"At 4 a. m., on the 11th, all those greyclads that had signed paroles and were fit for duty, except those belong to Carter Stevenson's division, were mustered. Rolls were called, and the soldiers' name checked off by the enrolling officers. After General John Stevenson had inspected the units to insure that the butternuts were not taking any unauthorized persons or equipment with them, the march was taken up. [76]

[76] OR, Ser. I, Vol. XXIV, p.t III, 485, 493, 495. When they departed the area, the Federals permitted the Confederates to take with them the following transportation: two teams for Pemberton's headquarters, one team for each division headquarters, one 4-mule team for each brigade headquarters, one 4-mule tema for each regiment, and one team for the use of the chief quartermaster

Moving out of Vicksburg via the Jackson and Baldwin's Ferry roads, the two Confederate columns converged at Mount Alban. The Big Black was crossed at Big Black Bridge, and the Confederates reached Raymond, on the evening of the 12th. Carter Stevenson's division, after clearing with the Federal inspection teams, left Vicksburg, on July 12. As soon as the troops departed the Vicksburg perimeter, many of them deserted the columns at the first opportunity and headed for home.
Vol. III, The Vicksburg Campaign, Unvexed to the Sea, Edwin Bearss, pp. 1304/5

Discipline in many units soon broke down.

From the diary of Isaac Stamper, 43rd Tenn., Reynold's Brigade, Stevenson's division.

July 9 - Reynold's Brigade paroled at two o'clock and then we thought we would be free of Yankee insults.

July 10 - Still in Vicksburg waiting for the first part of the Army to move out of the way. They have been moving out for two days.

July 12 [11th] Stephenson's [sic] Divison started out at sunup. Reynold's Brigade was last.

July 18 - The night before, so many of the 59th Regiment went on ahead that the Colonel did not intend to try to march as a Regiment but told his boys who had stayed back to be their own Commanders and get to Enterprise as best they could. . . .

July 19 - The 43rd was still together, that is, there were enough of us to call us a Regiment. The 3rd and 31st [Tenn.] Regiments had disbanded. There were several soldiers out of five Regiments all traveling along without any Commander.

July 21 - We . . . rolled into Enterprise at sundown. We found Vaughn's Brigade on the cars bound for Mobile.

July 22 - At eight o'clock Vaughn's Brigade rolled out for Mobile. All our boys got to Enterprise except some sick who had to take their time on the march. We received our orders to take the train at ten o'clock.

July 25 - A little before sundown we arrived at Montgomery and marched through the town to the cars on the Atllanta road by the way of West Point, Georgia. We found cars enough for the Regiment and went into them expecting to go on that night. . .

July 27 - We arrived [Dalton, Ga.] at three o'clock, having made good time. There being one train there, the 43rd Regiment got transportation to Knoxville that night. . . At Red Clay, Georgia, a portion of Company K got off the cars and met their friends, wives, brothers, sisters, fathers and mothers. It was a pleasing sight to witness the smiles on [the] faces of those who had been separated in such perilous times. [I suspect my ggrandfather and his two brothers were in that group]

July 28 - After returning home we remained quietly there till 25th of August in the enjoyment of health and Friends and then reported at Athens, Tennessee for further orders. We received two months pay and the next day returned home to meed again the next Wednesday, the 2nd of September for further orders.