Ah! Thank you very much ... so we're possibly missing a response from Seddon to Johnston in the O.R., but we can only estimate its arrival by looking at the detail / material in Johnston's communications back to Richmond.

What I'm wondering is this: the message that carries Davis' demand to know why Johnston did not move to meet Pemberton is dated the 16th. Johnston wires Cooper on the 17th that he is moving to meet Pemberton. Is it likely that Johnston has received word of Davis' anger from Seddon, and is moving towards Pemberton merely as CYA. After all, Johnston had sat at Calhoun Station resting all day on the 16th, listening to the sounds of battle coming from Champion Hill. Not only does he not move towards Pemberton at the sound of battle, but he conveniently fails to mention hearing the fighting in his message to Seddon.

Timothy Smith claims in his Champion Hill book that the sounds of battle were loud enough in Vicksburg (an equal distance exists from Champion Hill to Vicksburg and Calhoun Station) to shatter windows, it's hard to believe that Johnston couldn't hear the fighting.