Chickasaw Bayou, MS
Date(s):
December 26-29, 1862
Campaign(s):
Grant’s Operations against Vicksburg
[1862-1863]
Battles in
Campaign:
Situation:
-
In November 1862,
Major General Ulysses S. Grant, commanding
Union forces in Mississippi, began a campaign to capture the city of
Vicksburg.
-
Grant
split his 70,000-man army into two wings—one commanded by himself and one
commanded by Major General William T. Sherman.
-
Grant
planned to advance along the Mississippi Central Railroad in the northern part
of the state and send Sherman and a
combined army-navy force downriver against Vicksburg.
-
Sherman's
seven gunboats and fifty-nine troop transports arrived above Vicksburg on
Christmas Eve.
-
After advancing up the Yazoo River,
the transports unloaded 32,000 Union troops north of the city.
-
Facing the Federal advance was a
formidable maze of both natural and man-made defenses. First was a thick
entanglement of trees, which was broken intermittently by swampland. Chickasaw
Bayou also acted as a potential barrier to Sherman's men because it was
parallel to the planned line of advance and could interrupt communication
between units. Furthermore, the Confederates had formed a defensive barrier
using felled trees.
Commanders:
-
Union:
Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman
-
Confederate:
Lt.
Gen. John C. Pemberton
Principal Forces:
-
Union:
Right Wing, XIII Army Corps
(32,00)
-
Confederate:
Department of Mississippi and
East Louisiana (15,000)
Description:
-
On December 26, 1862, three Union divisions, under
Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman, disembarked at
Johnson's Plantation on the Yazoo River to approach the Vicksburg defenses from
the northeast while a fourth landed farther upstream on the 27th.
-
On the 27th, the Federals pushed their lines
forward through the swamps toward Walnut Hills, which were strongly defended.
-
On the 28th, several futile attempts were made to
get around these defenses.
-
On December 29th, Sherman
ordered a frontal assault which was repulsed with heavy casualties.
-
Sherman then
withdrew. This Confederate victory frustrated Grant's
attempts to take Vicksburg by direct approach.
Slide Presentation:
None
Classification2:
B
Casualties3:
-
Union:
1,776
-
Confederate:
207
Results:
 Confederate
Victory
Battlefield Websites:
Recommended
Resources:
1 National Park
Service summary.
2
Classification:
-
A
- having a decisive influence on a
campaign and a direct impact on the course of the war
-
B -
having a direct and decisive influence on their campaign
-
C -
having observable influence on the
outcome of a campaign
-
D
-
having a limited influence on the
outcome of their campaign or operation but achieving or affecting important
local objectives
3 Casualties are
someone killed, injured, wounded, captured or missing.
Revised
01/02/2009 |
