Battle of Jackson, Mississippi

| Battle of Jackson

| Began:|

May 14, 1863

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| Ended:|

Same day

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| Location:|

Hinds and Jackson Counties, Mississippi

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| Theater:|

Western Theater

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| Campaign:|

Grant’s Operations against Vicksburg

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| Outcome:|

Union victory

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Combatants

Army of the Tennessee

Jackson garrison

Commanders

Ulysses S. Grant
Major General, USA

Joseph E. Johnston
General, CSA
John Gregg
Brigadier General, CSA

Strength

| |

|

Casualties

286

850

On May 9, 1863, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston received a dispatch from the Confederate Secretary of War directing him to “proceed at once to Mississippi and take chief command of the forces in the field.” As he arrived in Jackson on the 13th, from Middle Tennessee, he learned that two army corps from the Union Army of the Tennessee — the XV, under Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman, and the XVII, under Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson — were advancing on Jackson, intending to cut the city and the railroads off from Vicksburg. Johnston consulted with the local commander, Brig. Gen. John Gregg, and learned that only about 6,000 troops were available to defend the town. Johnston ordered the evacuation of Jackson, but Gregg was to defend Jackson until the evacuation was completed. By 10:00 am, both Union army corps were near Jackson and had engaged the enemy. Rain, Confederate resistance, and poor defenses prevented heavy fighting until around 11:00 am, when Union forces attacked in numbers and slowly but surely pushed the enemy back. In mid-afternoon, Johnston informed Gregg that the evacuation was complete and that he should disengage and follow. Soon after, the Yankees entered Jackson and had a celebration, hosted by Maj. Gen. U.S. Grant who had been traveling with Sherman’s corps, in the Bowman House. They then burned part of the town and cut the railroad connections with Vicksburg. Johnston’s evacuation of Jackson was a tragedy because he could, by late on the 14th, have had 11,000 troops at his disposal and by the morning of the 15th, another 4,000. The fall of the former Mississippi state capital was a blow to Confederate morale. (NPS summary)

v • d • e

Major General Ulysses S. Grant's Operations Against Vicksburg, March-July 1863

Grand Gulf \-- Snyder’s Bluff \-- Jackson, MS \-- Port Gibson \-- Raymond \-- Champion Hill \-- Big Black River Bridge \-- Vicksburg \-- Milliken's Bend \-- Goodrich's Landing \-- Helena

v • d • e

Battles of the American Civil War: 1863

Eastern Theater|

Fort Anderson \-- Kelly's Ford \-- Washington, NC \-- Suffolk \-- Suffolk (Hill's Point) \-- Stoneman's Raid \-- Chancellorsville \-- Salem Church\--2nd Marye's Heights \-- Brandy Station \-- 2nd Winchester \-- Middleburg \-- Aldie \-- Upperville \-- Sporting Hill \-- Hanover \-- Gettysburg \-- Carlisle \-- Hunterstown \-- Fairfield \-- Monterey Pass \-- Williamsport \-- Boonsboro \-- Funkstown \-- Manassas Gap \-- 1st Auburn \-- 2nd Auburn \-- Bristoe Station \-- Buckland Mills \-- Droop Mountain \-- 2nd Rappahannock Station \-- Mine Run \-- Charlestown

Western Theater|

Arkansas Post \-- Dover \-- Thompson's Station \-- Vaught's Hill \-- Brentwood \-- 1st Franklin \-- Grand Gulf \-- Snyder’s Bluff \-- Day's Gap \-- Port Gibson \-- Raymond \-- Jackson, MS \-- Champion Hill \-- Big Black River Bridge \-- Vicksburg \-- Milliken's Bend \-- Hoover's Gap \-- Goodrich's Landing \-- Helena \-- Tebbs' Bend \-- Lebanon \-- Corydon \-- Buffington Island \-- Salineville \-- 2nd Chattanooga \-- Cumberland Gap \-- Davis' Cross Roads \-- Chickamauga \-- Blountsville \-- Wheeler's Raid \-- Blue Springs \-- Brown's Ferry \-- Wauhatchie \-- Collierville \-- Campbell's Station \-- Chattanooga \-- Ringgold Gap \-- Fort Sanders \-- Bean's Station \-- Mossy Creek

Trans-Mississippi Theater|

2nd Galveston \-- 2nd Springfield \-- Hartville \-- Cape Girardeau\-- Chalk Bluff \-- Cabin Creek \-- Honey Springs \-- Raid on Lawrence \-- Devil's Backbone \-- 2nd Sabine Pass \-- Bayou Forche \-- Baxter Springs \-- Pine Bluff

Lower Seaboard Theater|

1st Fort McAllister \-- 1st Charleston Harbor \-- Fort Bisland \-- Irish Bend \-- Vermillion Bayou \-- Plains Store \-- Port Hudson \-- LaFourche Crossing \-- 2nd Donaldsonville \-- 1st Fort Wagner \-- Grimball's Landing \-- 2nd Fort Wagner \-- 2nd Charleston Harbor \-- 2nd Fort Sumter \-- Kock's Plantation \-- Stirling's Plantation \-- Fort Brooke

Naval|

Alabama vs Hatteras