Battle of Chickasaw Bayou

Battle of Chickasaw Bayou was a significant engagement fought from December 26 to 29, 1862, during the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. Union forces under Major General William T. Sherman launched a direct assault on prepared Confederate defenses guarding the northern approaches to the critical fortress city of Vicksburg, Mississippi. The attack was decisively repulsed by troops commanded by Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton, resulting in a lopsided Confederate victory that forced a major reassessment of Union strategy against Vicksburg.

Background

Following the failure of Major General Ulysses S. Grant's initial overland advance on Vicksburg during the Holly Springs Raid, a two-pronged Union strategy was developed in late 1862. Grant would move overland through Mississippi while a separate amphibious force, under William T. Sherman, was transported down the Mississippi River from Memphis, Tennessee. Sherman's command, part of the Army of the Tennessee, was to disembark and strike Vicksburg from the north while it was presumably threatened by Grant's army. However, Confederate cavalry under Earl Van Dorn disrupted Grant's supply lines at Holly Springs, forcing his withdrawal. Unaware of this development, Sherman proceeded with his part of the plan, landing his troops at Johnson's Plantation on the Yazoo River northeast of Vicksburg, Mississippi. His objective was to break through the Walnut Hills, a line of bluffs defended by John C. Pemberton's Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana, and reach the city.

Opposing forces

The Union force, designated the Right Wing, XIII Corps (Union Army), was a powerful contingent drawn from Sherman's XV Corps and a division from the XIII Corps (Union Army). It included the divisions of Morgan L. Smith, Andrew J. Smith, George W. Morgan, and Frederick Steele, supported by artillery and naval gunboats from the Mississippi River Squadron under David D. Porter. Facing them was a smaller but well-positioned Confederate army under overall command of John C. Pemberton. The immediate defensive line along the Chickasaw Bayou and the Walnut Hills was held by roughly 14,000 men, primarily from the division of Stephen D. Lee, which included brigades led by John Gregg, Seth M. Barton, and Edward D. Tracy. These troops occupied formidable natural terrain, enhanced with abatis and rifle pits.

Battle

On December 26, 1862, William T. Sherman began reconnoitering the Confederate defenses, which were anchored on steep bluffs and fronted by the swampy Chickasaw Bayou. Attempts to outflank the position on December 27 and 28 were thwarted by impassable terrain and Confederate artillery fire. On December 29, Sherman ordered a direct frontal assault against the center of Stephen D. Lee's line. The main attack was led by the division of George W. Morgan, with Francis P. Blair Jr.'s brigade spearheading the charge across open ground. Union troops had to cross a narrow causeway and were funneled into deadly killing zones. They were met with devastating musket and artillery fire from the brigades of John Gregg and Seth M. Barton. A supporting attack by Morgan L. Smith's division also failed with heavy losses. The Union Army was unable to secure a foothold on the bluffs and was forced to retreat with over 1,700 casualties, while Confederate losses numbered only about 200.

Aftermath

The decisive repulse at Chickasaw Bayou ended the first direct Union attempt to capture Vicksburg from the north. William T. Sherman withdrew his forces to the mouth of the Yazoo River and, after an abortive expedition against Fort Hindman during the Battle of Arkansas Post, reported the failure to Ulysses S. Grant. The battle demonstrated the impregnability of Vicksburg's northern defenses, convincing Grant that a new, indirect approach was necessary. This led to the series of complex operations in 1863, including the Bayou Expeditions, the Battle of Port Gibson, and the eventual Siege of Vicksburg. The Confederate victory, while tactically successful for John C. Pemberton, only delayed the ultimate capture of the city in July 1863 following the Vicksburg campaign.

Category:1862 in Mississippi Category:Battles of the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War Category:Confederate victories of the American Civil War