naval vessels were to cover Sherman's left flank and draw Confederate attention away from the main Union assault. The flotilla fought against the Confederate batteries, but Marmora remained in the rear and was not struck by fire. While Marmora did join the firing, her shooting, like that of the other vessels, accomplished little. The next morning, Marmora and the gunboat USS Forest Rose went up the Old River towards the False River and shelled the riverbanks. Forest Rose ran aground, but Marmora freed her, and the two vessels returned to the rest of the Union fleet in the early afternoon. On December 29, Porter's gunboats provided supporting fire, but Sherman's men were repulsed in the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou. Marmora spent part of that day on another expedition into the Old River, this time accompanied by the tinclad USS Romeo. Sherman's men withdrew after the repulse. After the defeat at Chickasaw Bayou, Union leadership used the capture of a Union transport, Blue Wing, as justification for a strike on a Confederate position at Fort Hindman in Arkansas. Marmora was part of the Union fleet that participated in the resulting campaign in January 1863. On January 4, Porter organized his force, and Marmora was assigned to a division led by Lieutenant Commander Watson Smith. Porter's ships began the movement towards Fort Hindman that same day. Three days later, a plan for naval activity against the fort was formed. Marmora was to advance upriver with several other ships, but she instead found herself spending the day towing Carondelet, which was low on coal, up to Helena. Marmora then arrived off of the mouth of the White River on the evening of January 9, towing two barges of coal. Fort Hindman surrendered on January 11. On January 14, Marmora was ordered by Porter to return to the rest of the fleet. Three days later, Marmora steamed up the Arkansas River, reached the site of the Confederate fort, and sent a party ashore to help destroy the fort. Yazoo River operations and burning of Eunice In early 1863, Grant and Porter made a plan known as the Yazoo Pass expedition to bypass the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg by moving through nearby waterways. Smith was in charge of the expedition. On February 13, Smith realized that the expedition would take long enough that there would be no chance of surprise, so additional ships, including Marmora,