An immensely pleasurable book that unlocks the door to one of the most unusual and diverse regions in the United States, the culturally rich Delta flatland embraced by two rivers, the Mississippi and the Yazoo

Story of Eli - a giant catfish that lives under the bridge in Satartia, Mississippi in the Yazoo River and what happens when someone tries to catch him.

Following the loss of the CSS Arkansas in early August 1862, Union and Confederate eyes turned to the Yazoo River, which formed the developing northern flank for the South's fortress at Vicksburg, Mississippi. For much of the next year, Federal efforts to capture the citadel focused on possession of that stream. Huge battles and mighty expeditions were launched (Chickasaw Bayou, Yazoo Pass, Steele's Bayou) from that direction, but the city, guarded by stout defenses, swamps, and motivated defenders, could not be turned. Finally, Union troops ran down the Mississippi and came up from the south and the river defenses and the bastion itself were taken from the east. From July 1863 to August 1864, sporadic Confederate resistance necessitated continued Federal attention. This book recounts the whole story.

Describes life in the Delta formed by the Yazoo and Mississippi River.

Examining the lives of individuals - freedmen, planters, and merchants - Willis explores the reciprocal interests of former slaves and former slaveholders. He shows how, in a cruel irony replicated in other areas of the South, the backbreaking work that African Americans did to clear, settle, and farm the land away from the river made the land ultimately too valuable for them to retain.

With a diverse past, from Native American tribes to the first European explorers and settlers to the present day, Yazoo has always been intriguing. French explorers first named the river that flows through the area the River of the Yazous after the Yazoo Indian tribe, and the county and city were later named for the river. Yazoo County, established in 1823, is the largest county in Mississippi, situated in the west-central part of the state in the fertile valley formed by the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. After its organization, Yazoo County was rapidly settled by pioneers from other parts of Mississippi and from the Carolinas, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

After six failed attempts to reach Vicksburg, General Ulysses S. Grant developed a plan. The Yazoo Pass Expedition was a Union army/navy operation meant to bypass Vicksburg by using the backwaters of the Mississippi Delta. Operations began on February 3, 1863, with a levee breach on the Mississippi River. The expedition was delayed as a result of natural obstacles and Confederate resistance, which allowed the Confederate army under Lieutenant General John Pemberton to block passage of the Federal fleet. The Confederates continued to rebuff the fleet and finally defeated it in the spring. Larry McCluney examines the expedition from start to finish in never-before-seen detail.