Adam Badeau, Military history of Ulysses S. Grant from April 1861 to April 1865. Volume 1

‘ [217] supplies would have to be drawn from Milliken's bend, a long and precarious route;’ but Grant declared: ‘I have every confidence of succeeding in doing it.’ Accordingly, he wrote that night to Sullivan, who commanded the district between Milliken's bend and Smith's plantation: ‘You will give special attention to the matter of shortening the line of land transportation from above Vicksburg to the steamers below. As soon as the river has fallen sufficiently, you will have a road constructed from Young's point to a landing just below Warrenton, and dispose of your troops accordingly. Every thing depends upon the promptitude with which our supplies are forwarded.’ To Sherman he said: ‘I wish you to collect a train of one hundred and twenty wagons at Milliken's bend and Perkins's plantation, send them to Grand Gulf, and there load them with rations, as follows: one hundred thousand pounds of bacon, the balance, coffee, sugar, salt, and hard bread. For your own use on the march from Grand Gulf, you will draw five days rations, and see that they last five days. It is unnecessary for me to remind you of the overwhelming importance of celerity. . . . . All we want now are men, ammunition, and hard bread; we can subsist our horses on the country, and obtain considerable supplies for our troops.’

It has been seen that, up to the time of crossing the Mississippi, Grant's intention was to collect all his ‘forces at Grand Gulf, and get on hand a good supply of provisions and ordnance stores, and, in the mean time, to detach a corps to cooperate with Banks against Port Hudson, and so effect a junction of their forces.’ But, having beaten the enemy at Port Gibson, and followed him to the Big Black river, Grant