Grant in the Vicksburg Campaign

“Start your command for the Tallahatchie so soon as all property from the depot [Holly Springs] is removed and take position on the north bank of the stream. The bridges should be built and for this purpose one brigade should be left at Abbeville besides most of the Cavalry.”

 

Battle orders and letters of Grant from the Vicksburg Campaign, one of the key victories of the Civil War, are out and out rarities, this being the first we have seen in some time

When the Civil War broke out, Grant’s first command was as the colonel of the 21st Illinois Infantry. But he was quickly promoted to brigadier general in July 1861, and in September was given command of the District of Southeast Missouri. Congressman Elihu Washburn was a key player in advancing Grant’s career and gaining for him his early assignments and promotions.

In February 1862 Grant took Forts Henry and Donelson, which were in Tennessee by the border with Kentucky. At Fort Donelson the Confederate commander tried to negotiate, but Grant replied that “no terms except an unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted.” This was done. The surrender of these forts destroyed the entire Confederate line in the middle theatre of war. It confirmed the loss of Kentucky and the imminent threat to Tennessee. As the first major Union victory of the war, it touched off great celebrations in the North, in the course of which Grant’s words provoked as much enthusiasm as the victory itself. The happy coincidence of the phrase with his initials earned him the nickname, “Unconditional Surrender Grant.” On February 17, 1862, Lincoln signed the papers for Grant’s promotion to major general of volunteers.

In April, Grant was on the ground when a surprise attack by Confederate forces at the Battle of Shiloh yielded devastating casualties during the first day’s fighting, and President Lincoln received several demands for Grant’s removal from command. Nevertheless, Lincoln refused, stating, “I can’t spare this man. He fights.” The following day, Grant’s Army – bolstered by troops under Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell – fended off Confederate advances and ultimately won the day.

Vicksburg was now the key remaining point of the Confederate defense of the Mississippi River, which was the primary conduit for supplies and communication through the south as well as a vital lifeline for goods going north. The capture of Vicksburg would yield the North control of the entire course of the river and thus enable it to isolate those Confederate states that lay west of the river from those in the east. Vicksburg was ideally suited for defensive purposes, however, as it was situated on high bluffs along the river and was protected on the north by a maze of swampy bayous. The Confederates’ batteries on the bluffs could outgun any Union ships on the river. To Confederate President Jefferson Davis, Vicksburg was the “nailhead that holds the South’s two halves together.” President Abraham Lincoln remarked, “Vicksburg is the key! The war can never be brought to a close until that key is in our pocket.”

Now commenced the great struggle for Vicksburg. On October 25, 1862, Grant was assigned the Department of Tennessee and sent reinforcements. On November 2, he began the campaign against Vicksburg. Aiding Grant was the fact that Union forces held Corinth. Described as ‘the vertebrae of the Confederacy,’ the town of Corinth was home to the east-west-running Memphis-Charleston and north-south-running Mobile-Ohio railroads, key mobilization lines which extended nearly the entire height and breadth of the South. In the aftermath of the Battle of Shiloh, Union soldiers drove out the Confederate occupants and allowed Grant to set up operations in the embattled crossroads town, relying on the young engineer on his staff, Gen. James McPherson, to serve as superintendent of the valuable rail junction. Following the loss of Corinth, Confederate forces, now under Gen. John C. Pemberton, established a line of defense on the Tallahatchie River. From there, the Confederates expected to contest Grant’s advances.

James McPherson was a talented general. In September 1862, he assumed a position on the staff of Grant. He briefly commanded an infantry brigade before being promoted to major general. At the siege of Vicksburg, McPherson commanded the Union center. On March 12, 1864, he was given command of the Army of the Tennessee when Gen. William T. Sherman was promoted to command of all armies in the West. McPherson was with Sherman at Atlanta, where he was killed in action. He was the second highest ranking general Union officer killed in the war.

On November 13, Grant’s cavalry advanced on and captured Holly Springs in northern Mississippi, where Grant established a major supply base for his advancing army. On December 2, a Union cavalry raid from Arkansas toward nearby Grenada convinced Pemberton that his left flank was threatened, and he fell back. On the same day, Grant took advantage of the development and had his cavalry continue to move South. They crossed the Tallahatchie River and captured Oxford, Mississippi. By late December 2, the vanguard of the Federal offensive extended as far south as Oxford in an inland attack, which was coordinated with the forces of Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman moving down the Mississippi River toward the common objective of Vicksburg.

Grant, dependent upon the supplies at Holly Springs, was moving along the route of the Mississippi Central Railroad for the purpose of preventing reinforcements from reaching the Vicksburg garrison. The job of securing the thirty miles from Holly Springs to Oxford was now assigned to McPherson, who had established his headquarters on the north bank of the Tallahatchie River on the Holly Springs-Oxford road. McPherson was to maintain control of this vital point and to protect the engineers from attack while they were rebuilding the bridge. With this objective in mind, McPherson had fortifications completed by December 20, for his twenty field pieces and four heavy pieces of artillery. Behind these fortifications there was a broad open field that provided an excellent site for his headquarters and a camp for his men.

But on that same day, December 20, 1862, the Confederate cavalry of General Earl Van Dorn made a daring raid on the Federal supply base at Holly Springs, capturing the garrison and destroying the entire stockpile of Grant’s supplies. This loss forced Grant to abort his drive against Vicksburg, and on his return to Holly Springs to view the damage, he wired McPherson: “There is no special object any longer in holding the Tallahatchie. Fall back as far as you can.” McPherson, however, thought it important to hold the Tallahatchie, as he wrote Grant that day. Grant carefully considered this advice.

On December 21, Grant received intelligence that Confederate General Kirby Smith was crossing the Tennessee River and was possibly headed for Corinth. This was troubling news, which forced Grant into a decision about holding the Tallahatchie. On December 22 Grant sent orders to McPherson in an urgent effort to protect the vital territory, and those orders included holding the Tallahatchie for later use in the Vicksburg Campaign.

Autograph letter signed, Head Quarters, Dept. of the Tenn., Oxford, Miss., December 22, 1862, to Maj. Gen. James McPherson, thinking ahead about having control of rivers and bridges for the Vicksburg Campaign. “Start your command for the Tallahatchie so soon as all property from the depot is removed and take position on the north bank of the stream. The bridges should be built and for this purpose one brigade should be left at Abbeville besides most of the Cavalry.”

In addition to Holly Springs, some other reverses also prohibited Grant from resuming the active pursuit of the Vicksburg Campaign at that time. This he did in the spring of 1863, finally reducing Vicksburg to surrender on July 4. The victory there made his career, and the next year he would command all Union forces nationwide.

War date letters of Grant have become rarities, and it is hard to find any. Battle orders of Grant from the Vicksburg Campaign, one of the key victories of the Civil War, are out and out rarities, this being the first we have seen in some time.