Lieut. Frank Johnston and Privates Henderson, Smith and William R. Hooker. There being but 4,000 supporting infantry left to defend the guns, and the attack being made by Grant’s entire army, it was of course but a question of time when the guns would have to be abandoned and retreat made by the men to the west bank of the Big Black river, whose bluffs, here 100 feet high, approached to the margin of the river, where two guns, one a 9-pounder north of the railroad and the other a 6-pounder south of the railroad, held the entire Federal army in check for a whole day, the main body of the army having retreated to the defenses of Vicksburg. Lieut. C. E. Hooker, in command of Company A of Withers’ artillery regiment, was severely wounded in the artillery attack made by the Federal troops all along the line on Friday, the second week of the siege, losing his left arm, and Wm. T. Radcliff, next in command, took charge of the company until the surrender.
After the affair at Big Black bridge Pemberton immediately withdrew his remaining forces to the Vicksburg lines, and before night work was begun preparing the fortifications on the land side for a siege. Moore's brigade was brought back from Warrenton; the defenses at Snyder’s Mill and the line of Chickasaw Bayou were abandoned, and all stores that could be quickly transported were sent to Vicksburg. The rest, including the heavy guns, were destroyed. On the morning of the 18th the troops were disposed as follows: Stevenson's division occupied the line south of the railroad, Barton on the river front and in the forts adjacent, Reynolds next to the Hall’s Ferry road, Cumming on the left center, and Lee, with Waul’s legion, on the left up to the railroad. The next two miles of intrenchments, running north, were held by Forney’s division, Moore next the railroad and Hébert on the left. The north line to the river, a stretch of a mile and a quarter, was held by Martin L. Smith’s division, Shoup on the right, Baldwin
