Landis's Missouri Battery

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Landis's Battery
Landis's Company, Missouri Light Artillery
12-pounder Napoleon field guns
2 x 24-pounder howizters
EngagementsAmerican Civil War

Landis's Missouri Battery, also known as Landis's Company, Missouri Light Artillery, was an

Trans-Mississippi Theater, where it may have fought in the Battle of Pea Ridge, the unit was transferred east of the Mississippi River. The battery saw limited action in 1862 at the Battle of Iuka and at the Second Battle of Corinth
.

In 1863, the unit was transferred to

Major General Ulysses S. Grant landed Union infantry at Bruinsburg, Landis's Battery formed part of Confederate defenses at the battles of Port Gibson in early May, after which Landis was promoted and Lieutenant John M. Langan took command. Later that month, it took part in the Battle of Champion Hill. On May 17, the battery was part of a Confederate force tasked with holding the crossing of the Big Black River at the Battle of Big Black River Bridge, where it may have suffered the capture of two cannons. Landis's Battery next saw action during the siege of Vicksburg. While there, the battery helped repulse Union assaults on May 22. Landis's Battery was captured when the Confederate garrison of Vicksburg surrendered on July 4. Although the surviving men of the battery were exchanged, the battery was not reorganized after Vicksburg; instead, it was absorbed into Guibor's Missouri Battery along with Wade's Missouri Battery
.

Background

Main articles: American Civil War and Missouri in the American Civil War

In the United States during the early 19th century, a large cultural divide developed between the

Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas followed suit in early 1861. On February 4, the seceding states formed the Confederate States of America; Jefferson Davis became the nascent state's president.[5]

12-pounder Napoleon field gun
12-pounder Napoleon cannon, similar to those issued to the battery

In

Brigadier General Irvin McDowell moved south into Virginia and attacked two Confederate armies commanded by Brigadier Generals P. G. T. Beauregard and Joseph E. Johnston on July 21. In the ensuing First Battle of Bull Run, the Union army was routed.[10]

Meanwhile, the state of

United States Representative Francis P. Blair Jr. failed to lead to a peaceable compromise, Lyon moved against the state capital of Jefferson City, ejecting Jackson and the pro-secession elements of the state legislature on June 15.[12]

Two days later, the Missouri State Guard suffered another defeat at the hands of Lyon, this time at the

siege of Lexington. However, Major General John C. Frémont concentrated Union troops near Tipton, threatening Price's position. In turn, Price withdrew to Neosho in the southwestern part of the state.[14] On November 3, Jackson and the pro-secession elements of the state legislature voted to secede and join the Confederate States of America as a government-in-exile; the anti-secession elements of the legislature had voted against secession in July.[15]

Service history

1862

Map of the movements between Iuka and Corinth
Map of the Iuka–Corinth campaign

Brigadier General Daniel M. Frost's artillery brigade and followed the rest of the Army of the West across the Mississippi River in mid-April.[3]

On May 1, while stationed in the vicinity of

E. O. C. Ord to attack Iuka from the north, and others under Major General William Rosecrans to attack the city from the south.[23] During the ensuing Battle of Iuka on September 19, Landis's Battery fought as part of Brigadier General Martin E. Green's brigade, assigned to Brigadier General Lewis Henry Little's division of the Army of the West.[24] Although the battery came under hostile fire at Iuka, it did not fire its cannons.[22] Price was able to fend off Rosecrans, and an acoustic shadow prevented Ord from learning of the fight until after it was over. By September 20, the Army of the West had escaped from Iuka.[23]

Price and Van Dorn then joined forces; Van Dorn commanded the combined army, as he had

Battery K. After two more Confederate artillery batteries joined the fighting, the Union artillery was forced to withdraw, allowing the infantry of Green's brigade to attack the Union line.[28] Later that day, while the Confederate infantry was still fighting along the Union main line, Union infantry approached the Confederate flank, and advanced towards Landis's and Guibor's batteries. Artillery fire from the two batteries stopped the progress of the Union advance, and the Union infantry withdrew as darkness began to fall.[29]

The Confederate infantry assaults on October 3 had driven Rosecrans's men from the outer line, but the inner line was still in Union hands.

Battle of Davis Bridge. The battery's equipment had been damaged during the Corinth campaign, so the unit was detached to Jackson, Mississippi, for repairs. On November 29, Landis's men rejoined the Army of the West and they spent the rest of 1862 at Grenada, Mississippi.[22]

1863

Map of the Vicksburg campaign
The Vicksburg campaign

On January 27, 1863, the battery was transferred to

outflanked them.[41] After Port Gibson, the Confederates were forced to abandon their position at Grand Gulf on May 3; Landis's Battery again served as part of a rear guard.[42][43]

Meanwhile, Grant was faced with a choice: he could approach

William W. Loring had become separated from the rest of the Confederate force during the retreat, leading Pemberton to order Bowen's division and a brigade commanded by Brigadier General John C. Vaughn to hold the crossing of the Big Black River in hopes that Loring could rejoin the main Confederate force.[58]

The next day, the battery was present at the

double-shotted ammunition.[49] Over the course of the siege, the unit suffered either ten[1] or thirteen casualties during a 47-day span of mostly continuous fighting.[22] The Confederates surrendered Vicksburg on July 4, and Landis's Battery was captured at this time. The 37 men left in the battery were released on parole until they were exchanged; they were also ordered to Demopolis, Alabama. On October 1, Landis's Battery and Wade's Missouri Battery were absorbed by Guibor's Battery; Landis's Battery ceased to exist as a separate unit.[64] About 75 men served with the battery throughout the war. The unit reported the deaths of 22 of its members. Of these, fifteen were the result of battle, while six died from disease and one member of the battery was murdered.[65]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Archaeological evidence suggests that the battery was likely present,[2] although it is also claimed that the battery was not with the Army of the West during the battle.[3]
  2. ^ Price's commission was in the Missouri State Guard, not the Confederate States Army.[11]
  3. ^ Loring never rejoined Pemberton's force.[62]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Landis's Company, Missouri Light Artillery". National Park Service. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  2. ^ a b Drexler, Carl G. (May 2018). "Explosive Archeology at Pea Ridge – May Artifact of the Month". Arkansas Archeological Survey. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e f McGhee 2008, p. 38.
  4. ^ Holmes 2001, p. 35.
  5. ^ Bearss 2007, pp. 22–23.
  6. ^ Bearss 2007, pp. 23–24.
  7. ^ Kennedy 1998, p. 4.
  8. ^ Bearss 2007, pp. 30–31.
  9. ^ Bearss 2007, p. 34.
  10. ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 11–15.
  11. ^ Kennedy 1998, p. 20.
  12. ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 19–20.
  13. ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 20–21, 23.
  14. ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 23–25.
  15. ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 20, 25.
  16. ^ Gottschalk 1991, p. 73.
  17. ^ Gottschalk 1991, p. 59.
  18. ^ Barr 1963, p. 249.
  19. ^ Gottschalk 1991, pp. 108–109.
  20. ^ a b Kennedy 1998, p. 53.
  21. ^ Bevier 1879, p. 121.
  22. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l McGhee 2008, p. 39.
  23. ^ a b Kennedy 1998, p. 129.
  24. ^ Cozzens 1997, pp. 325–326.
  25. ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 129, 131.
  26. ^ Cozzens 1997, p. 327.
  27. ^ Cozzens 1997, p. 204.
  28. ^ Cozzens 1997, pp. 204–205.
  29. ^ Cozzens 1997, pp. 219–220.
  30. ^ a b Kennedy 1998, p. 131.
  31. ^ Bevier 1879, p. 152.
  32. ^ Tucker 1993, p. 122.
  33. ^ Wright 1984, pp. 6–7.
  34. ^ Kennedy 1998, p. 158.
  35. ^ Gottschalk 1991, p. 192.
  36. ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 158–160.
  37. ^ Tucker 1993, p. 128.
  38. ^ Gottschalk 1991, p. 218.
  39. ^ Ballard 2004, pp. 238–240.
  40. ^ Gottschalk 1991, pp. 224–225.
  41. ^ Kennedy 1998, p. 164.
  42. ^ Tucker 1993, p. 151.
  43. ^ Gottschalk 1991, pp. 230–231.
  44. ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 164–165.
  45. ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 165–167.
  46. ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 167, 169.
  47. ^ Tucker 1993, p. 158.
  48. ^ Gottschalk 1991, p. 246.
  49. ^ a b Bevier 1879, p. 191.
  50. ^ "Order of Battle – Confederate". National Park Service. 4 December 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  51. ^ Coleman 1903, p. 16.
  52. ^ a b Tucker 1993, pp. 172–175.
  53. ^ a b Gottschalk 1991, pp. 256–257.
  54. ^ Smith 2012, pp. 150–151.
  55. ^ Smith 2012, p. 240.
  56. ^ Kountz 1901, p. 58.
  57. ^ Smith 2012, p. 151.
  58. ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 170–171.
  59. ^ a b Tucker 1993, pp. 178–183.
  60. ^ Bevier 1879, p. 194.
  61. ^ Bevier 1879, p. 195.
  62. ^ Kennedy 1998, p. 170.
  63. ^ Tucker 1993, p. 188.
  64. ^ McGhee 2008, pp. 39–40.
  65. ^ McGhee 2008, p. 40.

Sources

External links

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