USA > Mississippi > Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. II > Part 109
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The naval expedition against Vicksburg, the battle of Shiloh and the siege of Corinth, were parts of the first Mississippi cam- paign. The armies then arrayed in northeast Mississippi were the greatest ever collected on the soil of the State, but they were speedily dissipated. The Federals threw out their left and right wings to Memphis and Chattanooga. The Confederates made a like move toward Vicksburg and Chattanooga. Bragg found he was able to turn the Federal left flank along the Cumberland mountains, and made the famous raid toward Louisville, that carried the bulk of the Federal troops, under Buel, back with him into Kentucky. This, for a time, relieved the pressure towards Vicksburg.
Gen. Earl VanDorn was assigned to command of the District of the Mississippi, embracing all the State west of Pearl river and the Central railroad. Gen. John H. Forney was given command of the coast region, as far east as the Chattahoochee river, and north as far as Quitman, in Mississippi. July 4, 1862, VanDorn issued General Orders No. 9, declaring martial law, forbidding trade in cotton with the Federals under pain of death, requiring the acceptance of Confederate money, regulating newspapers and prohibiting exorbitant prices. The provost-marshal general and provosts in each county were charged with the execution of the order. This raised a storm in Mississippi, and the newspapers alluded to the general as a "military tyrant." VanDorn had a plan
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for driving the Federals out of New Orleans with the aid of the ram Arkansas, but this was checkmated by the occupation of Baton Rouge by Gen. Williams, with the troops withdrawn from opposite Vicksburg. Breckinridge was sent by VanDorn to drive Williams out, but failed to capture Baton Rouge (q. v). Breckin- ridge began the fortification of Port Hudson, which became a strong support of Vicksburg on the South. Breckinridge, and the troops with him, did not get back to Jackson until August 17.
Gen. Joseph Wheeler, who succeeded Chalmers in cavalry com- mand, before Tupelo, went on his first raid, in the latter part of July, to Bolivar and Jackson, Tenn., Pinson's regiment forming part of his force, and fought eight battles and destroyed the rail- road bridges and much Federal property, and cotton. Other raids, by Adams and Falkner on the Confederate side, and like ma- noeuvres on the part of the Federals, continued through July and August. Some mounted Mississippians were with Armstrong, in a raid from Holly Springs, August 26, to Denmark, and some of Pinson's men and other companies met Grierson's raid from Mem- phis at the Coldwater railroad bridge a little later.
VanDorn, after the failure of the Baton Rouge expedition and the loss of the ram Arkansas, went to the support of Price in north Mississippi. On the assurance that VanDorn would move from Holly Springs to join him, September 12, Price advanced on Iuka and encamped there, seeking a battle with Rosecrans. VanDorn, with his 10,000, instead of joining Price, moved to Grand Junction, Tenn., where Hurlbut engaged his attention, while Grant, at Burnsville, set two columns in motion against Price, Rosecrans with 9,000 from Jacinto, and Ord with 8,000 north of the railroad. He hoped to destroy or capture Price's entire army. Thus resulted the battle of Iuka (q. v.). Price narrowly escaped from the trap, and he and VanDorn united their forces at Ripley, September 28, VanDorn taking command under orders from the war department. The troops from Vicksburg formed a division under Gen. Mans- field Lovell. The army thus formed was 22,000 strong. VanDorn was confronted by Grant, his headquarters at Jackson, Tenn., with 6.500 men under Sherman at Memphis, 18,000 at Jackson and Bolivar under Ord, and 23,000 under Rosecrans, at Corinth, Rienzi, Burnsville, Jacinto and Iuka. VanDorn made the fatal resolve to attack Rosecrans at Corinth, planning to surprise and defeat him before he could bring in his outposts. The battle of Corinth, (q. v.) that resulted, was one of the bloodiest of the war, and badly crippled VanDorn's army, which retreated to Holly Springs.
October 12, Lieut .- Gen. John C. Pemberton took command of the department of Mississippi and East Louisiana, VanDorn con- tinuing for a time in command of the troops in the field. In the reorganization that followed, the Mississippi infantry in the army was concentrated in a brigade of Maury's division consisting of the 35th, 36th, 37th, 38th, 40th and 43d regiments and 7th battalion. On November 1 began the second campaign against Vicksburg, (q. v.) which absorbed the military activity of the State until the
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close of the year. The retreat of Grant from Oxford, and the de- feats of Sherman at Chickasaw Bayou, of Rosecrans at Murfrees- boro, and of Hooker at Fredericksburg, all in December, marked the real "high tide of the Confederacy." In these successful ef- forts of the South, her strength was well-nigh exhausted, while the North and West had hardly begun to feel the stress of war. The Union armies halted for breath and recruits, and then in 1863 it was, On to Vicksburg, while in Tennessee and Virginia there was feinting, and sparring and raiding, each side trying to hold the other from reinforcing the armies in Mississippi. At Chan- cellorsville it was demonstrated that without Longstreet's corps, Lee's army was adequate for defense. Later in the year Longstreet was spared to fight at Chickamauga, where many Mississippians died in vain. But in the spring the Union strategy prevailed. Even the invasion of Pennsylvania was too late to save Vicksburg, and resulted in the destructive carnage at Gettysburg. Unfortun- ately for the South, she could not, at least did not, spare an ade- quate force to aid Mississippi, and Vicksburg fell, deciding the fate of the Confederacy. The power that could hold the Missis- sippi river was the power that could command the credit of Europe. The power that could hold the Mississippi river must control and unify the great Mississippi valley, the heart and lungs and trunk of the continent.
Gen. Joseph E. Johnston was from November, 1862, at the head of the Confederate operations for the defense of the river, with headquarters at Chattanooga, and in command of all the country between the Carolina coast and the great river. Under his com- mand, Gen. Pemberton continued in charge of the army in Mis- sissippi. On the other side, Gen. U. S. Grant was given command of all the military forces on the Mississippi, in January, 1863.
Grant was so well supplied with troops that he could leave 30,- 000 to hold the line of the Memphis & Charleston railroad, east to Corinth, whence frequent raids were made into the State. He collected troops to join with Sherman, at Young's Point, on the Louisiana side. The defenders of Vicksburg had fortified from Haynes' bluff, on the Yazoo, down past Vicksburg to where the bluffs recede from the river. The river between Port Hudson and Vicksburg was in the hands of the Confederates. Commander Ellet, with the ironclad Queen of the West, ran the Vicksburg bat- teries, and captured two Confederate steamers, but he in turn was captured by Gen. Richard Taylor, who took the ironclad and sunk the Indianola, which Col. Wirt Adams made an unsuccessful ef- fort to raise and add to the Confederate navy. Grant's efforts to find a passage through the Yazoo delta were carried on while he had large forces of men at work opening up three passages through the bayous in Louisiana opposite Vicksburg through which he could transport his army south of the Confederate works. Hence the Yazoo campaign must be taken as an effort to mislead Pem- berton, rather than a hopeful undertaking. He cut the levees at Yazoo pass, nearly opposite Helena, and by that inlet sent an
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expedition down the Coldwater and Tallahatchie, led by the iron- clad Chillicothe. Gen. Loring, from Bragg's army, built Fort Pemberton with cotton bales covered with earth, near Greenwood, and obstructed the river. He had with him some Louisiana troops and the 20th and 26th Mississippi regiments. The Federal gunboats attacked March 12, were repulsed, and returned with reinforcements for another attempt. Meanwhile Loring was re- inforced by Gen. Maury with Featherston's brigade and six guns. There was a three days' bombardment, and then the expedition was withdrawn April 4.
In the same period, Admiral Porter, supported by Sherman's corps, attempted to open up a passage by way of Steel's bayou, Black's bayou, Deer Creek, Rolling Fork and Sunflower river, into the Yazoo. Gen. S. D. Lee fortified lower Deer Creek and would have been able to give the expedition a warm reception if Col. S. W. Ferguson, with 250 sharpshooters, reinforced by Feather- ston's brigade, had not stopped the fleet at the mouth of Rolling Fork, where there was brisk fighting on the 20th and 21st of March.
These movements kept the Confederate forces widely scattered along a line from Greenwood to Grand Gulf, where Bowen's bri- gade was stationed March 11. At the same time the Federal activity in the north part of the State led to the transfer of Rust's Arkansas brigade and two regiments under Gen. Buford from Port Hudson to Jackson. Gen. Chalmers, disabled by wounds re- ceived at Murfreesboro, was put in command of the Fifth mili- tary district of the State, comprising the northern counties, but the troops at his command were very few. Port Hudson was be- sieged, and Farragut came to the support of Grant, losing one vessel under the guns of Port Hudson, but carrying two through, which shelled the batteries at Grand Gulf and Warrenton, and were joined below Vicksburg by one of Porter's boats which ran the Vicksburg batteries. Another ironclad, attempting to run past, was destroyed by the Confederate batteries, about March 20. April 4, Grant sent word to Washington that he had decided to run Porter's fleet past the batteries, while a part of his army would be conveyed by small boats and barges through the Louis- lana bayous to some point below Vicksburg. This was, of course, unknown to the Confederate authorities. Grant, risking all on his plan, sent the transports back to Memphis, and this persuaded Pemberton, as Bragg was calling for help in Tennessee, to put three brigades at Jackson and vicinity under orders to proceed to Tullahoma. McClernand's corps, of Grant's army, on April 2 oc- cupied Richmond, La., and was pushing its outposts toward New Carthage, on the river. Bowen, at Grand Gulf, had a picket line west of the river, and he asked permission of Pemberton, April 8, to cross and meet the Federal advance which was rumored. Pemberton replied that he did not consider the Federal operations in that quarter important enough for Bowen to run the risk of being cut off by Farragut. On the 15th Gen. S. D. Lee reported
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after a reconnoissance that the Federal army was yet in force opposite Vicksburg, but there were indications of a flank attack at Bayou Pierre. On the night of the 16th there was the first open evidence of Grant's intentions, by the running of the Vicksburg batteries by Admiral Porter, with eight gunboats, three transports and barges. There was a spectacular bombardment of the silent shadows that flitted past, but no serious damage was done to them except the sinking of one transport. Bowen immediately with- drew his outpost in Louisiana, and the 6th Mississippi, the 1st Con- federate, and a field battery were sent to Grand Gulf, and Green's brigade from Jackson to Vicksburg.
Simultaneously with this movement began Grierson's raid (q. v.) from LaGrange, Tenn., to Baton Rouge, which occupied the Confederate cavalry in central and Southern Mississippi while Grant was making his crossing. Chalmers was kept busy in north- west Mississippi by an infantry expedition from Memphis, which brought on a severe little battle at Hernando, April 18, in which Col. W. C. Falkner lost 40 killed. Another fight followed as the Federals advanced, toward Coldwater, and Chalmers scored a vic- tory, compelling the enemy to retreat. The cavalry command of VanDorn had been ordered to Tennessee, to assist Bragg against Rosecrans. Under all these circumstances, skilfully planned to confuse the Confederate commanders, Grant made his lodgment on Mississippi soil south of Vicksburg. On the 29th he had 10,000 men at Hard Times landing, on the Louisiana side, and Porter, with seven ironclads, attempted to silence the Grand Gulf bat- teries so that the transports could be used. Porter failed to do this, whereupon Grant disembarked his infantry, marched them down to De Shroon's landing, and the transports were brought down to them, under cover of another attack on the batteries. He was now beyond the last Confederate fortifications on the south, and on April 30 he landed 20,000 men at Bruinsburg. Then followed the Vicksburg campaign of 1863 (q. v.). On May 18 began the siege of Vicksburg (q. v.).
The first aggressive operations on the outside were by the Fed- erals. McPherson marched in the latter part of May, with the object of making the region between the Yazoo and Big Black unavailable for occupation by Johnston. He burned 500,000 bushels of grain and immense quantities of bacon, destroyed every grist mill in the valley, drove away 1,000 head of cattle, several hundred mules and horses, and brought back "an army of negroes equal to the number of men in the command." Col. Wirt Adams and Gen. John Adams met the foragers at Mechanicsburg and stopped their advance.
Gen. Johnston collected troops at Jackson for the relief of the besieged garrison. After he had been joined by Loring's division, containing the bulk of the Mississippi regiments, and by the divi- sions of Gens. John C. Breckinridge, S. G. French and W. H. T. Walker, he had at his command, June 25, according to the enroll- ment, 54,747 men. There were present for duty 2,657 officers and
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28,569 men. At the same time about 30,000 men were shut up around Vicksburg. United, they would have closely approached, in sufficient numbers, the armies of Lee and Bragg. Breckinridge moved forward to Clinton June 30 and July 1 Johnston encamped his army between Brownsville and the Yazoo. Col. Wirt Adams, who led a cavalry reconnoissance to Edwards, reported that the situation was hopeful if the garrison could hold out three weeks. Johnston could expect no help from the Trans-Mississippi army, and half of Grant's army near Vicksburg lay in a line between the Yazoo and Big Black, and another large part defended the ap- proaches across the Big Black. With the force at his command Johnston could not expect to make much of an impression. But he sent word to Pemberton July 3 that he would soon attack, and he was making reconnoissances south of the railroad when news came of the surrender. Johnston then fell back, reaching Jackson on the 7th, and two days later Sherman, with three corps of the Federal army, appeared before the entrenched line surrounding Jackson, and began intrenching and planting batteries. There was spirited skirmishing on the 11th and next day a heavy cannonade, and an assault on the line held by Breckinridge, which was re- pulsed, the Federals losing about 500 men, and three battle flags. The bombardment was kept up in the following days, and the investing lines were extended to Pearl river north and south of the city. On the night of the 16th Johnston evacuated, leaving the heavy guns and withdrawing his army to Meridian. His loss during the siege of Jackson, July 9-16, was 71 killed, 504 wounded, 25 missing. Sherman's loss was 130 killed, 762 wounded and 231 missing. Both armies were in bad condition as a result of cam- paigning in July. Sherman occupied the town, and endeavored to make it untenable by Confederate forces by destruction of public and private property. On the 18th he reported to Grant: "We have made fine progress today in the work of destruction. Jackson will no longer be a point of danger. The land is devastated for thirty miles around." But Grant, on the request of Sherman, sent over 200 barrels of flour and 200.000 pounds of pork, for the starv- ing inhabitants. After an expedition to Canton, Sherman's army was withdrawn to Vicksburg.
July 13 another Federal expedition arrived at Yazoo, by river transportation, escorted by gunboats. Capt. Isaac N. Brown was there, with a little fleet of gunboats he had been contriving. He repelled the Federals at first, and one ironclad of 13 guins was blown up by a torpedo, but he was forced to destroy his boats and retreat. On the same day an expedition occupied Natchez and began raids to destroy military, railroad and manufacturing prop- erty at Liberty and Woodville.
Throughout the siege there had been raids in the northern part of the State. Wirt Adams fought an artillery battle with Federal gunboats at Liverpool landing May 20-23d. McCulloch's cavalry engaged an expedition from LaGrange in the Senatobia swamp, May 23. At the same time Slemons fought with a cavalry expedi-
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tion that burned the town of Austin. June 13-22 there was another raid from LaGrange, Tenn., that was worsted by Barteau's cavalry near Rocky Ford, on the Tallahatchie. Chalmers' command, which had been stationed on the river, bombarding Federal steamers as they passed Dale's point, routed another expedition from Tennessee at Hernando June 18, and at Hudsonville another attack was made by Col. McQuirk. June 21 Col. R. C. Wood had an encounter at Jones' plantation, and on the 25th there was an affair at Brookhaven. Sherman sent Col. Winslow, with orders that supplies should be paid for, and that "it is now to the inter- est of the government that plundering and pillaging should cease." Winslow met an expedition from LaGrange, Tenn., that had occu- pied Grenada, August 17, and was burning cars and buildings. On its retreat there was a fight with Chalmers on the Coldwater. After this there was comparative quiet, except skirmishes at Jacinto and Holly Springs, September 7, and battling with a land expedition to Yazoo City, until October.
Atlanta had now become the objective of Federal movements, and troops were concentrated toward Chattanooga. Many of the officers and soldiers of the Vicksburg army were already ex- changed. In August Gen. S. D. Lee was given command of all the cavalry in Mississippi, including the brigades of Jackson, Starke, Chalmers and Richardson, and preparations were made for aggressive operations to clear the State of Federal troops. Chal- mers raided the Memphis & Charleston railroad and fought a considerable battle near Salem, October 8. Following up the re- treating Federal cavalry, he attacked Collierville, Tenn., October 11, which Gen. Sherman and staff had just entered. Sherman took command of the 500 men, refused a demand to surrender, and after a four hours' fight, Chalmers was compelled to withdraw. At Wyatt, October 13, Chalmers had another serious encounter with the enemy. Under cover of this movement Lee made a cav- alry expedition into Alabama to cut the railroad between Chatta- nooga and Nashville. October 14, Gen. McPherson, who had been left in command at Vicksburg, started on an expedition toward Canton with 6,500 infantry and a cavalry brigade; but he was stopped by Col. Wirt Adams, with Cosby's and Logan's cavalry, on Bogue Chitto. October 26 Gen. S. F. Ferguson, with a small command, routed a body of colored troops at Bay Springs.
Grant was now in supreme command of the Union armies in the west, and was hurrying Sherman from Memphis to Chattanooga, for the relief of Rosecrans, besieged by Bragg at Chattanooga. Gen. J. E. Johnston, the Confederate commander in chief, ordered Chalmers to harass the rear of Sherman's columns, and destroy the railroads. Richardson and Gholson's State troops, cut the railroad between Corinth and LaGrange, while Chalmers attacked Collierville again, but found the place reinforced. Col. J. Z. George, leading the advance of Slemon's brigade, was captured in the town, and there was a heavy loss in killed and wounded. Novem- ber 22 Maj. Ham's battalion of State troops skirmished with the
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First Alabama (U. S.) near Corinth. Early in December Chalmers again entered Tennessee and fought near Moscow. About the same time Gen. S. D. Lee, with the brigades of Ferguson and Ross, moved eastward and united with the forces of Gen. N. B. Forrest, who had been assigned to command in west Tennessee. As the winter came on, and hopes, revived after the overwhelming disaster at Vicksburg by the defeat of Rosecrans at Chickamauga, had been dashed again by the rout of Bragg by Grant at Mission- ary Ridge, the Federal occupation of Mississippi was by 4,000 men. at Corinth, about 16,000 at and near Vicksburg, 2,500 cavalry at Hebron, and 150 at Nachez. Wirt Adams, promoted to brigadier- general, made a demonstration against Natchez early in December causing an increase of garrison.
On the Confederate side, Loring's division, including the Mis- sissippi brigades of Featherston and John Adams (lately Tilgh- man's) had headquarters at Canton. French's division was also in the State, and Baldwin's brigade of Mississippians in Forney's division had been exchanged and armed. Other Mississippi com- mands were exchanged or yet in camp under parole. The cavalry, including Tennesseeans, Arkansans, and Texans, as well as Mis- sissipians, was organized in two divisions by Gen. Lee, under Gens. W. H. Jackson and J. R. Chalmers. In Jackson's division Col. Peter B. Starke commanded a brigade including the following Mississippi regiments : his own, the 28th ; Col. J. G. Ballentine's regi- ment and the First, Col. R. A. Pinson. Gen. Wirt Adams' brigade contained these Mississippi commands: his own under Col. R. C. Wood, 2d, Maj. J. L. Harris, Maj. T. R. Stockdale's battalion, and Capt. Calvit Roberts' battery.
Col. John McQuirk's regiment of State troops, the 5th cavalry, Col. J. Z. George, and Capt. J. M. Mclendon's battery, were in Slemons' brigade of Chalmers' division. In McCulloch's brigade were the First partisans, Lieut .- Col. L. B. Hovis ; A. H. Chalmers' battalion, and the Buckner battery, Lieut. H. C. Holt. The 12th cavalry, Col. W. M. Inge, was operating in northern Mississippi. The State troops were under command of Maj .- Gen. Samuel J. Gholson.
In November, 1863, Governor Pettus said he had kept constantly in the field all the volunteer State cavalry that could possibly be raised, and these rendered much important service in protecting the country from raids at a time when there were no Confederate troops to spare for that purpose. They were mostly unattached battalions and companies, well acquainted with the roads and by- ways of the country where they served, and were able to more effectively oppose the enemy than larger bodies of troops could have done. Some idea of the romance as well as danger of this service is preserved in Cabell's famous masterpiece, "The Cava- lier." The governor complained that his efforts in this direction were much embarrassed by the opposition of a part of the press of the State to the militia law passed in the winter of 1862-63.
Throughout the northern and river counties, the negro popula- 58-II
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tion deserted the plantations to a considerable extent to go into the Federal lines, where many were organized into regiments. Said Governor Pettus in November, 1863, "already marauding bands of these freed negroes are desolating neighborhoods in the valley of the Mississippi." He advised laws for the removal of the negroes from the exposed districts.
The divisions of Loring, French and Forney, and the cavalry corps of Lee, formed the Army of the Mississippi, reorganized under the command of Lieut .- Gen. Leonidas L. Polk, who was as- signed to this post October 23. He made his headquarters at Meridian, and had an effective force of about 16,000 men, of which the strongest parts were Loring's division, about 5,500 effectives, and Lee's cavalry, about 7,500. This was after Forney's division, including Baldwin's Mississippi brigade (4th, 35th, 39th, 40th and 46th regiments), had been transferred to Gen. Maury at Mobile. Forrest came down to Cosmo from Tennessee with 3,000 men he had picked up within the Federal lines, and was calling in Mis- sissipians to fill his new command. He had full command in north Mississippi, with unusual powers, and Gen. S. D. Lee had com- mand in southern Mississippi and east Louisiana, with headquar- ters at Jackson.
Grant, in January, was preparing an important campaign against Meridian, also Mobile, if it should be practicable. Sherman was sent back to Vicksburg to command the army of invasion. Gen. Hurlbut, at Corinth, evacuated that town and burned it, and ar- ranged to cooperate with Sherman, who was to march from Vicks- burg with 25,000 men, while Gen. Sooy Smith advanced from Memphis with 6,500 cavalry by way of Pontotoc. Lee could do no more than skirmish with Sherman. Ross' Texans guarded the Yazoo, Starke was posted at Brownsville and Wirt Adams at Raymond. The Federals made a demonstration with infantry, cavalry and gunboats up the Yazoo in the last days of January, which Ross gallantly struggled against, and under cover of that, Sherman marched his two corps across the Big Black and rapidly advanced toward Clinton. Wirt Adams, with his small brigade of 800 troopers, fought the advance of one corps between Baker's Creek and Edwards, and fell back fighting, making another notable stand at Clinton on February 4. The advance of the other corps, north of the railroad to Jackson, was contested by Starke's bri- gade. On the 8th, finding that Sherman was crossing Pearl river toward Meridian, Lee disposed part of his command to cover Lor- ing's infantry, and sent Jackson, with the brigades of Adams and Starke, to attack the flank of Sherman's column. But Sherman so carefully protected his line of march that Adams was able to do very little damage. French, joining Loring, formed line of battle near Morton on the 8th, but was not seriously attacked. Sherman occupied Meridian February 14, 1864, and Polk fell back to De- mopolis, Ala. Sooy Smith's cavalry column delayed ten days in starting, which was fatal. He was defeated by Forrest near Oko- lona (q. v.), and driven back to Memphis. But this served to
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