Jackson expedition

In late 1862, the Confederate stronghold at Vicksburg, Mississippi was the last major fortress on the last section of the Mississippi controlled by the Confederacy. After the Battle of Arkansas Post (1863) on January 11, 1863, the Confederates controlled only a 240-mile (386.2-km) stretch of the river from Vicksburg to Port Hudson, Louisiana. The Confederates remained able to block Union shipping over that section of the river and to allow communications and supply between Confederate states east and west of the river, especially at the main transfer point at Vicksburg. Several attempts to capture Vicksburg overland from Tennessee in December 1862 and by attacking the city from the impassable bayous across the river in Louisiana in early 1863 failed. Grant then devised a plan for a second campaign to capture the city by crossing the Mississippi south of Vicksburg and approaching the city from the south. == Vicksburg Campaign ==

Start of the campaign On April 15 and April 22, 1863, Union gunboats, transports and supply vessels ran past the Confederate artillery batteries at Vicksburg from north to south with the loss of one gunboat, one transport with hospital stores and six barges with coal. Grant could now move his army across the river to Mississippi but the Union naval force could not silence all Confederate artillery batteries at Grand Gulf. Grant and Acting Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter decided to move farther south and, with advice from an escaped slave, found a suitable landing at Bruinsburg, Mississippi. Grant's forces successfully crossed the river without Confederate opposition on the night of April 30, 1863 and into the day on May 1. At the Battle of Port Gibson on May 1, Union forces defeated the heavily outnumbered Confederates under Brigadier General John S. Bowen, causing the abandonment of the Port Gibson defenses and securing the Union position east of the river. The Confederate defenses on the Mississippi at Grand Gulf, Mississippi became untenable with Bowen's defeat and the Confederates also abandoned that position on May 2. Pemberton commanded the Army of Tennessee from Jackson, Mississippi, 44 miles by railroad west of Vicksburg, from the first week of October 1862 until May 1, 1863. Major General Carter L. Stevenson, a subordinate of Pemberton's, was in command at Vicksburg, including the area between Haines Bluff and Grand Gulf. After Grant's army successfully crossed the Mississippi River from Louisiana at Bruinsburg, Mississippi on April 30-May 1, Pemberton moved his headquarters and three divisions from Jackson to Vicksburg. On May 9, the remaining Confederate garrison of about 6,000 men at Vicksburg came under the direct command of General Joseph E. Johnston, who was in charge of the Confederate Department of the West. Johnston was ordered to take command of the Mississippi defenses on May 9, but was not given full authority over Pemberton, who, along with General Braxton Bragg and Trans-Mississippi commander Theophilus Holmes, reported directly to Confederate States President Jefferson Davis. Johnston arrived at Jackson on May 13, 1863 to take charge of troops there and to carry out his orders to advise Pemberton. Johnston could only try to persuade Pemberton to act, including to accept Johnston's plan to combine forces to confront Grant in the field. Grant decided not to take the narrow and rough direct route to Vicksburg but to approach from the east after moving northeast to destroy a portion of the Southern Railroad of Mississippi to prevent supplies and reinforcements moving from Jackson to Vicksburg. Grant also wanted to defeat Pemberton's forces outside the Vicksburg defenses, if possible. On May 12, Union Major General McPherson's XVII Corps defeated a detached Confederate brigade near Jackson at the Battle of Raymond, despite some mismanagement of the battle. McPherson did not pursue Brigadier General John Gregg's brigade back to Jackson. Battle of Jackson Grant was unsure of the size of the Confederate force at Jackson. He decided to eliminate any threat to his army from Confederate forces at Jackson before moving against Pemberton's force. Three divisions led by Pemberton had taken the field to intercept Grant's supply line. Without waiting for the imminent arrival of reinforcements, Johnston decided to abandon Jackson with the garrison of 6,000 troops and to regroup at Canton, Mississippi, about 25 miles to the north. The city was surrendered by militia artillerymen and armed civilians. Grant left Sherman's corps in Jackson with orders to destroy anything of military value. Sherman's corps left Jackson on May 16, 1863. Battles of Champion Hill and Big Black River Bridge On May 13, 1863, Pemberton led a force of 18,500 men in three divisions from Vicksburg to a point halfway to Jackson. Grant expected to find Johnston's force near Bolton, Mississippi along the Southern Railroad of Mississippi and decided to move his army in that direction. Instead of moving toward Johnston's force, Grant learned that Pemberton was heading toward Bolton to try to cut what he thought was the Union supply line. Then, because of a bridge washout, Pemberton's men had to cross Baker's Creek upstream and camp east of the creek at Champion Hill. Despite the approach of Grant's entire force early on May 16, Pemberton was unaware of the full threat. The Confederates were soundly defeated at the Battle of Champion Hill, 18 miles west of Jackson, and retreated to Vicksburg. Start of the Vicksburg siege The Confederates withdrew into the Vicksburg defenses on May 17, 1863. There, Pemberton ordered the garrisons at Haines Bluff, Walnut Hills and Warrenton to abandon their positions and move to the inner works at Vicksburg. On May 18, 1863, Pemberton received an instruction from Johnston to abandon the city and join his forces at Canton but Pemberton refused to do so, stating that he would hold the city. After costly Union frontal assaults at Vicksburg failed on May 19, 1863, and May 22, 1863, Union siege operations at Vicksburg began. Grant formally ordered the operations on May 25. Grant's Special Order Number 140, May 25, 1863, formally initiating siege operations, read: “Corps commanders will immediately commence the work of reducing the enemy by regular approaches. It is desirable that no more loss of life shall be sustained in the reduction of Vicksburg and the capture of the garrison.” ==End of Vicksburg siege==

On June 22, 1863, Grant received an erroneous report that Johnston had crossed the Big Black River and was preparing to attack the Union forces. He also heard that some Union cavalry troopers were driven back by a Confederate raid at Birdsong's Ferry. Concerned with the possibility that Johnston would try to begin offensive operations from behind the Union positions, Grant ordered Sherman to expand a defensive line facing east from Snyder's Bluff overlooking the Yazoo River to the railroad bridge over the Big Black River west of Messinger's Ferry. On June 25, 1863, Grant tried to bring the siege to a close by ordering mine explosions under the Confederate Third Louisiana Redan and a major Union attack on the Confederate positions after the explosion. The assault on the Confederate line failed to take the position. On July 1, another mine explosion was set off under the redan but it was not followed by an assault because the explosion was set off mainly to show the Confederates that their position was hopeless. He later would report to Jefferson Davis that he had received men but not the supplies, artillery, horses and wagons needed to move them. While Johnston delayed, Grant was being reinforced continuously through June. The Confederates did not approach the Union lines near Vicksburg until July 1. He found that the Union exterior line established by Sherman extended farther and was stronger than he anticipated. He decided these lines were too strong to attack along the east side of the Big Black River, which some historians assert he did not want to do in any event. ==Jackson expedition==

Leaving Vicksburg After learning of the surrender of Pemberton's army on July 4, 1863, on the same afternoon, Sherman ordered the units assigned for the expedition against Jackson to move to the Big Black River crossings. Sherman ordered the XV Corps to march to Messinger's Ferry, the XIII Corps to march to the Big Black River Bridge where a pontoon bridge also needed to be constructed and the IX Corps to move to Birdsong's Ferry. On July 5, Johnston learned of the surrender of Vicksburg and its defenders and began to move east toward Jackson. Although Johnston began to move back to Jackson on July 5, he left detachments to guard some of the crossings of the Big Black River. brigade of Brigadier General James M. Tuttle's Third Division of Major General Frederick Steele's XV Corps crossed the river on July 5 in an effort to secure a bridgehead and were met by Confederate pickets. By late afternoon, Tuttle's men had secured the crest of a hill overlooking the river, pushed the Confederates away and established a camp more than three miles ahead on Bridgeport Road. The remainder of Steele's division crossed the bridge without encountering resistance. Confederate cavalry defenders under Brigadier General John Wilkins Whitfield were hidden in the underbrush across the river and brought the Union soldiers under small arms fire when they reached the river. On the morning of July 6, a Union patrol found and raised an old ferryboat which they repaired. Skirmishes were fought on July 6 at Edwards Station, Jones Ford and Messigner's Ferry. Confederate Captain William H. Edwards later wrote that civilians took buckets off the water well ropes along the route and more than half the men “gave out, completely exhausted.” The defensive works at Jackson had been partially repaired after the Battle of Jackson on May 14 and the return of Johnston six days later. Johnston was not satisfied with the condition of the entrenchments. Sherman had not heard from Parke and decided to rest at Bolton on July 8 to give the IX Corps time to catch up. A violent thunderstorm causing a torrential downpour helped alleviate conditions on the march, at least temporarily. At 4:00 p.m. on July 8, Sherman learned that the IX corps was on the way and ordered the XIII Corps and XV Corps to resume the march to Jackson. The XI Corps caught up by moving cross country over rolling hills. Bussey's cavalry and several companies of infantry also had to fight Whitfield's men on the Bridgeport Road three miles west of town. One last skirmish near Jackson was fought on July 9 between troops of William Sooy Smith's division and troops manning Confederate outposts. Smith had the men bivouac for the night in line of battle because he was concerned they might become isolated. Historian Jim Woodrick noted that numerous accounts by soldiers of both sides complained about the extreme heat and parched conditions. Sherman moved his headquarters to Clinton on the evening of July 9 and began to plan for the approach to the city. ==Siege of Jackson==

Deployment After personally scouting the Confederate defenses, upon his arrival at Jackson on July 10, 1863, Sherman ordered his corps commanders to spread out around them at about 1,500 yards from Confederate parapets, with skirmishers closer up and supports for them within 500 yards. Major General Francis P. Blair's division led the XV Corps toward Jackson on the morning of July 10. As the Union division closed in on the silent Confederate fortifications at about 9:30 a.m., a Confederate 32-pounder gun, then other artillery, opened fire on them. Initial Confederate resistance from a small Confederate outpost on Lynch Creek and some men of French's division was driven off by Fullerton's cavalry and infantry support from Osterhaus's division. Lauman's division was at the end of the line and farther back from the Confederate line than the other Union divisions. To the northwest of the city, the earlier arriving division of William Sooy Smith waited for other IX Corps divisions to catch up. By mid-afternoon the IX Corps began to move to the east with W. S. Smith's force east of the New Orleans, Jackson and Great Northern Railroad line heading north from Jackson. When the full Union deployment was completed, Union divisions occupied positions opposite Confederate divisions in a semi-circular defensive line west of the town between branches of the Pearl River opposite Confederate divisions. Sherman deployed the XIII Corps under Ord on the Union right which was on the south end of the line on both sides of the Raymond Road. By the end of the day on July 11, Sherman was satisfied about the construction of the protective earthworks and artillery positions and he ordered a general bombardment of Confederate positions. Sherman's forces brought only a small number of artillery rounds per gun on the march to Jackson. The Confederate cavalry failed to stop the delivery to Sherman's forces because Sherman received intelligence that the cavalry had been dispatched and acted to protect the wagon train. Sherman ordered a brigade stationed at Champion Hill to escort the train and another brigade to move to Clinton to protect it. After the bombardment, Major General Ord told Brigadier General Hovey to move forward and entrench close to the Confederate fortifications. While Hovey stopped his division's advance about 500 yards short of the Confederate line, Lauman had ordered his men to advance and attack. After Lauman came to examine the front at Pugh's request, however, he ordered Pugh to continue even though Hovey's force had stopped to dig in. Eighty yards from the Confederate line, Pugh's men were stopped by an abatis and Confederate fire. Before the Union assault, Confederate soldiers had burned the Cooper House to give a clear field of fire in front of their fortifications. At the family's request, the soldiers saved some items, including a piano. while William Shea & Terrence Winshel as well as historian Jim Woodrick state that the Union force suffered 465 total casualties. Colonel Seth C. Earl commander of the 53rd Illinois Infantry Regiment was killed and Colonel Aaron Brown of the 3rd Iowa Infantry Regiment was wounded in the assault. The Confederates had seven casualties, only two killed and five wounded. When Ord went to Lauman's headquarters after being informed of the attack, he found Lauman disoriented and unable to put his division in order. Ord relieved Lauman of command, placing his division under Hovey's command. The largest such engagement was a reconnaissance in force by six Union regiments on July 15 which established that the Confederates were still in position opposite Parke's corps and resulted in Union casualties of two killed and five wounded. Sharpshooters also were active throughout the remainder of the siege. The Confederate cavalry effort to find and attack the Union ammunition wagon train was thwarted by the two infantry brigades that Sherman had sent to protect the wagons. Sherman also ordered Brigadier General Charles Matthies to reinforce the garrison at Clinton to stop the Confederate cavalry's progress. Only a small part of the Confederate force was able to advance to spot the wagon train. Sherman's forces made a weak attempt to pursue the Confederates but intolerable heat and a lack of cavalry to keep in contact with and to harass the Confederate forces ultimately caused Sherman to give up the pursuit. They found many of Lauman's wounded men from the July 12 attack at a Confederate hospital. After an exchange of artillery fire, Geddes's men moved toward the Confederate position through a large cornfield. As the Union soldiers got within small arms range, a torrential downpour ended the encounter. After tearing up the railroad and burning the depot on July 20, the Union force gave up the pursuit and returned to Jackson. Determined to leave nothing of value for the Confederates after they withdrew from Jackson, Sherman's men destroyed commercial buildings, factories, warehouses and remaining railroad facilities around Jackson. On July 17, Colonel Cyrus Bussey's cavalry, reinforced by Colonel Charles R. Woods's artillery battery, entered Canton, Mississippi and wrecked railroad yards, five locomotives, thirty rail cars, two turntables, a large lumber yard and the Dixie Works, which produced various types of conveyances for the Confederate government. By July 23, the comprehensive destruction caused by the Union troops led to Jackson's nickname as "Chimneyville." A newspaper correspondent for the Memphis Appeal had been in Jackson during the siege and later reported that some fires had been started by Johnston's men before they left in order to destroy supplies. After an appeal by the mayor of Jackson before the Union forces departed for Vicksburg on July 23, Sherman left 200 barrels of flour and 100 barrels of salt pork for the few hundred civilians remaining at Jackson. By July 25, Sherman's men had returned to Vicksburg where they were able to rest for the remainder of the summer. Confederate casualties during the siege were 71 killed, 504 wounded and 25 missing. Union casualties were 129 killed, 762 wounded and 231 missing. The re-capture of Jackson by the Union Army effectively ended the last potential Confederate threat to re-take Vicksburg. Historian Michael Ballard wrote that Johnston's retreat was the last major action by a large Confederate force in Mississippi and that most of his "Army of Relief" would be combined with the Army of Tennessee. With the capture of Port Hudson, Louisiana at the conclusion of the Siege of Port Hudson on July 9, 1863, the Union Army and Union Navy gained complete control of the Mississippi River. ==References==