march to Raymond

Day one of the trip ended with us oin the Grand Gulf area.  The next morning instead of back tracking all the way down to Grand Gulf to follow the army to Raymond we took a more direct route and meet up with the army halfway there, near Old Auburn.  Then we followed the army on its march toward the battle of Raymond.  Its a nice drive with state historical markers peppered along the way.  Here are just a few.

 

From this spot a portion of the XIII Corps moved north along the road on the left and secured Whitaker's Ford, helping to secure Grant's left flank.

When Grant reached here on May 12 the bridge was burning.  Union cavalry then fought with Confederate cavalry under Wirt Adams and by 11 AM had secured a bridgehead over Fourteenmile Creek and could then move forward.

Not far from the bridge is the Dillon Farm.  Grant spent the evening of the 12th here and learned of the battle earlier that day at Raymond.  He changed his plans here and decided to go to Jackson instead of his earlier plan of a more march more to the north.

Nearby is the family cemetery.

And next to the cemetery is the Natchez Trace.  Although it feels remote the Dillon Farm was near the intersection of two pretty important roads.

Port Gibson

We had a little problem at Port Gibson.  We got turned around and a bit lost.  Then once we did find out the right roads we were discourged by the locals on driving down to the Shaifer House as they were worried about the coming rain.  In retrospect the rain wasn't bad and we probably could have made it but better safe than sorry.

 

The thing these pictures do not do justice to is just how rough the country is.  Deep ravines and roads along the spines of the high ground.  You get a good impression of how hard it would be coordinate a battle when you can't move anywhere near line of sight.

 

 

In the town of Port Gibson was this nice Confederate monument.  Grant reportedly called the town too beautiful to burn.  I think though that he wanted the town as a supply base and didn't want it as a burned out ruin.  We tend to forget but Grant wasn't really living off the land during this portion of the Vicksburg campaign.  He had a long wagon train that was following him.

This was a common scene as we'd pile out of cars near a marker.  We'd all take our pictures, then discuss where we were in the battle, and how it fit into the larger picture of what was happening.

Windsor

 According to some brochures the Windsor Ruins is one of the most photographed places in Mississippi.  We did our part to keep it among the top.

 

Windsor was a big plantation at the time of the battle of Port Gibson.  It wasn't involved in the fighting but served as a field hospital.  These pictures don't do it justice for its size and beauty.  There is a marker that shows what it would have looked like but all that's left is these columns.

The lady at the chamber of commerce told us that this tree was here at the time of the battle and is where the amputated limbs were piled up.  No idea if its true but took a picture of the witness tree just to be safe.

I got a new camera before the trip so I played with the zoom function a bit.  This was a good playground for that.

Grand Gulf

After Milliken's Bend we went south to pick up the battles as Grant crossed the River.  Our order was slightly different, and I'll explain it in a later post but here is Grand Gulf where there was a naval battle as Grant attempted to cross here.  Too much resistance so he knew he needed to find a different crossing point.  There is a great park there and its not part of the NPS so there actually was helpful staff on site and a museum to tour.  Great group of people, and they were very happy to see us.

 

 

There is a trail down to the river where you can get some idea of the bend in the River that was there in 1863 but of course the River has changed course so its not quite accurate anymore.   

Up near the museum is Fort Wade.  There are a variety of markers up here describing the action.

And one can see the remains of the ammunition magazine that the Confederates blew up once they realized they would have to abandon the post.

Just a gun emplacement but gives some idea of the connecting works associated with the fort.

Then you can also drive over to Fort Cobun, which was right where the big turn of the River was, where the term Grand Gulf came from.  Of course the trees are tall and thick so its hard to get a good view of the water, which is no longer part of the main channel but is where it once was.

Through the trees there is some view of the water but is a bit tough to see.

The road down to the River had this great sign showing how deep the worst floods were.  Had my dad stand over there for some perspective.

And detail of the sign.  The stretch from 1922 to 1937 was rough with four floods over 52 feet.  Then of course the government comes in and channels the River to what we know today.  Now the water is  managed, but floods still do happen.

This mill is behind the museum, I put it in here just because I liked the shot.

NPS closure

As mentioned in the opening of this series we made our trip at the same time as the government shutdown. This meant we were kept away from our prime reason for the visit. If we had been going to otherbattlefields this would have been a huge deal. For vicksburg though this may have worked to our benefit. Most of the sites of the campaign are not national. So we were able to devote extra time to Port Gibson, Grand Gulf, Raymond, Champion Hill and Chickasaw Bayou. 

If there is one take away from the trip it is that Raymond is a real jewel. I'd never been there before and knew there was an active Friends of organization but I didn't know how much good they had done. We were all very impressed. I don't know what the next step is for that organization but I'm anxious to see what they do next

Vicksburg

I recently returned from my first major battlefield trip in a long time. The Rocky Mountain Civil War round table does a study group nearly every year and this year everything aligned for me to go. 

It just so happened that we went at the same time as the government shutdown so we couldn't tour the national park like we had planned. All in all though we didn't really miss the national park. We still had a great tour focusing on things outside the park. My dad and I stayed an extra day to visit Shiloh and not going into the national park led us to some really great things. I'll post more later, and with pictures but wanted to give this brief introduction to the series, plus try out the new mobile blogging feature on my phone

Battle of Helena

The battle of Helena is one of those battles where the attacker failed because they just couldn't quite execute their plan. In this case it had a lot to do with the Confederates being unable to coordinate attacks and then when things did go their way being uncertain how to follow it up (due to the lack of coordination).

The battle of July 4, 1863 was intended to relieve pressure on Vicksburg, but they did not know that Pemberton had surrendered that very day. A Confederate victory at Helena would have meant very little along the Mississippi River as Grant would have quickly sent men to retake the city. The Confederates also wanted to recapture Helena as it would be a logical base for a campaign against Little Rock, which ended up happening a few months later.

Touring Helena is a little difficult. There was a nice museum downtown that had some Civil War exhibits but there really was no driving tour. I got a map that the staff member drew some directions on, which took us to a marker for Battery C but there seemed to be no way to get on the ridge where the battery actually was. I've since seen some pictures of people by markers on the ridge so apparently things have improved. Maybe back then they did not expect someone wanting to see all of the entrenchments.

During the war Helena was a big deal. Seven Confederate generals came from Helena, the most well known being Patrick Cleburne. My next posts will show the beautiful cemetery in Helena and some of the graves of those generals.

Arkansas Post

Arkansas Post was first formed in 1686 but the location currently being preserved as a national park is a later incarnation as the Arkansas River has changed its course a few times in the last 325 years. It initially was a trading post between the French and Indians, then later the Spanish controlled Arkansas, then the United States, then the Confederacy and after January 1863 it was firmly under US control once again.

These changes of control are shown in the flag display at the park's visitor's center.
Of course it was always a bit more than just a trading post, it also served a military function.

As a trading post it grew and from 1819-1821 it was the site of the first Arkansas territorial capital. Thus it was a bit of a town. Here is a well, that due to being so close to the river still has water in it.

There are also a few markers telling where some important buildings were during the territorial period. Of course some locations have been reclaimed by the Arkansas River.

It was also at Arkansas Post that the first Christian services were held in Arkansas. This picture also shows the bayou nearby. The Arkansas River used to flow there, now this is more of a backwater area.

Besides being interesting because of its significance in the history of Arkansas and frontier trading there was also a Civil War battle here in January 1863. In the fall of 1862 Union General John McClernand had received permission to raise a large force to take Vicksburg. He thought it would be an independent command but later maneuverings by US Grant and Henry Halleck left Grant in command along the Mississippi River. McClernand would end up with a corps, which is what he would have had if he hadn't made a secret arrangement to have an independent command created. But before Grant arrived to take command of McClernand's force he took the opportunity to attack Arkansas Post. McClernand convinced the navy to come along; which was imperative, otherwise the campaign would have likely gone nowhere. He also had Sherman's corps, in all around 33,000 men. The Confederates had about 5,000 at Arkansas Post, also protected by Fort Hindman.

The Union troops landed on January 9, the navy bombarded on the 10th and on the 11th the army and navy combined to attack the fort. The weight of numbers eventually secured the victory for the Union but not until nearly a 1,000 men were casualties. About 4,800 Confederates surrendered.

When Grant heard about the battle he was furious, thought it was a waste of time and men. But then he heard Sherman had supported the idea and his temper cooled. Was it necessary to take Fort Hindman to take Vicksburg? Probably not, but it did clear a Confederate base from his flanks. Also the capture represented about a fourth of all Confederates in Arkansas, which certainly helped the overall war effort some.

There are some earthworks preserved within the national park with a small walking trail that takes you out to an artillery piece.

Fort Hindman has been reclaimed by the Arkansas River. Here is a drawing of the fort.

I believe the park staffer in the visitor's center said the fort is likely where the tree is growing in the water in the left center of the picture. That might be right, or wrong, but is probably close if it is wrong.

There were also info presented about all of the Union gunboats involved in the attack. As you can see this is nothing more than laminated pages stuck up by thumbtacks but its a good display, even if its not the most costly thing the national park service has ever done.