Tag: General Ulysses S. Grant

Today In Western History: Grierson’s Raid Begins

Posted on by larry

 April 22 —

Today in 1863, Colonel Benjamin Grierson’s Union troops bring destruction to Central Mississippi as part of a two-week raid along the entire 

Gen. Benjamin H. Grierson, leader of the Newton Station Raid
Gen. Benjamin H. Grierson, leader of the Newton Station Raid

length of the state.  This action was a diversion in General Ulysses S. Grant‘s campaign to capture Vicksburg, Mississippi, the last remaining 

Lt. General Ulysses S. Grant, USA
Lt. General Ulysses S. Grant, USA

Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River.  Grant had his army on the western shore of the river, but he was planning to cross the mighty river south of Vicksburg, and move against Vicksburg from the west. Grierson’s orders were to destroy enemy supplies, telegraph lines, and railroads in Mississippi.

Grierson crafted a brilliant campaign. He left La Grange, Tennessee, on April 17 with 1,700 cavalry troopers and began traveling down the eastern side of the state. Whenever Confederate cavalry approached, Grierson sent out a diversionary force to draw them away. The diversionary units then rode back to La Grange, while the main force continued south. On April 22, he dispatched Company B of the 7th Illinois regiment to destroy telegraph lines at Macon, Mississippi, while Grierson rode to Newton Station. Here, Grierson could inflict damage on the Southern Mississippi Railroad, the one specific target identified by Grant. On April 24, his men tore up the tracks and destroyed two trainloads of ammunition bound for Vicksburg.

On May 2, Grierson and his men rode into Union occupied Baton Rouge, Louisiana, ending one of the most spectacular raids of the war. The Yankees killed about 100 Confederates, took 500 prisoners, destroyed 50 miles of rail line, and destroyed hundreds of thousands of dollars of supplies and property. Grierson lost just 3 men killed, 7 wounded, 14 missing. More important, the raiders drew the attention of Confederate troops in Mississippi and weakened the forces at Vicksburg and Port Hudson, Louisiana. Both strongholds fell to the Union in July 1863. For his efforts, Grierson was promoted to brigadier general.

 

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 Photo courtesy of wikipedia.com

Today In Western History: Admiral David Dixon Porter Sails Past Vicksburg

Posted on by larry

April 16 —

Union Admiral David Dixon Porter leads 12 ships past the heavy barrage of Confederate artillery at Vicksburg, Mississippi, today in 1863.

US Admiral David Dixon Porter. He helped Grant take Vicksburg
US Admiral David Dixon Porter. He helped Grant take Vicksburg

 He lost only one ship, and the operation speeded General Ulysses S. Grant‘s movement against Vicksburg. Grant had been trying unsuccessfully to capture Vicksburg for the last six months.

Lt. General Ulysses Grant, Union Army
Lt. General Ulysses Grant, Union Army

A first attempt failed when General William Sherman’s troops were unsuccessful in attacking Vicksburg from the north. 

US General, William Tecumseh Sherman, scourge of Georgia
William Tecumseh Sherman, scourge of Georgia

Grant now planned to move his army down the opposite bank of the river, cross back to Mississippi, and approach the city from the east. The soggy spring conditions slowed his advance to a crawl as his force had to build bridges over the bayous on the Louisiana side of the river. To speed the operation, Grant called on Porter to take the ships loaded with men and supplies and run past the powerful Vicksburg batteries.

The flotilla quietly moved down the river on the dark night of April 16. The exhausts on the steam-boats were vented into the paddle wheel housing to muffle the noise.  The boats were positioned off center so that if a ship were hit, the following craft could pass safely. The ships were stacked with cotton bales to act as a soft armor in the event of a direct hit. Confederate pickets spotted the flotilla and sent word to the batteries, and the bombardment began. The commanding Confederate, General John Pemberton, was attending a ball and was quickly 

CSA General John C. Pemberton,
CSA General John C. Pemberton

summoned to the scene. Some Rebel soldiers even rowed across the Mississippi River to set fire to the trees on the western bank and provide backlighting for their gunners on the eastern shore.

It took over two hours for the ships and attached barges to pass. The Union lost only one ship and two barges, and Grant’s plan proceeded. Within six weeks, he had locked up Vicksburg from the east and the siege began. Vicksburg would surrender on July 4, 1863.

 

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Today In Western History: The Battle Of Shiloh Ends

Posted on by larry

Two days of heavy fighting conclude near Pittsburgh Landing in western Tennessee. The Battle of Shiloh (also known in the South as the Battle Of Pittsburgh Landing) became a Union victory after the Confederate attack stalled on April 6, and fresh Yankee troops drove the Confederates from the field on April 7, 1862.

The Battle of Shiloh began when Union General Ulysses S. Grant brought his army down the Tennessee

Lt. General Ulysses Grant
Lt. General Ulysses Grant

River to Pittsburgh Landing in an effort to move on Corinth, Mississippi, 20 miles to the southwest. Union occupation of Corinth, a major rail center, would allow the Yankees to control nearly all of western Tennessee. At Corinth, Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston did not wait for Grant to

CSA General Albert Sydney Johnston
CSA General Albert Sydney Johnston

attack. He moved his army toward Grant, striking on the morning of April 6. Throughout the day, the Con-federates drove the Yankees back but they could not break the Union lines before darkness halted the advance.  Johnston was killed during the first day, when a bullet pierced a major artery in his leg behind his knee and he bled to death in his boot, so General Pierre G. T. Beauregard inherited full

Confederate General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard
Confederate General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard

command of the Confederate force.

Now, Grant was joined by the vanguard of Buell’s army. With an advantage in terms of troop num-bers, Grant counterattacked on April 7. The tired Confederates slowly retreated, but they inflicted heavy casualties on the Yankees. By nightfall, the Union had driven the Confederates back to Shiloh Church, recapturing grisly reminders of the previous days’ battle such as the Hornets’ Nest, the Peach Orchard, and Bloody Pond. The Confederates finally limped back to Corinth, thus giving a major victory to Grant.

The cost of the victory was high for the Union.  Grant’s and Buell’s forces totaled about 62,000, of which 1,754 were killed, 8,408 were wounded, and 2,885 were captured or missing for a total of 13,047 casual-ties. Of 45,000 Confederates engaged, 1,723 were killed, 8,012 wounded, and 959 missing for a total of 10,694 casualties.  The 23,741 casualties were a staggering five times the number at the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861, and they were more than all of the war’s major battles (Bull Run, Wilson’s Creek, Fort Donelson, and Pea Ridge) to that date combined. It was a sobering reminder to all in the Union and the Confederacy that the war would be long and costly. The important issue about these numbers, however, is that the North had an unlimited number of potential soldiers.  The South did not.  Battles of this degree of loss took a greater toll on the South than they did on the Union. 

 

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 Photo courtesy of wikipedia.com

Posted on by larry

Today in 1864, General James B. McPherson assumes command of the Union Army of the Tennessee

US General James B. McPherson, the highest ranking Union General killed in combat on July 22, 1864.
US General James B. McPherson, the highest ranking Union General killed in combat on July 22, 1864.

after William T. Sherman is promoted to the rank of commander of the Division of the Mississippi, and becomes the overall leader in the West.

McPherson was born in Ohio in 1828 and graduated first in his class from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1853. He joined the Army’s engineering corps as a second lieutenant, and spent the pre-war years in New York City and Alcatraz Island in California. When the Civil War began, McPherson was transferred to the East and promoted to captain. Yearning for combat, he was disappointed when he was assigned to command the forts of Boston Harbor. McPherson contacted General Henry Halleck,

General Henry W. ("Old Brains") Halleck
General Henry W. (“Old Brains”) Halleck

commander of the Department of the Missouri and a former acquaintance in California, who summon-ed him to St. Louis. In Missouri, McPherson helped set up recruiting stations and inspected defenses.

McPherson was transferred to General Ulysses S. Grant’s command on February 1, 1862, just as Grant

Lt. General Ulysses Grant
Lt. General Ulysses Grant

was launching an expedition against forts Henry and Donelson in Tennessee. McPherson’s work in analyzing the defenses of Fort Donelson earned him the respect of Grant, and McPherson’s star rose rapidly after the Battle of Shiloh in Tennessee in April 1862. McPherson fought with distinction, and was promoted to colonel. Two weeks later, he became a brigadier general. After his actions at the Battle of Corinth, Mississippi, in October 1862, McPherson was again promoted, this time to major general. In December, he capped a successful year by taking command of the XVII Corps in Grant’s Army of the Tennessee.

McPherson served as a corps commander throughout 1863, quite ably leading his men at Vicksburg, Mississippi, and Chattanooga, Tennessee. Grant’s promotion to general-in-chief of all Union forces created a chain reaction of promotions. Grant left for Washington, D.C., and Sherman assumed com-mand in the West, while McPherson inherited the Army of the Tennessee. This force was not an independent command, as it was one of three armies under Sherman’s leadership during the Atlanta campaign of 1864. When the campaign reached Atlanta in July 1864 after three hard months of fighting, McPherson was charged with attacking Confederate forces on the northeast side of the city. At the Battle of Peachtree Creek on July 22, McPherson was directing operations when he and his staff emerged from a grove of trees directly in front of the Confederate line. They were ordered to surrender but McPherson turned his horse and attempted to escape. He was mortally wounded, becoming the highest-ranking Union general killed in the war.

 

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 Photo courtesy of wikipedia.com