Yazoo Pass expedition

Yazoo Pass expedition
Part of the American Civil War
Operations against Vicksburg and Grant's Bayou Operations.   Confederate   Union
Date February 3 – April 12, 1863 Location Northwestern Mississippi Result Confederate victory
Belligerents
United States (Union)	CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
Watson Smith, USN Leonard F. Ross, USA	William W. Loring, CSA
Units involved
	Fort Pemberton garrison
Strength
8 gunboats 2 rams 1 mortar raft	2,000 8 guns[1]

The Yazoo Pass expedition was a joint operation of Major General Ulysses S. Grant's Army of the Tennessee and Rear Admiral David D. Porter's Mississippi River Squadron in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. Grant's objective was to get his troops into a flanking position against the Rebel defenders of the heavily armed Confederate citadel Vicksburg, Mississippi. The expedition was an effort to bypass the Confederate defenses on the bluffs near the city by using the backwaters of the Mississippi Delta as a route from the Mississippi River to the Yazoo River. Once on the Yazoo, the Army would be able to cross the river unopposed and thus achieve their goal.

The operation would require a deep penetration into enemy territory that was dominated by water, so cooperation between the two services was necessary. The Union Army forces were commanded by Brigadier General Leonard F. Ross, while the Union Navy flotilla was led by Lieutenant Commander Watson Smith, whose extremely poor health was an important factor in the ultimate failure of the expedition.

The expedition began on February 3, 1863 with the breaching of a levee on the Mississippi River, allowing water to flow from the river into a former channel that connected with the Yazoo River through a series of other waterways. The attacking fleet passed through the cut into Moon Lake, through the Yazoo Pass to the Coldwater River, and then into the Tallahatchie, which combines with the Yalobusha to form the Yazoo River, which met the Mississippi a short distance above Vicksburg. From the start, the expedition was delayed by natural obstacles that were more serious than the perfunctory Confederate resistance, so forward motion was as little as ten miles (16 km) a day. Because progress was so slow, the Confederate Army under Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton was able to set up a fort and block passage of the Federal fleet near the town of Greenwood, Mississippi. The Federal fleet did not approach the fort until March 11; then, the ironclad gunboats of the fleet were repulsed in a series of gunfire exchanges on three separate days. Because of the nature of the ground, much of which was under water, the Army troops present could not contribute significantly to the battle.

Following the third repulse on March 16, Lieutenant Commander Smith's health failed him completely, and he turned command over to Lieutenant Commander James P. Foster. Foster and Ross decided to withdraw to the Mississippi. They were temporarily persuaded to try again when they met reinforcements for the Army, but they resumed their retreat when the new army commander, Brigadier General Isaac F. Quinby, saw the futility of further attacks. The entire force had returned by April 12, and the expedition was over.