Helena to Greenville

Mile 657.0 - YAZOO PASS

John Ruskey

20 Apr 2026

657 YAZOO PASS

You will travel near the historic opening of Yazoo Pass as you paddle around Montezuma Bend at mile 657. The Yazoo Pass used to connect the Mississippi to Moon Lake to the Tallahatchie River system, and was one of the many routes that Grant used trying to sneak behind the rebel stronghold of Vicksburg. 2300 men on steamboats used this pass in 1863, but were repulsed 123 miles downstream at Fort Pemberton by a small Confederate force shielded by a sunken steamboat fortified with cotton bales.

For more description of the phenomena of the River Pass: [CLICK HERE: River Passes]

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