Through this opening no doubt the Confederate commanders had been able to get messengers under cover of night.
On the 14th General Parke arrived with two divisions of Burnside's corps, and was immediately dispatched to Haines' Bluff.

These latter troops--Herron's and Parke's--were the reinforcements already spoken of sent by Halleck in anticipation of their being needed.

They arrived none too soon.
I now had about seventy-one thousand men.

More than half were disposed across the peninsula, between the Yazoo at Haines' Bluff and the Big Black, with the division of Osterhaus watching the crossings of the latter river farther south and west from the crossing of the Jackson road to Baldwin's ferry and below.
There were eight roads leading into Vicksburg, along which and their immediate sides, our work was specially pushed and batteries advanced; but no commanding point within range of the enemy was neglected.
On the 17th I received a letter from General Sherman and one on the 18th from General McPherson, saying that their respective commands had complained to them of a fulsome, congratulatory order published by General McClernand to the 13th corps, which did great injustice to the other troops engaged in the campaign.

This order had been sent North and published, and now papers containing it had reached our camps.