Jackson Expedition

The Jackson Expedition occurred in the aftermath of the surrender of Vicksburg, Mississippi in July 1863. Union Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman led the expedition to clear General Joseph E. Johnston's relief effort from the Vicksburg area. The mission was successful and helped ensure that the Mississippi River remained in Union possession for the remainder of the war.

Not to be confused with Battle of Jackson, Mississippi.
Jackson Expedition
Part of the American Civil War

Siege of Jackson, Mississippi, July 10–16, 1863
DateJuly 5–25, 1863
Location
Near Jackson, Mississippi
Result Union victory
Belligerents
United States (Union) CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
William Tecumseh Sherman Joseph E. Johnston
Strength
40,000[1] 30,000[1]
Casualties and losses
100 killed
800 wounded
100 missing		 71 killed
504 wounded
764 missing

Background

In the Vicksburg Campaign, one of the intermediate battles was the Battle of Jackson on May 14, 1863, in which Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Army of the Tennessee captured the capital city of Jackson, Mississippi, but then evacuated it to move west toward Vicksburg. During the Siege of Vicksburg Johnston had been gathering troops at Jackson, intending to relieve pressure on Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton's beleaguered garrison. Johnston cautiously advanced his 30,000 soldiers toward the rear of Grant's army surrounding Vicksburg.[1] In response, Grant ordered Sherman to deal with Johnston's threat.

Expedition

By July 1, 1863, Johnston's force was in position along the Big Black River. Sherman used the newly arrived IX Corps to counter this threat. On July 5, the day after the surrender of Vicksburg was made official, Sherman was free to move against Johnston. Johnston hastily withdrew his force across the Big Black River and Champion's Hill battlefields with Sherman in pursuit. Sherman had with him the IX Corps, XV Corps, XIII Corps, and a detachment of the XVI Corps.

Siege of Jackson
Siege of Jackson

On July 10, the Union Army had taken up position around Jackson. The heaviest fighting came on July 12, during an unsuccessful Union attack.[2] Brig. Gen. Jacob Gartner Lauman ordered a brigade under Col. Isaac C. Pugh to attack the Confederate works manned by Brig. Gen. Daniel Weisiger Adams's brigade. As a result, Lauman was relieved of command for failing to properly carry out the orders of his superior, Maj. Gen. Edward Ord, which resulted in heavy casualties.[3] Instead of risking entrapment, Johnston chose to evacuate the state capital and withdrew on July 16. Sherman's forces occupied the city on the following day.

The re-capture of the city effectively ended the last threat to Vicksburg.

References
  1. Korn, p. 156.
  2. Thompson, p. 388.
  3. Gue, p. 164.

Sources
  • Gue, Benjamin F.[1] Vol. 4. Iowa Biography, 1903.
  • Korn, Jerry, and the Editors of Time-Life Books. War on the Mississippi: Grant's Vicksburg Campaign. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1985. ISBN 0-8094-4744-4.
  • Thompson, Seymour D. Recollections with the Third Iowa, 1864.
  1. History of Iowa From the Earliest Times To The Beginning of the Twentieth Century
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