1.
American Civil War
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The American Civil War was an internal conflict fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865. The Union faced secessionists in eleven Southern states grouped together as the Confederate States of America, the Union won the war, which remains the bloodiest in U. S. history. Among the 34 U. S. states in February 1861, War broke out in April 1861 when Confederates attacked the U. S. fortress of Fort Sumter. The Confederacy grew to eleven states, it claimed two more states, the Indian Territory, and the southern portions of the western territories of Arizona. The Confederacy was never recognized by the United States government nor by any foreign country. The states that remained loyal, including border states where slavery was legal, were known as the Union or the North, the war ended with the surrender of all the Confederate armies and the dissolution of the Confederate government in the spring of 1865. The war had its origin in the issue of slavery. The Confederacy collapsed and 4 million slaves were freed, but before his inauguration, seven slave states with cotton-based economies formed the Confederacy. The first six to declare secession had the highest proportions of slaves in their populations, the first seven with state legislatures to resolve for secession included split majorities for unionists Douglas and Bell in Georgia with 51% and Louisiana with 55%. Alabama had voted 46% for those unionists, Mississippi with 40%, Florida with 38%, Texas with 25%, of these, only Texas held a referendum on secession. Eight remaining slave states continued to reject calls for secession, outgoing Democratic President James Buchanan and the incoming Republicans rejected secession as illegal. Lincolns March 4,1861 inaugural address declared that his administration would not initiate a civil war, speaking directly to the Southern States, he reaffirmed, I have no purpose, directly or indirectly to interfere with the institution of slavery in the United States where it exists. I believe I have no right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so. After Confederate forces seized numerous federal forts within territory claimed by the Confederacy, efforts at compromise failed, the Confederates assumed that European countries were so dependent on King Cotton that they would intervene, but none did, and none recognized the new Confederate States of America. Hostilities began on April 12,1861, when Confederate forces fired upon Fort Sumter, while in the Western Theater the Union made significant permanent gains, in the Eastern Theater, the battle was inconclusive in 1861–62. The autumn 1862 Confederate campaigns into Maryland and Kentucky failed, dissuading British intervention, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which made ending slavery a war goal. To the west, by summer 1862 the Union destroyed the Confederate river navy, then much of their western armies, the 1863 Union siege of Vicksburg split the Confederacy in two at the Mississippi River. In 1863, Robert E. Lees Confederate incursion north ended at the Battle of Gettysburg, Western successes led to Ulysses S. Grants command of all Union armies in 1864
2.
Theodore R. Davis
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Theodore R. Davis was a 19th-century American artist, who made numerous drawings of significant military and political events during the American Civil War and its aftermath. As a child, Theodore R. Davis was taken to Washington D. C. where he graduated from Rittenhouse Academy, when he was fifteen, he moved to New York where studied art under Henry W. Herrick and James Walker. The Training Theodore Davis received under James Walker was informal, Davis typified certain artists as special artists was hired by popular magazines and newspapers. He was hired by them to illustrate the Civil War and he was hired by Harpers Weekly in 1861. During the Civil War, he served as a captain in the 15th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, after the war, he became a companion of the New York Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. After the war when the Cyclorama in Atlanta was being painted and he was later added to the painting. Theodore Davis was a staff artist at Harpers Weekly, many of his drawings were published as wood engravings in Harpers Weekly. Theodore R. Davis was chosen to create the Hayes China with a chance meeting, mr. Davis suggested using flora and fauna of the American decor. Mr. Davis would come to produce 130 different designs as of animals, plants, at the time the cost for the order came out to $3,150. A guest named Clover Adams observed that when she ate at the White House she could hardly eat soup peacefully if she had to watch a coyote leap at her from behind a tree. At one point during the Civil war, Theodore Davis commanded a regiment, while documentation the war he traveled with a British Journalist, stating that he worked for the London illustrated News, but did not. A major installment in his career was his documentation of the fight between the Merrimac and the Monitor. During the war, Theodore Davis was injured twice, and his horse was shot out under him Theodore Davis worked with panoramic painters such as Friedrich Wilhelm and he worked alongside the men for larger pieces of artwork. War and American Popular Culture, A Historical Encyclopedia, the South on Paper, Line, Color, and Light. Essay by Estill Curtis Pennington and Essay and Catalogue by James C. Kelly, White House China Service http, //www. whitehousehistory. org/press-room/white/house/china Fascinating First Ladies & Fascinating Facts. Http, //www. wisconsinart. org/archives/artist/theodore-russell-davis/profile-902. aspx ©10/17/2007 Museum of Wisconsin Art, West Bend, Wisconsin ©2016, West Bend, WI | 262-334-9638 Visual Art in the Civil War
3.
Hinds County, Mississippi
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Hinds County is a county located in the U. S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 245,285 and its county seats are Raymond and Jackson, the state capital. The county is named for General Thomas Hinds, a hero of the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812, Hinds County is part of the Jackson, MS Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is a center of professional, educational, business and industrial elites in the state and it is bordered on the northwest by the Big Black River and on the east by the Pearl River. It is one county away from the Yazoo River and the southern border of the Mississippi Delta. In the 19th century, the areas of the county were devoted to cotton plantations worked by enslaved African Americans. From 1877 to 1950, this county had 22 lynchings, the highest number in the state, Mississippi has the highest total number of lynchings of any state. This form of terrorism was at its height at the turn of the 20th century. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 877 square miles. It is the third-largest county in Mississippi by land area and fifth-largest by total area. 69. 1% were Black or African American,28. 4% White,0. 8% Asian,0. 2% Native American,0. 7% of some other race and 0. 9% of two or more races. As of the census of 2000, there were 250,800 people,91,030 households, the population density was 288 people per square mile. There were 100,287 housing units at a density of 115 per square mile. 0. 79% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race,26. 70% of all households were made up of individuals and 8. 70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the family size was 3.22. In the county, the population was out with 27. 90% under the age of 18,12. 10% from 18 to 24,28. 90% from 25 to 44,20. 10% from 45 to 64. The median age was 32 years, for every 100 females there were 88.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.50 males, the median income for a household in the county was $33,991, and the median income for a family was $40,525
4.
Union (American Civil War)
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The Union was opposed by 11 southern slave states that formed the Confederate States, or the Confederacy. All of the Unions states provided soldiers for the U. S. Army, the Border states played a major role as a supply base for the Union invasion of the Confederacy. The Northeast provided the resources for a mechanized war producing large quantities of munitions and supplies. The Midwest provided soldiers, food, horses, financial support, Army hospitals were set up across the Union. Most states had Republican governors who energetically supported the war effort, the Democratic Party strongly supported the war in 1861 but in 1862 was split between the War Democrats and the anti-war element led by the Copperheads. The Democrats made major gains in 1862 in state elections. They lost ground in 1863, especially in Ohio, in 1864 the Republicans campaigned under the National Union Party banner, which attracted many War Democrats and soldiers and scored a landslide victory for Lincoln and his entire ticket. The war years were quite prosperous except where serious fighting and guerrilla warfare took place along the southern border, prosperity was stimulated by heavy government spending and the creation of an entirely new national banking system. The Union states invested a great deal of money and effort in organizing psychological and social support for soldiers wives, widows, orphans, and for the soldiers themselves. Most soldiers were volunteers, although after 1862 many volunteered to escape the draft, Draft resistance was notable in some larger cities, especially New York City with its massive anti-draft riots of 1863 and in some remote districts such as the coal mining areas of Pennsylvania. In the context of the American Civil War, the Union is sometimes referred to as the North, both then and now, as opposed to the Confederacy, which was the South. The Union never recognized the legitimacy of the Confederacys secession and maintained at all times that it remained entirely a part of the United States of America, in foreign affairs the Union was the only side recognized by all other nations, none of which officially recognized the Confederate government. The term Union occurs in the first governing document of the United States, the subsequent Constitution of 1787 was issued and ratified in the name not of the states, but of We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union. Union, for the United States of America, is repeated in such clauses as the Admission to the Union clause in Article IV. Even before the war started, the preserve the Union was commonplace. Using the term Union to apply to the non-secessionist side carried a connotation of legitimacy as the continuation of the political entity. In comparison to the Confederacy, the Union had a large industrialized and urbanized area, additionally, the Union states had a manpower advantage of 5 to 2 at the start of the war. Year by year, the Confederacy shrank and lost control of increasing quantities of resources, meanwhile, the Union turned its growing potential advantage into a much stronger military force
5.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
6.
Confederate States of America
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The Confederate States, officially the Confederate States of America, commonly referred to as the Confederacy, was a breakaway country of 11 secessionist slave states existing from 1861 to 1865. It was never recognized as an Independent country, although it achieved belligerent status by Britain. A new Confederate government was established in February 1861 before Lincoln took office in March, after the Civil War began in April, four slave states of the Upper South – Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina – also declared their secession and joined the Confederacy. The government of the United States rejected the claims of secession, the Civil War began with the April 12,1861, Confederate attack upon Fort Sumter, a Union fort in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina. In spring 1865, after four years of fighting which led to an estimated 620,000 military deaths, all the Confederate forces surrendered. Jefferson Davis later lamented that the Confederacy had disappeared in 1865, Missouri and Kentucky were represented by partisan factions from those states, while the legitimate governments of those two states retained formal adherence to the Union. Also fighting for the Confederacy were two of the Five Civilized Tribes located in Indian Territory and a new, but uncontrolled, Confederate Territory of Arizona. Efforts by certain factions in Maryland to secede were halted by federal imposition of law, while Delaware, though of divided loyalty. A Unionist government in parts of Virginia organized the new state of West Virginia. With the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1,1863, the Union made abolition of slavery a war goal, as Union forces moved southward, large numbers of plantation slaves were freed. Many joined the Union lines, enrolling in service as soldiers, teamsters and laborers, the most notable advance was Shermans March to the Sea in late 1864. Much of the Confederacys infrastructure was destroyed, including telegraphs, railroads, plantations in the path of Shermans forces were severely damaged. Internal movement became increasingly difficult for Southerners, weakening the economy and these losses created an insurmountable disadvantage in men, materiel, and finance. Public support for Confederate President Jefferson Daviss administration eroded over time due to repeated military reverses, economic hardships, after four years of campaigning, Richmond was captured by Union forces in April 1865. Shortly afterward, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant, President Davis was captured on May 10,1865, and jailed in preparation for a treason trial that was ultimately never held. The U. S. government began a process known as Reconstruction which attempted to resolve the political and constitutional issues of the Civil War. By 1877, the Compromise of 1877 ended Reconstruction in the former Confederate states, Confederate veterans had been temporarily disenfranchised by Reconstruction policy. The prewar South had many areas, the war left the entire region economically devastated by military action, ruined infrastructure
7.
Ulysses S. Grant
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Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States. As Commanding General, Grant worked closely with President Abraham Lincoln to lead the Union Army to victory over the Confederacy in the American Civil War and he implemented Congressional Reconstruction, often at odds with President Andrew Johnson. His presidency has often criticized for tolerating corruption and for the severe economic depression in his second term. Grant graduated in 1843 from the United States Military Academy at West Point, after the war he married Julia Boggs Dent in 1848, their marriage producing four children. Grant initially retired from the Army in 1854 and he struggled financially in civilian life. When the Civil War began in 1861, he rejoined the U. S. Army, in 1862, Grant took control of Kentucky and most of Tennessee, and led Union forces to victory in the Battle of Shiloh, earning a reputation as an aggressive commander. He incorporated displaced African American slaves into the Union war effort, in July 1863, after a series of coordinated battles, Grant defeated Confederate armies and seized Vicksburg, giving the Union control of the Mississippi River and dividing the Confederacy in two. After his victories in the Chattanooga Campaign, Lincoln promoted him to lieutenant general, Grant confronted Robert E. Lee in a series of bloody battles, trapping Lees army in their defense of Richmond. Grant coordinated a series of devastating campaigns in other theaters, as well, in April 1865, Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox, effectively ending the war. Historians have hailed Grants military genius, and his strategies are featured in history textbooks. After the Civil War, Grant led the armys supervision of Reconstruction in the former Confederate states and he also used the army to build the Republican Party in the South. After the disenfranchisement of some former Confederates, Republicans gained majorities, in his second term, the Republican coalitions in the South splintered and were defeated one by one as redeemers regained control using coercion and violence. In May 1875, Grant authorized his Secretary of Treasury Benjamin Bristow to shut down and his peace policy with the Indians initially reduced frontier violence, but is best known for the Great Sioux War of 1876. Grant responded to charges of corruption in executive offices more than any other 19th Century president and he appointed the first Civil Service Commission and signed legislation ending the corrupt moiety system. In foreign policy, Grant sought to trade and influence while remaining at peace with the world. His administration successfully resolved the Alabama claims by the Treaty of Washington with Great Britain, Grant avoided war with Spain over the Virginius Affair, but Congress rejected his attempted annexation of the Dominican Republic. His administration implemented a standard and sought to strengthen the dollar. Grant left office in 1877 and embarked on a two-year diplomatic world tour that captured the nations attention, in 1880, Grant was unsuccessful in obtaining the Republican presidential nomination for a third term
8.
John C. Pemberton
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John Clifford Pemberton, was a career United States Army officer who fought in the Seminole Wars and with distinction during the Mexican–American War. He also served as a Confederate general during the American Civil War, noted for his defeat, Pemberton was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as the second child of John Pemberton, and Rebecca Clifford. He entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1833 and he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 4th U. S. Artillery Regiment on July 1,1837, Pemberton and the 4th Artillery served in garrison duty at Fort Columbus, New York, in 1838 and into 1839, and then at the Camp of Instruction located near Trenton, New Jersey, in 1839. He then served along the northern U. S. frontier during the brief Canadian Border Disturbances of the Aroostook War. Pemberton and the 4th were next stationed in Michigan, serving at Detroit in 1840, at Fort Mackinac in the upper Great Lakes in Michigan in 1840 and 1841, and at Fort Brady in 1841. He then served in Buffalo, New York, in 1841 to 1842, from 1845 to 1846, Pemberton and the 4th Artillery were part of the U. S. He fought at the Battle of Palo Alto on May 8,1846 and he then fought well at the Battle of Monterrey in that fall, and was appointed a brevet captain for Gallant Conduct in the several Conflicts at on September 23. Pemberton was appointed a major for his performance at Molino del Rey on September 8. He then was part of the storming of Chapultepec Castle on September 13, and the Battle for Mexico City that day and the next, where Pemberton was wounded. He was an member of the Aztec Club of 1847 - a military society founded by U. S. Army officers who served in Mexico City during the military occupation following the war. In 1848, Pemberton married Martha Thompson of Norfolk, Virginia, after the war with Mexico, Pemberton and the 4th Artillery served in garrison duty at Fort Pickens near Pensacola, Florida, in 1849. He then fought in Florida during hostilities against the Seminoles in 1849 and 1850, the 4th returned to garrison duty at New Orleans Barracks in New Orleans in Louisiana in 1850, and Pemberton was promoted to captain on September 16. He next served in Fort Washington, Maryland, along the lower Potomac River below the capital in 1851 and 1852, at Fort Hamilton, New York and he and the 4th Artillery fought again in Florida during further hostilities against the Seminoles from 1856 to 1857. Pemberton and the 4th was then on duty at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, from 1857 to 1858. Later in brief garrison duty at the Washington Arsenal in Washington and he resigned his commission, effective April 29, despite pleas from his family and his former commander Winfield Scott. His decision was due to the influence of his Virginia-born wife and he was promoted to colonel on May 8. On May 9, Pemberton took a commission as a lieutenant colonel in the Artillery of the Provisional Army of Virginia and his first brigade command was in the Department of Norfolk, leading its 10th Brigade from June to November
9.
Army of the Tennessee
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The Army of the Tennessee was a Union army in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, named for the Tennessee River. It should not be confused with the similarly named Army of Tennessee, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in the Unions District of West Tennessee. In April 1862, Grants troops survived a severe test in the bloody Battle of Shiloh. In October 1862, Grants command was reconfigured and elevated to status, as the Department of the Tennessee. Grant commanded these forces until after his critically important victory at Vicksburg in July 1863 and it should suffice to note that the nucleus around which was to gather the. Army of the Tennessee first took shape in 1861–1862, while Grant was headquartered at Cairo and those troops continued under Grant in his next command, the distinct District of West Tennessee, they were then sometimes, and perhaps most appropriately, called the Army of West Tennessee. During the course of the war, elements of the Army of the Tennessee performed many tasks, and it is not feasible to chronicle every such development here, even at the corps level. Rather, this article traces the main thrust of the armys development, at any given time, substantial numbers of troops were engaged in activities not discussed here. For example, in April 1863, less than half of Grants departmental strength was directly engaged in the Vicksburg Campaign, one of Grants wartime aides, John A. Rawlins, later stated that rom this time. Commenced the growth and organization of the Army of the Tennessee, paducah promptly became a separate Union command under Brig. Gen. Charles F. Smith, who soon occupied Smithland, Kentucky, at the junction of the Cumberland River and the Ohio. Grants own first engagement came on November 7 at Belmont, Missouri, Grants casualties in this first battle totaled about 500, Confederate casualties were similar. While Grant had suffered a repulse, he won favorable press coverage and this battle, reports Rawlins, confirmed General Grant in his views that he should give battle whenever he had what he thought a sufficient number of men. Also in November, John Fremont lost his command at St. Louis, to be replaced by Maj. Gen. Henry W. Halleck, on December 20, Grants command was reconfigured to include C. F. Smiths and renamed the District of Cairo, from that perch, in February 1862, Grant led the Union campaign against Fort Henry, on the Tennessee River, and Fort Donelson, on the Cumberland River. His troops for this campaign eventually numbered approximately 27,000 men, Smith, and Brig. Gen. Lewis Wallace. Grant initially moved up the Tennessee River to Fort Henry with only two divisions, McClernands and Smiths. On February 6, even before he could organize his force for attack, additional Union regiments arrived at Fort Donelson by water, these were formed into the new 3rd Division under Lew Wallace. The Battle of Fort Donelson began on February 13 and, after sharp fighting, another historian notes that Grants troops had performed prodigies of valor and endurance during the campaign and had learned from it that hard fighting would bring success
10.
Vicksburg Campaign
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The Union Army of the Tennessee under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant gained control of the river by capturing this stronghold and defeating Lt. Gen. John C. The campaign consisted of important naval operations, troop maneuvers, failed initiatives. Military historians divide the campaign into two phases, Operations Against Vicksburg and Grants Operations Against Vicksburg. Grant conducted a number of experiments or expeditions—Grants Bayou Operations—that attempted to enable access to the Mississippi south of Vicksburgs artillery batteries. All five of these failed as well. Finally, Union gunboats and troop transport boats ran the batteries at Vicksburg, on April 29 and April 30,1863, Grants army crossed the Mississippi and landed at Bruinsburg, Mississippi. An elaborate series of demonstrations and diversions fooled the Confederates and the landings occurred without opposition, over the next 17 days, Grant maneuvered his army inland and won five battles, captured the state capital of Jackson, Mississippi, and assaulted and laid siege to Vicksburg. After Pembertons army surrendered on July 4, and when Port Hudson surrendered to Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P, Grants Vicksburg Campaign is studied as a masterpiece of military operations and a major turning point of the war. Vicksburg was strategically vital to the Confederates, Jefferson Davis said, Vicksburg is the nail head that holds the Souths two halves together. The natural defenses of the city were ideal, earning it the nickname The Gibraltar of the Confederacy and it was located on a high bluff overlooking a horseshoe-shaped bend in the river, De Soto Peninsula, making it almost impossible to approach by ship. About twelve miles up the Yazoo River were Confederate batteries and entrenchments at Haynes Bluff, the Louisiana land west of Vicksburg was also difficult, with many streams and poor country roads, widespread winter flooding, and it was on the opposite side of the river from the fortress. The city had been under Union naval attack before, admiral David Farragut moved up the river after his capture of New Orleans and on May 18,1862, demanded the surrender of Vicksburg. Farragut had insufficient troops to force the issue, and he moved back to New Orleans and he returned with a flotilla in June 1862, but their attempts to bombard the fortress into surrender failed. Farragut investigated the possibility of bypassing the fortified cliffs by digging a canal across the neck of the rivers bend, on June 28, Brig. Gen. Thomas Williams, attached to Farraguts command, began digging work on the canal by employing local laborers and some soldiers. Many of the men fell victim to diseases and heat exhaustion. In the fall of 1862, Maj. Gen. Henry W. Halleck was promoted from command of the Western Theater to general-in-chief of all Union armies. Halleck has received criticism for not moving promptly overland from Memphis, Tennessee and he believed that the Navy could capture the fortress on its own, not knowing that the naval force was insufficiently manned with ground troops to finish the job. What might have achieved success in the summer of 1862 was no longer possible by November because the Confederates had amply reinforced the garrison by that time, Grants army marched south down the Mississippi Central Railroad, making a forward base at Holly Springs
11.
USS Cairo
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USS Cairo /ˈkeɪroʊ/ was one of the first American ironclad warships built at the beginning of the U. S. Civil War. Cairo was the ship of the City-class gunboats and named for Cairo. In June 1862, she captured the Confederate garrison of Fort Pillow on the Mississippi, as part of the Yazoo Pass Expedition, she was sunk on 12 December 1862, while clearing mines for the attack on Haines Bluff. Cairo was the first ship ever to be sunk by a remotely detonated by hand. The remains of Cairo can be viewed at Vicksburg National Military Park with a museum of its weapons, Cairo was built by James Eads and Co. Mound City, Illinois, in 1861, by contract to the United States Department of War. She was commissioned as part of the Union Armys Western Gunboat Flotilla, Cairo served with the Armys Western Gunboat Flotilla on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, and their tributaries until she was transferred to the Navy on 1 October 1862, with the other river gunboats. She was commanded by Flag Officer Andrew Hull Foote, on 6 June 1862, two days later, Cairo joined in the triumph of seven Union ships and a tug over eight Confederate gunboats off Memphis. Five of the gunboats were sunk or run ashore during this action. That night, Union forces occupied the city, Cairo returned to patrol on the Mississippi until 21 November, when she joined the Yazoo Pass Expedition. Like many of the Mississippi theatre ironclads, Cairo had her armament changed over the life of the vessel. To speed up her entrance into the service, Cairo and the other City-class ships were fitted with weapons were on hand. Though the 8 in smoothbore Dahlgren guns were modern, most of the other original weapons were antiquated, such as the 32-pounders, or modified. These were, old smoothbores that had made into rifles. The 42-pounder weapons were of concern to military commanders because they were structurally weaker. Additionally, the confines of combat on the rivers greatly increased the threat of boarding parties. The 12-pounder howitzer was equipped to address that concern and was not used in regular combat, over the years, the gunboat was forgotten and slowly covered by silt and sand. Impacted in mud, Cairo became a time capsule in which her unique, historical artifacts were preserved against corrosion and her whereabouts became a matter of speculation, as members of the crew had died and local residents were unsure of the location
12.
Battle of Chickasaw Bayou
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The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou, also called the Battle of Walnut Hills, fought December 26–29,1862, was the opening engagement of the Vicksburg Campaign during the American Civil War. Confederate forces under Lt. Gen. John C, pemberton repulsed an advance by Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman that was intended to lead to the capture of Vicksburg, Mississippi. On December 27, the Federals pushed their lines forward through the swamps toward the Walnut Hills, on December 28, several futile attempts were made to get around these defenses. On December 29, Sherman ordered an assault, which was repulsed with heavy casualties. This Confederate victory frustrated Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grants attempts to take Vicksburg by a direct approach. Starting in November 1862, Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant split his 70, Sherman commanded the Right Wing, or XIII Corps, Army of the Tennessee, redesignated the XV Corps on December 22. His expeditionary force of 32,000 troops was organized into four divisions, andrew J. Smith, Morgan L. Smith, George W. Morgan, and Frederick Steele. Grants wing marched south down the Mississippi Central Railroad, making a base at Holly Springs. He planned an assault in the direction of Vicksburg. After advancing up the Yazoo River, the transports disembarked Shermans men at Johnsons Plantation, opposite Steeles Bayou, the Confederate forces opposing Shermans advance were from the Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana, commanded by Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton, a Pennsylvanian who chose to fight for the South, the officer in direct command of the defenses of Vicksburg was Maj. Gen. Martin L. Smith, who commanded four brigades led by Brig. Vaughn, John Gregg, and Edward D. Tracy, Brig. Gen. Stephen D. Lee commanded a provisional division with brigades commanded by Cols. William T. Withers and Allen Thomas, Lee was the commander of the Confederate defense in the Walnut Hills until the arrival late on December 29 of Maj. Gen. Carter L. Stevenson. Although the Union forces outnumbered the men to their front by two to one, they faced a formidable maze of both natural and man-made defenses, first was a thick entanglement of trees, which was broken intermittently by swampland. Furthermore, the Confederates had formed dense barriers using felled trees for abatis, on December 26, Sherman deployed the brigades of Col. John F. DeCourcy and Brig. David Stuart and Francis P. Blair, Jr. to perform reconnaissance and they moved slowly ahead through the difficult terrain, skirmishing with S. D. Lees covering force that had been at Mrs. Lakes plantation. On December 28, Steeles division attempted to turn the Confederate right flank, on the morning of December 29, Sherman ordered an artillery bombardment of the Confederate defenses to weaken them before a general Federal advance. For almost four hours, a duel took place all along the line of battle
13.
Yazoo Pass Expedition
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Grants objective was to get his troops into a flanking position against the Rebel defenders. The expedition was an effort to bypass the Confederate defenses on the bluffs near the city by using the backwaters of the Mississippi Delta as a route from the Mississippi River to the Yazoo River. Once on the Yazoo, the Army would be able to cross the river unopposed, the operation would require a deep penetration into enemy territory that was dominated by water, so cooperation between the two services was necessary. The Army was led by Brigadier General Leonard F. Ross, Naval commander was Lieutenant Commander Watson Smith, who was in extremely poor health, his health was an important factor in the ultimate failure of the expedition. From the start, the expedition was delayed by obstacles that were more serious than the perfunctory Confederate resistance. Because progress was so slow, the Confederate Army under Lieutenant General John C, Pemberton was able to set up a fort and block passage of the Federal fleet near the town of Greenwood, Mississippi. The Federal fleet did not approach the fort until March 11, then, the Army troops present could not contribute significantly to the battle because of the nature of the ground, much of which was under water. Following the third repulse on March 16, Lieutenant Commander Smiths health failed him completely, Foster and Ross decided to withdraw to the Mississippi. The entire force had returned by April 12, and the expedition was over, the Vicksburg Campaign was bogged down in early 1863, following the repulse of the Union forces under Brigadier General William T. Sherman at Walnut Hills late the previous year. One of the operations he put in motion became known as the Yazoo Pass Expedition because it used a waterway of that name. The western part of the state of Mississippi, from the Tennessee state line to the north, as such, it is quite low, in many places, it is in fact lower than the level of the river. The region is occupied by numerous marshes, brakes, sloughs, bayous, lakes, creeks. Until the middle of the century, overflow from the Mississippi continued to pass into these waters. One such route left the Mississippi at a point a little south of Helena, Arkansas, passed through Moon Lake, the Coldwater is a tributary of the Tallahatchie River, which combines with the Yalobusha to form the Yazoo River at Greenwood, Mississippi. The Yazoo then flows 188 miles, to reenter the Mississippi a short distance above Vicksburg and this changed in 1856, however, when the coming of the railroad induced the state to drain some of the land for agricultural uses. To that end, they built levees to confine the river to its main course. Deprived of its source, the water level behind the levee dropped as much as eight feet. The Army and Navy had distinct but not incompatible reasons to get their forces to the east of Vicksburg, Grant wanted to get his soldiers onto dry ground with no rivers between him and the Confederate defense
14.
Steele's Bayou Expedition
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Its aim was to move Union forces from the Mississippi River to a point on the Yazoo River upstream of Confederate Lieutenant General John C. The army and navy contingents of the expedition moved separately, although their movements were coordinated, the naval flotilla moved into Steeles Bayou on March 14,1863. Two army transports followed them on the leg, others were to come later if the route were to prove satisfactory. Traversing Steeles Bayou was not particularly difficult, but the leg, along Deer Creek. The waterway, narrow and with frequent turns, forced the vessels to move at snails pace, exploiting this, the Rebels further impeded progress by felling trees across the stream, and brought the Union force to a halt within 1.5 miles of the Rolling Fork. The flotilla would have retreated, but Confederate troops got in their rear on Deer Creek, the soldiers, with the personal prodding of Major General William T. Sherman, made a forced march that got to the flotilla on March 22. They easily drove off the Confederate patrols that were blocking the retreat, so Porter, by March 27, the entire expedition was back on the Mississippi, having accomplished nothing. The Steeles Bayou Expedition was Grants last attempt to attack Pembertons right flank, following its failure, he turned his attention to the enemy left flank, and soon began the movement that led to the capture of Vicksburg. The campaign to capture the Confederate stronghold at Vicksburg, Mississippi, the Unions Major General Ulysses S. Grant had put into motion several operations aiming at flanking Confederate Lieutenant General John C. Writing in his memoirs long after the event, he stated that he did not have confidence that any of them would prove successful. Grant and Acting Rear Admiral David D. Porter therefore set one more operation in motion, like the others, it was an effort to get on the enemy flank, it had the additional purpose of relieving some of the pressure on the earlier expedition. To avoid the lethargy in command that had hampered the Yazoo Pass operation, Porter himself went with the gunboats, Grants orders to Sherman lay out the course of the expedition. They also show that he was not completely sure of its success, the expedition was very much limited by the geography of the Mississippi Delta, the flood plain of the river occupying most of northwestern Mississippi. The land is low and is in fact lower in many places than the river. The region is characterized by marshes, brakes, sloughs, bayous, lakes, creeks. Until the middle of the century, overflow from the Mississippi continued to pass into these waters. When railroads provided more convenient commerce, however, levees to contain the flow had been built, then, when the war came, the levee was breached for the Yazoo Pass expedition, and the land was again flooded. Minor waterways swelled to the size of small rivers, raising the possibility that Union gunboats could travel on them
15.
Grierson's Raid
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Griersons Raid was a Union cavalry raid during the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. It ran from April 17 to May 2,1863, as a diversion from Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grants main attack plan on Vicksburg, Mississippi. Early in 1863, Major General Charles Hamilton, the commander of the Corinth section of Grants division, subsequently, due to Hamiltons insistence on procuring a command that would garner him more glory, Hamilton offered his resignation. Up until this time in the war, Confederate cavalry commanders such as Nathan Bedford Forrest, John Hunt Morgan, stuart had ridden circles around the Union, and it was time to out-do the Confederates in cavalry expeditions. The task fell to Col. Benjamin Grierson, a music teacher who, oddly. Griersons cavalry brigade consisted of the 6th and 7th Illinois and 2nd Iowa Cavalry regiments, total casualties for Griersons Brigade during the raid were three killed, seven wounded, and nine missing. Five sick and wounded men were left behind along the route, pemberton, commander of the Vicksburg garrison, had few cavalry and could do nothing to stop Grierson. The premier Confederate cavalry commander, Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, was off chasing another Union raider, Col. Abel Streight, in Alabama, while Streights Raid failed, it did distract Forrest and this probably allowed the success of Griersons Raid. Although many Confederate cavalry units pursued Grierson vigorously across the state, battle of Newtons Station Clan Grierson Laliki, Tom. Griersons Raid, A Daring Cavalry Strike Through the Heart of the Confederacy, farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York. Roughshod Through Dixie – Grierson’s Raid 1863, Osprey Raid Series #12, Osprey Publishing
16.
Battle of Grand Gulf
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The Battle of Grand Gulf was fought on April 29,1863, during the American Civil War. In the summer of 1862 Confederate field artillery had periodically harassed naval vessels from Grand Gulf, the town was largely burned in 1862 during bombardment and raids as the Federals attempted to suppress construction of earthworks around the town. However, construction of Confederate batteries with heavy artillery resumed in March 1863, the primary works at the time of the April 1863 battle were two earthen forts, Fort Cobun and Fort Wade. Atop Point of Rock, Fort Cobun was the stronger fortification due to its elevation, Fort Wade sat only 20 feet above the river, approximately three quarters of a mile downstream and a quarter of mile from the waters edge. Rifle pits ran along the ridge connecting the two works, gen. John A. McClernands XIII Corps who were on the accompanying transports and barges. The attack by Benton, Lafayette, Tuscumbia, Carondelet, Louisville, Mound City, during the fight, the armored vessels moved within 100 yards of the Confederate guns at Fort Cobun. The union gunboats successfully silenced the batteries of Fort Wade. The Union ironclads and the transports drew off, after dark, however, the ironclads engaged the Confederate guns again while the steamboats and barges ran the gauntlet. Grant marched his men overland across Coffee Point to below the Gulf, after the transports had passed Grand Gulf, they embarked the troops at Disharoons plantation and disembarked them on the Mississippi shore at Bruinsburg, below Grand Gulf. The men immediately began marching overland toward Port Gibson, Mississippi, the Confederates had won a hollow victory, the loss at Grand Gulf caused just a slight change in Grants offensive. Vicksburg, The Campaign that Opened the Mississippi, chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press,2004. Vol.2, Grant Strikes a Fatal Blow,8, The Confederate Magazine at Fort Wade Grand Gulf, Mississippi, Excavations 1980-1981. Mississippi Department of Archives and History,1982, national Park Service battle description CWSAC Report Update
17.
Battle of Snyder's Bluff
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The Battle of Snyders Bluff or Snyders Mill was fought from April 29 to May 1,1863, during the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. Union forces under Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman conducted a feint against Confederate units holding the bluff, to ensure that troops were not withdrawn to Grand Gulf to assist Confederates there, a combined Union Army–Navy force feigned an attack on Snyders Bluff, Mississippi. At 9 a. m. the next morning, the force, minus one gunboat, continued upriver to Drumgoulds Bluff, during the fighting, the Choctaw suffered more than fifty hits, but no casualties occurred. Around 6 p. m. the troops disembarked and marched along Blakes Levee toward the guns, as they neared Drumgoulds Bluff, a battery opened on them, creating havoc and casualties. The Union advance halted and, after dark, the men reembarked on the transports, the next morning, transports disembarked other troops. The swampy terrain and enemy artillery fire forced them to retire. The gunboats opened fire again, about 3 p. m. on May 1, later, the boats fire slackened and stopped altogether after dark. Sherman had received orders to land his troops at Millikens Bend, national Park Service battle description CWSAC Report Update
18.
Battle of Port Gibson
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The Battle of Port Gibson was fought near Port Gibson, Mississippi, on May 1,1863, between Union and Confederate forces during the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. The Union Army was led by Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, Grant launched his campaign against Vicksburg, Mississippi, in the spring of 1863, starting his army south from Millikens Bend on the west side of the Mississippi River. He intended to storm Grand Gulf, while his subordinate Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman deceived the main army in Vicksburg by feigning an assault on the Yazoo Bluffs, Grant would then detach the XIII Corps to Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks at Port Hudson, Louisiana, while Sherman hurried to join Grant, McPherson for an inland move against the railroad. The Union fleet, however, failed to silence the Confederate batteries at Grand Gulf, Grant then sailed farther south and began crossing at Bruinsburg, Mississippi, on April 30. Shermans feint against the Yazoo Bluffs—the Battle of Snyders Bluff—was a complete success, Bowen moved south from Grand Gulf with Greens Brigade and took up a position astride the Rodney road just southwest of Port Gibson near Magnolia Church. A single brigade of reinforcements from Vicksburg under Brig. Gen. Edward D. Tracy arrived later and was posted across the Bruinsburg Road two miles north of Greens position, baldwins Brigade arrived later and was positioned in support of Greens Brigade. One-hundred-foot-tall hills separated by nearly vertical ravines choked with canebrakes and underbrush rendered Bowens position tenable, the absence of any Confederate cavalry would have a major impact on the campaign. If Bowen had known that Grants men were landing at Bruinsburg and not Rodney, he would have taken a position on the bluffs above Bruinsburg, denying Grants army a bridgehead into the area. Federal efforts to push rapidly inland were slowed because Maj. Gen. John A. McClernand had forgotten to issue rations to the men, despite the resulting delay, however, the Army of the Tennessee moved onto the river bluffs unopposed and pushed rapidly towards Port Gibson. Shortly after midnight on May 1, advanced elements of the 14th Division under Brig. Gen. Eugene A. Carr engaged Confederate pickets near the Shaifer House, sporadic skirmishing and artillery fire continued until 3 a. m. Wary of Tracys Brigade to the north, McClernand posted Brig. Gen. Peter J. Osterhauss 9th Division facing that direction, having developed each others positions, the opposing forces sat down and waited for daylight. General Carr scouted the ground before him and realized that an assault through the canebrakes would be fruitless. Brig. Gen. Alvin P. Hoveys 12th Division arrived and surged forward just as Carrs men were storming the Confederate position, both flanks were turned, and Greens men broke and ran. McClernand stopped to reorganize, then launched into a series of grandiose speeches until Grant pointed out that the Confederates had simply withdrawn to a defendable position. Reinforced by Brig. Gen. A. J. Smiths 10th Division and Stevensons Brigade of McPhersons XVII Corp, with 20,000 men crowded into a 1. 5-mile front, McClernands plan appeared to be to force his way past the Confederate line. A flanking assault by Col. Francis Cockrells Missourians crumpled the Federal right flank, sundown found the two sides settling into a stalemate along a broad front on the Rodney Road several miles from Port Gibson. McPherson showed up late in the afternoon with John E. Smiths brigade, donning a cloak to disguise his rank, he reviewed the front lines and quickly devised a turning movement that would render untenable the entire Confederate right flank
19.
Battle of Raymond
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The Battle of Raymond was fought on May 12,1863, near Raymond, Mississippi, during the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. The bitter fight pitted elements of Union Army Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grants Army of the Tennessee against Confederate forces of Lt. Gen. John C, Pembertons Department of the Mississippi and East Louisiana. The Confederates failed to prevent the Federal troops from reaching the Southern Railroad and isolating Vicksburg, Mississippi, from reinforcement, during the morning of the 12th, the Confederates enjoyed a two-to-one advantage in numbers, as they faced off across Fourteen Mile Creek against a single Federal brigade. The ranking Confederate officer, Brig. Gen. Gen. James B, the Union casualties at Raymond were 68 killed,341 wounded, and 37 missing. The Confederate casualties were nearly double,100 killed,305 wounded, the small battle had an inordinately large impact on the Vicksburg Campaign. Union interdiction of the railroad interrupted Pembertons attempt to consolidate his forces and prevented him from linking up with his commanding officer. As a result, Pemberton was limited to three options, abandon Vicksburg, withdraw into the city and accept a siege, or fight an engagement against a superior force. Facing conflicting orders from his superiors and open insurrection from his subordinates, Pemberton would be forced into the choice on May 16,1863. There they would form the wing of a force superior in size to the Federal army. In Raymond, arriving reinforcements would be supported by Wirt Adamss Cavalry Regiment, Adams had been ordered by Pemberton to leave his regiment in Raymond and ride to Edwards, Mississippi,15 miles away to organize the assorted cavalry attached to the Confederate main body. However, Adams elected to obey a subsequent order from Confederate Maj. Gen. John S. Bowen instructing him to bring his force to Edwards. The Confederate infantry making its way to Raymond by way of the rail and road included Greggs and Maxeys overstrength brigades from Port Hudson, Louisiana, walkers and States Rights Gists brigades from the east. Complicating the journey, however, was Griersons Raid, which rendered unusable portions of the railroad east of Jackson and about 50 miles of south of Brookhaven. Greggs men consequently marched all but 85 miles of the 200 mile journey from Port Hudson to Jackson, a second cavalry raid, launched by Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson, cut the railroad just north of Brookhaven, trapping the cars of the Jackson & New Orleans Railroad with General Maxeys brigade too far south to assist in the ensuing battle. After being granted a day of rest on the Pearl River just north of Jackson, subsequently, Greggs brigade arrived in Raymond late in the afternoon, and dropped to rest as soon as halted. The rest would prove to be a short one, rather than finding Wirt Adamss cavalry regiment guarding the roads into town, Gregg found the network of roads posted by a five-man detachment of Confederate cavalry and a company of state cavalry. Gregg was forced to picket the roads out of town with his weary infantry, unbeknownst to anyone in the Confederate army, McPhersons men of the XVII Corps were lurking near Utica, Mississippi, maintaining strict drum and bugle silence and a strong cavalry screen
20.
Battle of Jackson, Mississippi
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The Battle of Jackson, fought on May 14,1863, in Jackson, Mississippi, was part of the Vicksburg Campaign in the American Civil War. On May 9, Gen. Johnston received a dispatch from the Confederate Secretary of War directing him to proceed at once to Mississippi and these corps, under the overall command of Grant, had crossed the Mississippi River south of Vicksburg and driven northeast toward Jackson. The railroad connections were to be cut to isolate the Vicksburg garrison, and if the Confederate troops in Jackson were defeated, they would be unable to threaten Grants flank or rear during his eventual assault on Vicksburg. Johnston consulted with the commander, Brig. Gen. John Gregg. Johnston ordered the evacuation of Jackson, but Gregg was to defend Jackson until the evacuation was completed, by 10 a. m. both Union army corps were near Jackson and had engaged the enemy. Rain, Confederate resistance, and poor defenses prevented heavy fighting until around 11 a. m. when Union forces attacked in numbers, in mid-afternoon, Johnston informed Gregg that the evacuation was complete and that he should disengage and follow. Soon after, Union troops entered Jackson and had a celebration in the Bowman House, hosted by Grant and they then burned part of the town and cut the railroad connections with Vicksburg. Johnstons evacuation of Jackson was premature because he could, by late on May 14, have had 11,000 troops at his disposal and by the morning of May 15, the fall of the former Mississippi state capital was a blow to Confederate morale. General Sherman appointed Brig. Gen. Joseph A. Mower to the position of governor of Jackson. With the discovery of a supply of rum, it was impossible for Mowers Brigade to keep order among the mass of soldiers and camp followers. Grant left Jackson on the afternoon of May 15 and proceeded to Clinton, on the morning of May 16 he sent orders for Sherman to move out of Jackson as soon as the destruction was complete. Sherman marched almost immediately, clearing the city by 10 a. m, by nightfall on May 16, Shermans corps reached Bolton, Mississippi, and the Confederacy had reoccupied what remained of Jackson. Jackson had been destroyed as a center and the war industries were crushed. But more importantly the Confederate concentration of men and materials aimed at saving Vicksburg were scattered, Sherman would later lead an expedition against Jackson following the fall of Vicksburg to clear Johnstons relief force from the area. National Park Service battle description CWSAC Report Update
21.
Battle of Big Black River Bridge
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The Battle of Big Black River Bridge, or Big Black, fought May 17,1863, was part of the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. Union commander Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and the Army of the Tennessee pursued the retreating Confederate Lt. Gen. John C, pemberton following the Battle of Champion Hill, in the final battle before the Siege of Vicksburg. Reeling from their defeat at Champion Hill, the Confederates reached Big Black River Bridge, pemberton ordered Brig. Gen. John S. Bowen, with three brigades, to man the fortifications on the east bank of the river and impede any Union pursuit. The Bridge was 1250 ft. long and 150 ft. tall, three divisions of Maj. Gen. John A. McClernands XIII Corps moved out from Edwards Station on the morning of May 17. The corps encountered the Confederates behind breastworks of cotton bales fronted by a bayou and they took cover as enemy artillery began firing. Vaughns East Tennessee Brigade, which had combat experience and was composed of men from largely pro-Union East Tennessee. The entire charge lasted 3 minutes, as soon as they had crossed, the Confederates set fire to the bridge and steamboat, preventing close Union pursuit. The fleeing Confederates who arrived in Vicksburg later that day were disorganized, sergeant William Wesley Kendall of the 49th Indiana was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroism in the charge. The Union forces captured approximately 1,700 troops at Big Black and many drowned trying to cross the river. Fewer than half of the Confederates who had fought at Champion Hill made it into the defenses at Vicksburg, the Confederate force was bottled up at Vicksburg. 2nd ed. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co.1998, massey, Steve Unlocked, The Battle of the Big Black River Bridge Createspace Publishing,2015. Vicksburg, The Campaign that Opened the Mississippi, chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press,2004. Vol.2, Grant Strikes a Fatal Blow, fullenkamp, Leonard, Stephen Bowman, and Jay Luvaas. Lawrence, University Press of Kansas,1998, grabau, Warren E. Ninety-Eighty Days, A Geographers View of the Vicksburg Campaign. Knoxville, University of Tennessee Press,2000, korn, Jerry, and the Editors of Time-Life Books. War on the Mississippi, Grants Vicksburg Campaign, winschel, Terrence J. Triumph & Defeat, The Vicksburg Campaign. Campbell, CA, Savas Publishing Company,1999, woodworth, Steven E. ed. Grants Lieutenants, From Cairo to Vicksburg. Lawrence, University Press of Kansas,2001, CWSAC Report Update National Park Service, Vicksburg West Point Atlas map of Grants advance from Jackson to Vicksburg
22.
Battle of Milliken's Bend
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The Battle of Millikens Bend, fought June 7,1863, was part of the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. Pemberton and his army were besieged in Vicksburg, Mississippi, by Union commander Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, in an effort to cut Grants supply line and relieve the city, the Confederates attacked the Union supply area at Millikens Bend up the Mississippi. The Millikens Bend area,15 miles to the northwest of Vicksburg, had recently served as a staging area for Grants Vicksburg Campaign. It was a site of supply depots and hospitals, many of which were manned and guarded by black soldiers, some of whom were recently recruited men who were freed slaves. Confederate President Jefferson Davis was under political pressure to come to the aid of the besieged Pemberton and his 40,000 troops. Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith to send troops to break up that supply line, unknown to either Smith or Davis, Grant had recently shifted his supply lines to the east bank of the Mississippi above Vicksburg. Smith ordered Maj. Gen. Richard Taylor to mount this attack and he assigned Maj. Gen. John George Walkers Division of Texans, known as Walkers Greyhounds, to Taylors command for that purpose. Taylor objected, citing the marshy nature of the terrain and the uncertainty that the line still existed. He preferred instead to take Walkers troops south to attack a vulnerable New Orleans, banks Army of the Gulf to Port Hudson. Smith rejected Taylors plan, and Taylor reluctantly left with Walker and his men, going down the Red River from Alexandria to the Ouachita River, and from there north toward Richmond, Louisiana. On the morning of June 6, Union Colonel Hermann Lieb with the African Brigade, about three miles from Richmond, Lieb encountered enemy troops at the Tallulah railroad depot and drove them back but then retired, fearing that many more Rebels might be near. While retiring, a squad of Union cavalry appeared, fleeing from a force of Rebels, Lieb got his men into battle line and helped disperse the pursuing enemy. He then retired to Millikens Bend and informed his superior by courier of his actions, the 23rd Iowa Infantry and two gunboats came to his assistance. Walker proceeded east from Richmond at 7 p. m, at midnight, he reached Oaklawn Plantation, which was situated about 7 miles from Millikens Bend to the north and an equal distance from Youngs Point to the south. Around 3,00 a. m. on June 7, Confederates appeared in force and they continued their movement towards the Union left flank. The Federal forces fired some volleys that caused the Rebel line to pause momentarily, in spite of receiving more volleys, the Rebels came on, and hand-to-hand combat ensued. In this intense fighting, the Confederates succeeded in flanking the Union force, the Union force fell back to the river’s bank. About that time Union gunboats Choctaw and Lexington appeared and fired on the Rebels, the Confederates continued firing and began extending to their right to envelop the Federals but failed in their objective
United States (Union)
CSA (Confederacy)
