CHAPTER XIX.
THE FIRST SIEGE OF VICKSBURG.
From Memphis to Vicksburg .-- Running the Batteries .-- Our Inability to take Vicksburg by Assault .-- Digging a Canal .-- A Conversation with Resident Secessionists .-- Their Arguments _pro_ and _con_, and the Answers they Received .-- A Curiosity of Legislation .-- An Expedition up the Yazoo .-- Destruction of the Rebel Fleet .-- The _Arkansas_ Running the Gauntlet .-- A Spirited Encounter .-- A Gallant Attempt .-- Raising the Siege .-- Fate of the _Arkansas_..