I'm curious, why do you need the article?

I haven't see the article, but given Bearss treatment of McPherson I would be willing to bet that it's not completely accurate.

What I know of the Canton Expedition is that McPherson had been ordered to take Canton and use it as a base to demonstrate against the railroads. This would draw the Confederates back from Columbus, thereby protecting Sherman's march to Chattanooga. However, McPherson quickly realized that the Confederates were not *in* Columbus, and in fact were bearing down upon him with their main body. The purpose of the raid being moot, and the safety of Vicksburg in the balance, McPherson withdrew fairly leisurely back to the defenses of Vicksburg.

A scout named Ruggles claims to have watched Colonel J. D. Robinson, head of the Hinds County Militia, enter his house in uniform. When the scouts stormed his house, however, he was in civilian clothes. This would have been considered perfidy, punishable by death ... a perfect pretense for an intense interrogation of the colonel. It was shortly after this capture that McPherson ordered the retreat, and Robinson survived the war. In fact, he doesn't even show up on the list of men captured. I can't help but assume that the colonel spilled the beans on what forces McPherson was facing and what forces were on their way. Given that the two sides were nearing parity as more Confederate reinforcements arrived, I can't see how anyone would second-guess McPherson's decision to turn around, given that the entire premise of the raid (a Confederate concentration at Columbus) was erroneous.

But then, we're talking about Edwin Bearss, the guy who thinks McClernand did a stand-up job at Port Gibson and doesn't even place McPherson at that battle.