Today in thre WBTS, December 29th 1861 Skirmish near Hopoeithleyohola, the Indian Territory Skirmishes at Commerce and attack on the steam boat City of Alton, MO. Skirmishes at Braxton Courthouse, Clay, and Webster, WV 1862 Skirmishes at Boston, Johnson’s Ferry, and Rolling Fork, KY. Skirmishes at Huntingdon, Lizzard , near Murfreesborough, Wilkinson Crossroads, and Moccasin Gap, TN. Battle of Chickasaw Bluffs, north of Vicksburg, MS. Federal General William T. Sherman is thwarted in his attempt to capture Vicksburg, MS, when he orders a frontal assault on entrenched Confederates. Chickasaw Bluffs was part of Union General Ulysses S. Grants attempt to capture Vicksburg, the last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River. Grant planned a two-pronged assault. He planned to take a force from northern Mississippi while Sherman moved down the west side of the great river. In December, things began to go awry for the Federals. Devastating Confederate cavalry raids by Nathan Bedford Forrest and Earl Van Dorn on Federal supply lines in western Tennessee and at Holly Springs, MS, forced Grant to cancel his part of the campaign, but he was not able to get word to Sherman. Sherman moved into position just a few miles north of Vicksburg by December 27. He had 37,000 men and only 6,000 Confederates defending Vicksburg. While Sherman moved into position, another 6,000 troops arrived from Grenada, MS (where they had been opposing Grant’s advance) to reinforce the Confederates. The Confederates occupied strong positions on top of a river bluff with open ground in front of them. After two days of skirmishing, Sherman ordered a major attack on December 29. The attack never had a chance of success. When one Federal brigade captured Confederate rifle pits at the foot of the bluff, they came under fire from above. No other Federal force got close to the bluff. Federal loses totaled 1,776 men while the Confederates lost just 207. The attack was a mistake by Sherman, who should have never tried to attack fortified positions across open ground. Two years later, Sherman demonstrated that he had learned his lesson at Chickasaw Bluffs. During his campaign for Atlanta, Sherman made few frontal assaults and inflicted more casualties than he sustained, which was rare for an offensive campaign. 1863 Skirmish at Waldron, AR. Skirmish at Coldwater, MS. Skirmishes at Cleveland, La Vergne, Mossy Creek, and Talbott’s Station, TN. 1864 Skirmishes at Hillsborough and Pond Springs, AL. References The Civil War Day by Day, Philip Katcher. The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac 1861-1865, by E. B. Long with Barbara Long. The Chronological Tracking of the American Civil War Per the Official Records of the War of Rebellion, by Ronald A Mosocco.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 12:39:59 +0000
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