Pictorial history of the war for the Union, volume 2 (of 2) : $b A complete and reliable history of the war from its commencement to its close ... together with a complete chronological analysis of the warStephens, Ann S. (Ann Sophia)
History
Pictorial history of the war for the Union, volume 2 (of 2) : $b A complete and reliable history of the war from its commencement to its close ... together with a complete chronological analysis of the war
Stephens, Ann S. (Ann Sophia)
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
Up to this the enemy had not appeared on the line of march. On Tuesday
morning General McClernand’s advance drove in the enemy’s pickets near
Hall’s Ferry, and brisk skirmishing ensued for an hour or two, with
little loss to either side. By noon the rebels had disappeared from his
front, and seven wounded and none killed was the total Union loss.
General Sherman put Steele’s division in motion early in the morning,
and came upon the enemy at the crossing of Fourteen Mile creek four
miles from Auburn. The cavalry advance was fired into from the thick
woods that skirt the stream, but was unable, owing to the nature of the
ground, to make a charge or clear the rebels from their position.
Landgraber’s battery was thrown to the front, supported by the
Seventeenth Missouri and Thirty-first Iowa infantry regiments, and threw
a few shell into the bushy undergrowth skirting the stream which gave
them cover. Skirmishers were thrown out, and advanced to the creek,
driving the enemy slowly. A brigade was thrown to the right and left
flanks, when the rebel forces, mainly cavalry, withdrew toward Raymond.
The bridge was burned during the skirmish, but a crossing was
constructed in two hours, and trains were passing before noon.
But the principal opposition to the line of march was in the front of
General McPherson. General Logan’s division came upon a body of rebel
troops, estimated at about ten thousand, posted on Fondren’s creek, two
miles southwest of this, at ten o’clock on Tuesday morning. Brisk
skirmishing began at once, and a general engagement was soon brought on.
The enemy (as in front of General Sherman), was almost wholly concealed
at first by the woods bordering the stream, behind which their forces
were posted. Their artillery was on an eminence that commanded our
approach. The Federal troops had to cross an open field, exposed to a
terrible fire. The First and Second brigades, commanded by General J. E.
Smith, and General Fennis (both Illinois regiments), were in the
thickest of the fight, and suffered most. After three hours’ hard
fighting, the enemy withdrew sullenly in two columns, the principal one
taking the road to Jackson. The Federal loss, in killed, wounded, and
missing, was about three hundred. The rebel loss was much greater.
CAPTURE OF JACKSON, MISS.
MAY 14, 1863.
On the 13th, General McPherson moved to Clinton, and destroyed the
railroads and telegraph. General Sherman moved to a parallel position on
the Mississippi Springs and Jackson road, and General McClernand to a
point near Raymond.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account