Benjamin Grierson’s Raid – April 17 through May 2, 1863
During the spring of 1863, US Major General Ulysses S. Grant was planning his offensive to capture Vicksburg. Vicksburg was positioned high above a horseshoe shaped bend of the Mississippi River. It was the “key” that Lincoln believed he needed to win the Civil War. As long as the Confederate garrison, commanded by CSA Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton, held Vicksburg, Federal gunboats and supplies could not pass on the Mississippi River.
During the fall of 1862, Grant made several efforts to capture the city but ultimately failed in obtaining his objective. In December 1862, Grant believed US Major General William Sherman’s 30,000 man XV Corps could defeat the smaller Confederate force of 14,000 soldiers holding the trenches north of Vicksburg. CSA Brigadier General Stephen D. Lee’s soldiers easily repulsed Sherman’s XV Corps sending them back up the Yazoo and Mississippi rivers to Memphis. The defeat was complete at the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou with Sherman suffering nearly 12,000 casualties compared to 187 on the Confederate side.(i)
Determined not to fail during the spring 1863 offensive, Grant planned to approach Vicksburg from the east after crossing his infantry south of Vicksburg – a route that would be least expected by Pemberton. In order for his plan to work, Grant realized he needed to create a diversion to keep Pemberton off balance. His bold plan called for US Colonel Benjamin Grierson’s three regiment cavalry brigade to raid deep into Mississippi, tearing up as much railroad track and destroying as many Confederate supplies as possible.
Grierson set his cavalry brigade in motion on April 17, 1863. Leaving Lagrange, Tennessee he pushed south into Mississippi tearing up the Vicksburg-Jackson Southern Railroad west of Meridian. Over the next two weeks Grierson used his small force wisely, sending small parties on feints to deceive his Confederate adversaries of his true intentions. Grierson’s raid would be hugely successful and would destroy millions of dollars of war materiel that would ultimately end up depriving Pemberton of needed supplies. Traveling over 600 miles through hostile country, in Mississippi and Louisiana, freeing slaves and torching Confederate supply depots, Grierson would inflict ten times the casualties he incurred. On May 2, Grierson would return to Grant’s army having fulfilled his mission and allowing Grant to be successful in getting his army south of Vicksburg.(ii)
The Grierson Raid is often overlooked by Civil War students who focus their attention on the more well known cavalry engagements in the Eastern Theater. This is truly a shame as Grierson was one of the most successful cavalry officers in the Civil War. He operated well independently and achieved the objectives assigned to him. For a complete narrative of Grierson’s Raid I suggest the following books.
* Grierson’s Raid: A Cavalry Adventure of the Civil War, by Dee Brown
* A Just and Righteous Cause: Benjamin H. Grierson’s Civil War Memoirs, edited by Bruce J. Dinges and Shirley A. Leckie
(i) For additional information see the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou at Wikipedia.
(ii) For additional information see Grierson’s Raid at Wikipedia.