Steele's Greenville expedition
Steele's Greenville expedition | |||||||
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Part of the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War | |||||||
Major General Frederick Steele, who commanded the expedition | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
United States (Union) | CSA (Confederacy) | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Frederick Steele |
Stephen Dill Lee | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
5,600 | 4,300 |
Steele's Greenville expedition took place from April 2 to 25, 1863, during the
Background
During early 1863, with the
As part of an attempt to distract the Confederate forces at Vicksburg, who were commanded by
Expedition
Steele's troops left the
Steele's
Ferguson prepared a delaying action. When, on the afternoon of April 7, Steele's column approached the plantation, Ferguson had Bledsoe's Missouri Battery and Sengstak's Alabama Battery open fire on them.[13] Steele, in turn, deployed artillery and prepared to make an attack, but Ferguson withdrew,[14] 6 miles (9.7 km) south to the Willis plantation.[15] During the pursuit, Union troops stumbled across the body of a lynched African-American, who had allegedly mistaken Ferguson's troops for Union forces, asked for a gun with which to kill his master, and expressed intent to rape women. The presence of Lee's force became known to Steele, and he ordered a withdrawal, not wanting to fight both Confederate forces too far from Greenville. During the march back, the Union troops destroyed supplies and took horses, mules, and livestock from the surrounding area.[16] The Confederates pursued, and the Union troops skirmished with them on April 8 and 10. The latter skirmish took place at Fish Lake and ended with the Union troops burning the bridge across the body of water.[17]
During the movements, large numbers of slaves flocked to the Union lines and followed the troops to gain their freedom.
April 13 saw Union troops make another sweep of the Greenville area. While Ferguson had withdrawn his troops, the Union soldiers found large quantities of supplies and cattle, which they brought back to camp.[21] Shortly thereafter, Lee's command withdrew from the area.[22] On April 20, Steele sent the 3rd and 31st Missouri Infantry Regiments to the Williams Bayou area; they returned on April 22 with quantities of mules, corn, and livestock.[23] While the Union troops had been ordered to avoid disturbing local families who were peaceful and remained at home, these orders were ignored. Many of the plantations in the area were burned,[24] and hard feelings against the Union forces grew among the local populace.[25] In total, during the expedition, over 1,000 slaves were freed, and Union forces took more than 1,000 animals, besides destroying 500,000 US bushels (18,000,000 L; 4,000,000 US dry gal; 3,900,000 imp gal) of corn.[26] On April 22, Grant instructed Steele to return from the Greenville area, but a shortage of transports prevented the Union soldiers from setting off until late on April 24. The next morning, Steele's men returned to Young's Point.[23]
Aftermath
In the words of James H. Wilson, Steele's Greenville expedition made the Union army an implement of "agricultural disorganization and distress as well as of emancipation".[20] Both Sherman and Steele believed that Union troops had gone too far in behavior that affected civilians, rather than just targeted the Confederate war goals.[24] The historians William L. Shea and Terrence J. Winschel see the expedition as demonstrating a shift in the Union's war policy.[26] In an earlier communication, Henry Halleck had written to Grant that he believed that there would be "no peace but that which is forced by the sword". Grant accepted the policy of carrying the war to the social and economic structures of the Confederacy. Going forward, in the words of Shea and Winschel, the Union army was to "bring the war home to [Confederate] civilians by enforcing emancipation and seizing or destroying all items of possible military value".[26] Besides ravaging an area important to the Confederate forces at Vicksburg of supplies, the Greenville expedition also drew Confederate attention away from McClernand's more important operations in Louisiana,[27] although other operations such as Grierson's Raid also played a role in that.[28]
In late April, Union forces crossed the Mississippi River south of Vicksburg and then moved inland.[29] The Union troops defeated a Confederate force in the Battle of Port Gibson on May 1, and on May 12 won another victory in the Battle of Raymond. After the action at Raymond, Grant decided to strike a Confederate force forming at Jackson, Mississippi, and then turn west towards Vicksburg.[30] Grant's men won a small battle at Jackson on May 14, and then defeated Pemberton's army in the climactic Battle of Champion Hill on May 16.[31] After another Confederate defeat at the Battle of Big Black River Bridge on May 17, the Siege of Vicksburg began on May 18. When the city surrendered on July 4, it was a major defeat for the Confederacy.[32]
References
- ^ a b Shea & Winschel 2003, pp. 90–91.
- ^ Bearss 1991, pp. 19–21.
- ^ Shea & Winschel 2003, pp. 91–92.
- ^ a b Ballard 2004, p. 209.
- ^ Bearss 1991, p. 127.
- ^ Bearss 1991, p. 110.
- ^ Miller 2019, p. 334.
- ^ Bearss 1991, p. 108.
- ^ Bearss 1991, p. 109.
- ^ Bearss 1991, pp. 108–110.
- ^ Bearss 1991, pp. 110–111.
- ^ Bearss 1991, p. 128.
- ^ Bearss 1991, pp. 111–112.
- ^ Ballard 2004, pp. 209–210.
- ^ Bearss 1991, p. 112.
- ^ a b Ballard 2004, p. 210.
- ^ Bearss 1991, pp. 114–116.
- ^ a b Miller 2019, p. 335.
- ^ Bearss 1991, p. 114.
- ^ a b Miller 2019, pp. 335–336.
- ^ Bearss 1991, p. 121.
- ^ Bearss 1991, p. 120.
- ^ a b Bearss 1991, p. 125.
- ^ a b Miller 2019, p. 336.
- ^ Ballard 2004, p. 211.
- ^ a b c Shea & Winschel 2003, p. 92.
- ^ Bearss 1991, p. 126.
- ^ Shea & Winschel 2003, p. 93.
- ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 158, 160.
- ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 164–167.
- ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 167–170.
- ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 170–173.
Sources
- Ballard, Michael B. (2004). Vicksburg: The Campaign that Opened the Mississippi. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0-8078-2893-9.
- ISBN 0-89029-313-9.
- Kennedy, Frances H., ed. (1998). The Civil War Battlefield Guide (2nd ed.). Boston/New York: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 978-0-395-74012-5.
- ISBN 978-1-4516-4139-4.
- Shea, William L.; Winschel, Terrence J. (2003). Vicksburg Is the Key: The Struggle for the Mississippi River. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-8032-9344-1.