Jan. 26. Warm and rainy. More boats went down last night, one war boat and several transports. We heard heavy firing this morning, supposed to be the gunboats. The river is still rising.
Jan. 28. Bill Boggs and myself secured a pass this morning early and started down to the canal. We followed the river bank until we were about one mile and half from the ditch, when we saw that we were upon a bayou that ran back up the river about two miles. We had to turn back, feeling pretty badly sold as it made us four miles extra walk. Young poplars were so thick that we could not see where we were for a while. The levee is broken in two places. Our division (6th McArthur) is repairing the upper one, and the lower division the lower one. The water is running through here badly. They are planting artillery behind the levee all along between camp and the ditch. The levee forms a substantial breast-work. One mile this side of the ditch we came, for the first time, within full view of Vicksburg. The town lies upon the west side of a sloping bluff. One large church and the courthouse and one earthworks could be distinguished quite plainly. The town did not look more than two or three miles distant, but it is not less than eight. An officer was looking through a glass, he could see transports at the wharf, and a crowd collected around someone who was taking observations. As we passed the mouth of the Yazoo we could look up and see three or four gunboats and as many rams, while on this side lay the “Chillicothe� and three rams. As I was going down I was hailed by two cavalry men who had just passed me. On looking up, whom should I see but Oll and Dave Hubler, formerly of Co. E, 12th Ind. They belong to Co. C, 4th Ind. cavalry. They told me that Geo. Hissung is down here. They are bodyguard to Gen. Smith. Pat Gallegher and Bill Humphrey, our old first lieutenant and orderly, are here. Nearby is the far famed ditch. About noon we sat down on its banks and took a good rest. The boys encamped there say the water has risen one foot today. It is now five feet deep and has a rapid current. It averages over twenty feet wide upon the surface. The Mississippi is rising rapidly. I went down to the lower end of the ditch, it is one mile and one-eighth in length. There are heavy details at work throwing up a levee on the west side of it. We have thirty two-pound parrots blockading the river. They are posted behind the levee here. When we arrived Gen. McClernand was taking observations. The Rebels are throwing up heavy works below the mouth of the ditch upon the opposite side. It is about three miles distant. We could see them moving around, coming up and going away. We lay there about two hours and watched them. We could see two heavy earthworks, or forts, and one line of rifle pits. We went from here up to the head of the ditch. It starts in an eddy and there was a tug, “The Ivy,� lying in front to keep out the driftwood. It is hard to tell if the thing will prove advantageous. Large details at work, showing that the generals still have faith in it. We understand that they have sent for a dredge. There are encampments all the way between our division and the ditch. Gen. Steele’s division is below the mouth of it. We came back to camp a little after dark, tired and hungry, having traveled during the day about twenty miles, but were amply repaid. McClernand is a homely man, apparently about forty-five years of age, with black whiskers and a Roman nose. I saw a fine looking general, said to be Gen. Steele.
Jan. 29. This is a beautiful day. I am quite stiff and sore from the effects of my walk. There was a detail from the sixth division this morning, mounted on mules and sent out in the northwestern direction upon a scout. Corp. Si. Livingston and Privates Briton and Schultz represented Co. K, 17th Ill. They went about sixteen miles to a little town called Richmond, where they found a detachment of the enemy, but owing to a large bayou, our boys could not get at them, and had to leave them in possession of the place. We heard heavy cannonading this morning. The Rebs had undertaken to cross with about five hundred head of cattle, but slipped up on it, and they fell into our hands.
Jan. 30. I was detailed on fatigue this morning. The detail from our regiment worked on the big break in the levee. We did a good day’s work, and slightly checked the current. The Mississippi continues to rise. Uncle Ben, Scott and Patterson returned from their three days’ scout. They had been up the river after beef and had secured fifty head. Mail came in last night, Frank received a letter from Rosalie, dated Jan. 4. Just to think, they have had no snow yet in the north. Generals U. S. Grant and Ross have arrived.
Jan. 31. The first news that greeted us this morning was marching orders. After breakfast we drew four days’ rations, two of them cooked, put them in our haversacks, and were ready to march aboard the boats. About 2 o’clock the regiment was formed and we marched aboard the “Crescent City� and the “Ella,� escorted by a gunboat, or Ram No. 2. We started in the fore part of the night. Abe and I found a place on the lower deck on the top of a wood pile, and it is well we did, for it rained nearly all night.
Feb. 1. Sunday. We went forty miles last night. This is a rainy day. Fortune seems to be against us when we float the Mississippi. Our rations in the bread line since we left Bolivar have been mostly hard-tack with cornmeal. We occasionally draw flour. The hard crackers we draw are better now than they have been before. The boats have moved very slowly against the current today. We arrived at Providence the middle of the afternoon, landed above the town, and went ashore. Our company and company F surrounded the town but caught no one. Capt. Wheeler and three or four of us entered the Post Office and searched it. We found a few letters and papers. We broke open the ballot box which was full of tickets voted for Jeff Davis. Abe and I each got us a set of chess men. I got a six-inch drafting rule, also some pamphlets giving the object and description of the K. G. C., or Knights of the Golden Circle. Providence, before the war, must have been a beautiful town, but now it is almost deserted. A few women and children were standing in the doors, nearly scared to death. They scarcely knew what to expect from the long dreaded Yankees. The Post Office is a large brick building, in the back part of which was the equipment of the Sons of Malta. We caught no guerillas. We threw out our pickets and slept upon the boat, Abe and I upon the hurricane deck, as our wood pile was burned up. It was quite cool for this country, one might say cold. We lay in the boat until the middle of the afternoon. A detail from the brigade went out mule-back this morning on a scout. When we heard that guerillas were out a few miles in the country, our company and company G were ordered out. Col. Dietzler said there was no use in going farther as there were none there, but the boys wanted a little exercise, so they took us about two miles to a nice plantation, where we killed a lot of chickens. Gus Schultz and I caught eight, I caught five and found some eggs. John Cumbersworth, also of our mess, got a frying pan which we needed very much. One of our boys was thrown from a mule. It commenced raining just as we started back, and before we arrived at camp we were completely soaked through. We were called aboard and dropped off below town where we remained until morning. The night was very cold and the ground was frozen quite solid. This morning there was a detail of nearly half the brigade for fatigue. We were put to work digging away the levees to let the water into Lake Providence, which is one mile back from the river. There was once a channel between the river and lake in high water, but it is dammed up. The lake makes connections with Red River through bayous. Providence is equally divided into three parts, they are separated by the old channel, which forms a common for the town. The town is a little higher than the channel, but lower than the levee. The inhabitants are badly scared and are moving out. It will all be inundated when we get the levee cut through. The engineers say there are four feet and six inches of fall between the surface of the river and the surface of the ground below the levee. We worked until noon, and then another relief came on. The regiment moved down to the boats and camped on the other side of the levee. We got a large barroom stove for our tent. This evening there was a detail sent across the river to a large plantation for Nigs. One hundred and forty were caught and sent to Vicksburg. We saw peach trees in bloom today. We met Gen. McArthur and bodyguard when we were coming out.
Feb. 11. Boggs, Buttons and I went over the river this morning on an old flat log. About 10 o’clock Si Livingston and I had permission to go out and get some chickens. We crossed over on the log, baled out an old canoe, and took a ride up the river two miles and a half, and stopped at a beautiful plantation. We could buy nothing. We then struck back for camp, and stopped on the way at another plantation and got five chickens. The steamer “Louisiana� came around this morning with provisions. Two men from company E knocked down an old Negro and robbed him. It was proven, and Major Peats had them tied up by the hands, with a card on their backs.
Feb. 12. The two men were tied all day. We played ball.
Feb. 13. We played ball again today. It rained last night. Three men of company G were tied up today for running the pickets.
Feb. 14. We were ordered back to Providence this morning. Caught a sheep and brought it along. The roads are very muddy. We met Gen. McArthur on the way back. One of our brigade went on the south side of the lake and the other on the opposite side. They are clearing the brush from the bayou that leaves the lake for Tensa and are stopping up others.