The weather was cold and disagreeable, and we began building winter quarters. There were to be sixteen men to a log cabin.
We remained here until the 18th of February. Our camp was then overflowed and we moved back from the river. We went into camp on higher camp ground.
The 19th we embarked on a boat and went down the river as far as Moon Lake. Here the levee had been blown up, and every foot of the lowland to Yazoo City, had been flooded. In early days this place had been called Yazoo Pass, and boats had run along here. We crossed the lake and marched five miles. We went into camp for the night.
On the 20th, we drew some cornmeal. This was quite a treat as we were tired of hardtack. We found a mill, set her to going, and soon had enough meal ground for a good corn cake. Some baked their cake in half canteens, some on boards, and others rolled the dough on a stick and held it near the fire until it baked.
A cold rain had set in making a very muddy and disagreeable time, but we had to pull the heavy trees out of the pass, which the rebels had felled to keep our boats from going through. We fastened two-inch cables around the butts of the trees, and pulled them out, tops and all. Several cables broke, throwing the boys twenty feet each way. We finished cleaning out the pass on the second evening. We were wet and muddy all over. The officers took pity on us and issued a thimbleful of commissary whiskey to each man. Some of the boys paid twenty-five cents a thimbleful for enough whiskey to make a good drink.
On the evening of the 22nd we got on the boat and went down to the mouth of the pass. We found no more obstructions. When we got to Coldwater River, our gunboat threw shells into the woods on each side. We ran down this stream twenty-five miles and tied up for the night. We could see the signs of a great many rebel boats which had peeled the bark off of the trees near the shore. All of this country was flooded.
On the morning of the 24th, our task completed, we turned the bow of the boat up stream. On our return, we ran up near Moon Lake. When night set in it was so foggy that we had to tie up for the night. The next morning we decked our boat with holly and other evergreens and set out on our journey. We ran into Moon Lake and here met General Quinby’s division on their way to Fort Greenwood.
We returned to Helena. General Quinby moved on down to the fort and found that country all under water. At night he planted two guns on a small knoll near the fort. The next morning the gunboats opened fire on the fort. The rebels threw a shell into the port of the Benton, killing seven gunners. The union troops then had to draw off, as they could not get to the fort. They left the two guns which had been planted there.
They came back to Helena after a hard struggle to get through to Yazoo City. All of their plans had failed.
General Prentice was now in charge of the post at Helena. On the 28th of February, he issued an order for all citizens to be sent out of our lines who would not take the oath of allegiance to our government.