Wheeler's raid was described by historian Ed Bearss as a "Confederate disaster" because it caused minimum damage to the Union while denying Gen. John Bell Hood, now in command of the Army of Tennessee, the direct support of his cavalry arm.
Bearss, Edwin C., The Vicksburg Campaign, 3 volumes, Morningside Press, 1991, ISBN 0-89029-308
Studying Civil War maps, Edwin C. Bearss of Vicksburg National Military Park set out to search for the lost ship using metal detectors.