the township of Milldale, a very pleasant and picturesque spot. The wild magnolia trees, now in full bloom, filled the air with their fragrance. From many of the trees hung the "Spanish moss," which was gathered in large quantities and used for beds, and it proved an agreeable variation from the hard, limestone beds of Kentucky. At three o'clock P.M., of June 20th, the regiment marched about three miles, and went into camp at a cross-road, which proved to be its permanent location during the rest of the siege of Vicksburg. The One Hundred and Fourteenth Illinois Regiment, which had been stationed here, gave way to the Thirty-sixth, and went down into the trenches at Vicksburg.
This point was considered an important one, and the camp of the regiment was arranged in a kind of semicircle, crossing the road leading to Vicksburg, with a strong picket thrown out for about a mile through the forest road which led to the Big Black river. Rifle-pits were dug, and trees cut away to give sweep for a long distance to the artillery. At this point Durrell's Battery of the First Division was placed in position commanding the different approaches. These precautions were rendered necessary by the presence of a large rebel force, under General Joe Johnston, just across the Big Black; and it appeared that to the Ninth Corps was assigned the important duty of watching him and protecting our men before Vicksburg from an attack in the rear. Grant's army, therefore, presented the singular and rather precarious military spectacle of facing in two directions, the one portion attacking Pemberton, shut up with over thirty thousand in Vicksburg, and the other facing Johnston, who, with a force estimated at between thirty and forty thousand, was manœuvring to break in and raise the siege. The latter was liable to be heavily reinforced at any moment, and there was no little anxiety in the mind of the commanding general lest this should come to pass.
As the Thirty-sixth Regiment was not a part of the line attacking Vicksburg, it is not perhaps necessary to say much concerning the city and its defences.
The Mississippi river, about six miles above Vicksburg, bends suddenly to the north-east, runs in this direction six miles and then turns as suddenly to the south-west. By this bend in the river a tongue of land reaches out from the Louisiana shore, and near the end of this tongue, just below the bend, on the left bank of the river, stands Vicksburg, on a bluff of some two hundred feet or more in height. Being also higher than any ground in its rear, it was a position of unusual strength, completely controlling the river, though Admiral Porter had succeeded, with considerable loss, in running the batteries with a part of his fleet. Stretching away from Vicksburg to the north-east is a range of hills, called Walnut Hills, which terminate at Haines' Bluff, on the Yazoo river. Here the rebels had erected heavy batteries commanding the river, and had forced General Grant to approach Vicksburg from the south. In the great battles at Champion Hill, Raymond and Baker's Creek, Grant had succeeded in separating the forces of Pemberton and Johnston; and, following up the former, had driven him into Vicksburg, at this time getting possession of Haines' Bluff. This gave him a good base for supplies, and direct communication by river with the north. Before commencing a regular siege, it was determined to try and carry Vicksburg by assault. It was thought that the demoralized condition of Pemberton's army, whipped from place to place, would render them hopeless of success, and a long and tiresome siege be avoided. The commanding general, officers, and men, were all of one mind in this matter, and the soldiers were eager for the assault.
On the 22d of May an attempt was made along the entire line to storm the city, but without success. The rebels, at last driven to desperation, and protected by their ramparts, fought well, and after heavy loss it was found impossible to break through at any part of their lines.