Hold For An Evacuation

A part of the Vicksburg Campaign, the Battle of Jackson was fought May 14^th 1863 in Mississippi.

Confederate General Joseph E Johnston was directed to Mississippi on May 9^th 1863 to take over command of troops in the area.  He arrived in Jackson, Mississippi on May 13^th 1863 where he learned that there were two Union Army Corps; the XV under Major General William Tecumseh Sherman and the XVII under Major General James Birdseye McPherson moving on the city.  If the Union troops were able to take Jackson they would off Vicksburg from the railroads, and take away the ability to threaten the Union flank at Vicksburg.  Johnston learned from Confederate Brigadier General John Gregg that there were only 6,000 troops available to defend Jackson.

Johnston ordered an evacuation of Jackson with the removal of all supplies, but ordered Gregg to hold the town until the evacuation was completed.  By 10 am on May 14^th 1863 Union troops had engaged Confederate forces; they slowly pushed Gregg’s men back.  In the afternoon Johnston informed Gregg the evacuation was done and he should follow. Shortly after Union troops entered Jackson where they burnt parts of the town, and cut the railroad.  Union General Ulysses S Grant was traveling with Sherman’s corps and he hosted a celebration at the Bowman House.  There were 286 Union casualties and 850 Confederate ones.

We Will Lose Thousands Of Men

On December 29th 1862 a frontal assault was fought as part of the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou.


Part of the opening engagement of the Vicksburg Campaign, the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou or Battle of Walnut Hills was fought December 26th - 29th 1862. Three Union divisions under the command of Major General William Tecumseh Sherman disembarked at Johnson’s Plantation on the Yazoo River. A fourth division landed upstream. On December 27th 1862 the Union troops moved through the swamps toward Walnut Hills. Several attempts were made to get around these defenses on December 28th 1862.

Sherman ordered an artillery bombardment on the morning of December 29th 1862 of the Confederate defenses on Walnut Hills under the command of Lieutenant General John C Pemberton. After four hours of bombardment the Union infantry deployed in line. Sherman said at the time, "We will lose 5,000 men before we take Vicksburg, and may as well lose them here as anywhere else." At noon the Union troops moved forward. They crossed water barriers and carried the Confederate advance line by sheer numbers. When the Union soldiers came up against the main Confederate line they fell under heavy fire, and had to retreat back into the bayou. Sherman then ordered an attack against the center of the Confederate line on Chickasaw Bayou; the Indian Mound area defended by the men of Confederate General John Gregg. Five attempts were repulsed by the Confederates defending the Indian Mounds.

That night Sherman said he was "generally satisfied with the high spirit manifested" within his men, even though their attacks had failed. Sherman decided that further attacks on the Confederate position would be futile. The Union lost 1,776 killed, wounded or missing. Confederate casualties were 207.

The Second Neck Wound Killed Him

Confederate General John Gregg died October 7th 1864 during the Siege of Petersburg.


John Gregg was born September 28th 1828 in Lawrenceville, Alabama the son of Nathan and Sarah Pearsell [Camp] Gregg. He graduated from LaGrange College in 1847 and taught mathematics at the school. Gregg would go on the study law at Tuscumbia, Alabama. He moved in 1852 to Texas, settling in Fairfield, Texas, where he would serve as district judge until 1860. Gregg was one of the founders of the “Freestone County Pioneer” a secessionist newspaper.

Gregg served in the Provisional Confederate Congress on February 15th 1861, resigning in August 1861 to enter the Confederate Army. Returning to Texas Gregg formed the 7th Texas Infantry. As their Colonel, Gregg and the 7th Texas saw their first action at the Battle of Fort Donelson in February 1862. Gregg along with most of the garrison was captured and sent to Fort Warren in Boston, Massachusetts. He was exchanged August 15th 1862 and promoted to Brigadier General. During the Battle of Chickamauga Gregg was wounded in the neck. After recovering he was placed in command of Hood’s Texas Brigade, a part of the Army of Northern Virginia. During the Siege of Petersburg, Gregg was shot a second time in the neck and killed along the Charles City road near Richmond, Virginia, while leading a counterattack on October 7th 1864. Gregg’s widow Mary Frances [Garth] Gregg traveled through the siege lines to bring his body back for interment in the Odd Fellows Cemetery in Aberdeen, Mississippi.

A Small Part Of The Petersburg Campaign

The Battle of New Market and Darbytown, which was part of the greater Richmond - Petersburg Campaign occurred on October 7th 1864.

With an escalating Union threat on Richmond Virginia, General Robert E Lee responded to the loss of Fort Harrison from the Battle of Chaffin’s Farm. The Confederates on October 7th 1864 took an offensive on the far right Union flank. After pushing Union cavalry out of their position along the Darbytown Road, Robert Hoke and Charles W Fields’ divisions attacked the Union line along the New Market Road. The Union defenses was under the command of Brigadier General August V Kautz and Major General David B Birney. The Rebels were repulsed.

Following this action Lee withdrew his army back into the defenses of Richmond. The Confederate Brigadier General from Texas; John Gregg was killed during the battle.

It Was Just A Little Town

As a part of the Vicksburg campaign, Union General Ulysses S Grant sent Major General James B McPherson to capture Jackson, Mississippi.

Union Major General McPherson was sent with 12,000 troops towards the town of Raymond, Mississippi, which is fifteen miles from Jackson Mississippi. Early on the morning of May 12th 1863 the Union soldiers ran into a brigade of about 3,000 Confederates under the command of General John Gregg. The two armies were separated only by a small stream known as Fourteen Mile Creak. McPherson sent one division led by General John A Logan against the Confederates. Logan’s men were pushed back after heated battle. McPherson brought up another division and made a counterattack. The fight went on until about 2pm. Gregg could see he was outnumbered, and managed to disengage his troop and retreat toward Jackson.

The losses were high on both sides. The Confederates having 72 killed, 252 wounded, and 190 missing. The Union loosing 66 killed, 339 wounded and 37 missing.