Battle of Grand Gulf
Battle of Grand Gulf | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the Vicksburg campaign | |||||||
1887 illustration of Union ships bombarding the Confederate positions at Grand Gulf | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
United States (Union) | CSA (Confederacy) | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
David D. Porter | John S. Bowen | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
Mississippi Squadron | Bowen's division | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
7 ironclad warships c. 10,000 men on transport vessels | 4,200 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
75–80 | 18–22 |
The Battle of Grand Gulf was fought on April 29, 1863, during the
The next day, Union forces crossed the river at Bruinsburg, Mississippi. A Union victory in the Battle of Port Gibson on May 1 secured the beachhead and forced the abandonment of the position at Grand Gulf, which became a Union supply point. Grant's command moved inland, and after defeating Confederate forces in the Battle of Champion Hill on May 16, began the Siege of Vicksburg two days later. Vicksburg surrendered on July 4, marking a major Confederate defeat and a turning point in the war. The Grand Gulf battlefield is preserved in Grand Gulf Military State Park, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
Background
Early in the
In late November, about 40,000 Union infantry commanded by
By late March, further attempts to bypass Vicksburg had failed.[9] Grant then considered three plans: to withdraw to Memphis and retry the overland route through northern Mississippi; to move south along the west side of the Mississippi River, cross below Vicksburg, and then strike for the city; or to make an amphibious assault across the river directly against Vicksburg. An assault across the river risked heavy casualties, and a withdrawal to Memphis could be politically disastrous if the public perceived such a movement as a retreat. Grant then decided upon the downstream crossing.[10] The advance along the west bank of the Mississippi began on March 29, and was spearheaded by Major General John A. McClernand's troops.[11] The movement down the river was masked by decoy operations such as Steele's Greenville expedition,[12] Streight's Raid, and Grierson's Raid.[13] Confederate regional commander John C. Pemberton fell for the Union decoys (especially Grierson's Raid), and lost touch with the true tactical situation, believing Grant was withdrawing.[14]
Prelude
On multiple occasions in mid-1862, Confederate
In early April, Bowen became aware of Grant's movement down the west side of the Mississippi River, and sent part of his force under the command of
After dark on April 22, more transports were run down the river past Vicksburg: one transport and several barges were lost, and all of the surviving transports were damaged.
On April 28, Pemberton finally realized the importance of the Union buildup near Grand Gulf. He ordered Carter L. Stevenson to prepare a 5,000-man force to be sent to Grand Gulf at Bowen's discretion, but Stevenson still regarded the Union move south as a feint in preparation for an assault directly against Vicksburg.[31] Bowen lacked a cavalry force for scouting, as the cavalry at Grand Gulf had been sent elsewhere to chase down Grierson's Raid.[32] The work on the defenses at Grand Gulf had resulted in a much stronger position than had been there at the beginning of March.[33] Two forts were the strongpoints of the fortification. The stronger was known as Fort Cobun, and the other as Fort Wade.[34]
Fort Cobun was positioned on a 40-foot (12 m) tall bluff known as Point of Rock and had a
Battle
At 7:00 a.m. on April 29, seven Union Navy ironclads led by Porter moved down the river from Hard Times Landing towards the positions at Grand Gulf. Roughly 30,000 Union infantry were in the Hard Times Landing area, of whom about 10,000 were on transports. The men on the transports, which had pulled away from the landing and were sheltered behind a spit of land named Point Coffee, were intended to cross the river and occupy Grand Gulf once the Confederate batteries were subdued.
Although Pittsburgh, Louisville, Carondelet, and Mound City each carried 13 guns, the positioning of the guns on the ships allowed a maximum of four guns at a time to be aimed at the Confederate fortifications, reducing the Union firepower. By 10:00 a.m., Fort Wade was knocked out of action. One of the large cannons in Fort Wade had exploded, the fortifications themselves had been severely damaged, and Colonel William F. Wade, commanding the post, had been decapitated by Union fire.
Confederate fire had focused the heaviest on Benton, Pittsburgh, and Tuscumbia.[41] The former vessel had taken 47 hits, Pittsburgh 35, and the latter over 80.[47] Tuscumbia was poorly built (for instance, the spikes holding the ship's iron plating on were not secured with nuts), and had been badly damaged and knocked out of the fighting[48] by engine damage.[49] Historians Michael B. Ballard and Ed Bearss state that the Union forces lost 18 men killed and 57 wounded, for a total of 75,[44][50] with historians William L. Shea and Terrence J. Winschel, along with the historian Timothy B. Smith instead placing Union casualties at 24 killed and 56 wounded, including a few men from the army serving on the warships in a volunteer capacity.[46][51] According to Ballard and Bearss, Confederate losses totaled 22: three dead and 19 wounded;[44][52] historian Donald L. Miller and Shea and Winschel state that the Confederates lost 18 men, the difference being in wounded.[53][46]
Aftermath
After the naval bombardment was unable to neutralize the Confederate position at Grand Gulf, the troops on the transports returned to dry land.[46] Later that day, the Union transports and barges were run downriver, under the covering fire of Porter's gunboats.[a] The vessels were able to make it downriver safely; Porter lost one man in the affair and the Confederates lost none.[54] Some of the Union vessels had been hit, but suffered little damage.[56] Grant's infantrymen marched downriver to Disharoon's plantation, where the transports had been gathered after passing Grand Gulf.[53] Two crossing points below Grand Gulf were considered by Grant: Rodney, Mississippi, or Bruinsburg, Mississippi. Bowen expected Union troops to cross at the former. Discussions between Union scouts and an African American, who was possibly named Bob, yielded the information that a usable road ran from Bruinsburg to Port Gibson, so Bruinsburg was selected as the crossing point.[57]
Late on April 29, expecting a Union crossing of the river, Bowen sent a detachment from his command to hold Port Gibson, and the next day sent reinforcements that had arrived from Vicksburg to that place as well.
Grant's men swung inland towards the railroad supplying Vicksburg. After the
The site of the battle is preserved by
Notes
- ^ Sources disagree as to the timing of this run. Ballard writes that it was timed to "[take] advantage of the later afternoon sun to blind Confederate gunners".[54] Miller states that the movement occurred in the evening,[53] Bearss times the run downriver as at 7:45 p.m.,[55] and Shea and Winschel state that it occurred in the "late afternoon".[46] Smith states that the exchange of fire that resulted from the movement occurred at 9:00 p.m.[56]
References
- ^ Miller 2019, pp. 6–7.
- ^ Miller 2019, pp. 117–118.
- ^ Bearss 2007, p. 203.
- ^ Shea & Winschel 2003, pp. 15–16, 18–20.
- ^ Miller 2019, pp. 135–138.
- ^ Miller 2019, p. 153.
- ^ "Grant's Canal". National Park Service. October 25, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
- ^ Winschel 1998, pp. 154, 156.
- ^ Bearss 1991, pp. 19–22.
- ^ Bearss 1991, pp. 20–21.
- ^ Ballard 2004, pp. 192–193.
- ^ Bearss 1991, p. 126.
- ^ Shea & Winschel 2003, pp. 92–93.
- ^ Shea & Winschel 2003, pp. 93–94.
- ^ Miller 2019, pp. 131–132, 136.
- ^ Wright 1982, pp. 8, 10–11.
- ^ Silverstone 2006, pp. 20, 53.
- ^ Ballard 2004, pp. 196–197.
- ^ Shea & Winschel 2003, p. 95.
- ^ Ballard 2004, p. 198.
- ^ a b Shea & Winschel 2003, p. 96.
- ^ Shea & Winschel 2003, pp. 98–99.
- ^ Ballard 2004, p. 205.
- ^ Bearss 1991, pp. 96–97.
- ^ Shea & Winschel 2003, pp. 99–100.
- ^ Ballard 2004, pp. 214–216.
- ^ Ballard 2004, p. 212.
- ^ Miller 2019, pp. 359–360.
- ^ Kennedy 1998, p. 158.
- ^ Bearss 1991, pp. 267–268.
- ^ Bearss 1991, pp. 306–307.
- ^ Miller 2019, p. 359.
- ^ Bearss 1991, p. 307.
- ^ a b Miller 2019, p. 361.
- ^ Bearss 1991, pp. 307, 309.
- ^ Miller 2019, pp. 361–362.
- ^ a b Shea & Winschel 2003, p. 103.
- ^ Smith 2023, p. 357.
- ^ Ballard 2004, pp. 217–219.
- ^ Bearss 1991, p. 309.
- ^ a b c d Miller 2019, p. 362.
- ^ Bearss 1991, p. 311.
- ^ Bearss 2007, p. 209.
- ^ a b c d e Ballard 2004, pp. 218–219.
- ^ Bearss 1991, p. 312.
- ^ a b c d e Shea & Winschel 2003, p. 104.
- ^ Shea & Winschel 2003, pp. 103–104.
- ^ Bearss 2007, pp. 208–209.
- ^ Smith 2023, p. 360.
- ^ Bearss 1991, p. 315.
- ^ Smith 2023, p. 361.
- ^ Bearss 1991, p. 316.
- ^ a b c Miller 2019, p. 363.
- ^ a b Ballard 2004, p. 219.
- ^ Bearss 1991, pp. 314–315.
- ^ a b Smith 2023, p. 362.
- ^ Ballard 2004, p. 221.
- ^ Bearss 1991, pp. 347–351.
- ^ Miller 2019, pp. 364–365.
- ^ Bearss 1991, pp. 412–413.
- ^ Shea & Winschel 2003, pp. 110–111.
- ^ Shea & Winschel 2003, p. 116.
- ^ Bearss 1991, pp. 451–452.
- ^ Bearss 1998a, pp. 164–166.
- ^ Kennedy 1998, p. 167.
- ^ Bearss 1998b, pp. 167–170.
- ^ Bearss 1998c, pp. 171–173.
- ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 437–438.
- ^ Weeks 2009, p. 102.
- ^ "National Register Database and Research". National Park Service. August 2, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
Sources
- Ballard, Michael B. (2004). Vicksburg: The Campaign that Opened the Mississippi. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0-8078-2893-9.
- ISBN 0-89029-313-9.
- Bearss, Edwin C. (1998). "Raymond, Mississippi". In Kennedy, Frances H. (ed.). The Civil War Battlefield Guide (2nd ed.). Boston, Massachusetts/New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin. pp. 164–167. ISBN 978-0-395-74012-5.
- Bearss, Edwin C. (1998). "Champion Hill, Mississippi". In Kennedy, Frances H. (ed.). The Civil War Battlefield Guide (2nd ed.). Boston, Massachusetts/New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin. pp. 167–171. ISBN 978-0-395-74012-5.
- Bearss, Edwin C. (1998). "Battle and Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi". In Kennedy, Frances H. (ed.). The Civil War Battlefield Guide (2nd ed.). Boston, Massachusetts/New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin. pp. 171–173. ISBN 978-0-395-74012-5.
- Bearss, Edwin C. (2007) [2006]. Fields of Honor. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic. ISBN 978-1-4262-0093-9.
- Kennedy, Frances H. (1998). The Civil War Battlefield Guide (2nd ed.). Boston, Massachusetts/New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 978-0-395-74012-5.
- ISBN 978-1-4516-4139-4.
- Shea, William L.; Winschel, Terrence J. (2003). Vicksburg Is the Key: The Struggle for the Mississippi River. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-8032-9344-1.
- Silverstone, Paul H. (2006). Civil War Navies, 1855–1883. New York, New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-97870-5.
- Smith, Timothy B. (2023). Bayou Battles for Vicksburg: The Swamp and River Expeditions, January 1–April 30, 1863. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas. ISBN 978-0-7006-3566-5.
- Weeks, Michael (2009). The Complete Civil War Road Trip Guide. Woodstock, Vermont: The Countryman Press. ISBN 978-0-88150-860-4.
- Winschel, Terrence J. (1998). "Chickasaw Bayou, Mississippi". In Kennedy, Frances H. (ed.). The Civil War Battlefield Guide (2nd ed.). Boston, Massachusetts/New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin. pp. 154–156. ISBN 978-0-395-74012-5.
- Wright, William C. (1982). Archaeological Report No. 8: The Confederate Magazine at Fort Wade Grand Gulf, Mississippi, Excavations 1980–1981 (PDF) (Report). Mississippi Department of Archives and History. OCLC 9566064. Archived from the original(PDF) on July 22, 2014.