Battle of Champion Hill
| date | May 16, 1863 |
|---|---|
| place | Hinds County ( Mississippi ) |
| output | Northern victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
|
approx. 22,000
|
approx. 32,000
|
| losses | |
|
3,840
381 killed 1,018 wounded 2,441 missing / captured |
2,457
410 killed 1,844 wounded 187 missing |
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The Battle of Champion Hill (also known as the Battle of Bakers Creek ) was a battle of the American Civil War . It took place on May 16, 1863 and was the decisive battle of the second Vicksburg campaign . In the battle, the Tennessee Army under Major General Ulysses S. Grant was victorious over the Mississippi Army under Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton .
Operation plan
General Joseph E. Johnston , commander in chief of the Western Confederation theater of war , commanded approximately 11,000 soldiers near Jackson , Mississippi. He ordered Lieutenant General Pemberton, the commander-in-chief of the Mississippi Army, who stood ready with about 22,000 soldiers at Bovina on the nearby railway bridge over the Big Black, to attack the Union forces immediately at Clinton , Mississippi. He himself wanted to attack Grant's remaining troops. Subsequently, Johnston intended to unite his troops with the Mississippi Army and proceed against Grant.
Grant, for his part, intended Jackson with the XV. Corps under Major General Sherman and attack with the other two corps to the west.
course
Pemberton's army occupied the positions on Champion Hill with three divisions. Major General Loring had taken the right wing to the south, Major General Stevenson the left wing, and General Bowen the center of the hill positions. The XIII. Corps of the Union proceeded cautiously against the positions of the southerners in the south on May 16, as ordered. After the Confederate positions had been clearly identified, Grant requested the commanding General McClernand several times to speed up his action. This general, who previously worked as a politician, proved to be incapable of cooperating and delayed the approach considerably. The burden of the attack in the north was initially on the XVII. Corps under General McPherson . Its two divisions under General John A. Logan and Crocker attacked the left flank of the enemy and later began to encircle them. A counter-attack by the Confederate Division Bowen with a brigade under Brigadier General Francis M. Cockrell remained after initial success. Major General Loring, commander of the division deployed on the southern sector, carried out Pemberton's orders so willfully that communication with the other two divisions of the Mississippi Army was lost. Loring dodged south, then turned north. To avoid being outflanked in the north, General Pemberton had to give up his good position on Champion Hill. Pemberton had to evade to Vicksburg after losing nearly 4,000 men and 29 cannons . The soldiers of the Mississippi Army were demoralized by the senseless marching movements and the fighting, so that avoiding them was sometimes equivalent to fleeing.
consequences
The defeat at Champion Hill and the evasion in the direction of Vicksburg made a union of the two armed forces of Pembertons and Johnstons north of the railway line and a joint attack against the Tennessee Army obsolete.
Pemberton ordered Bowen's division on May 17 to hold the railway bridge over the Big Black until Loring's division had passed over it. The division of the German-born General Osterhaus von McClernand's Corps attacked the Confederate forces at the bridge head-on. The Confederates were thrown from their positions and fled back to Vicksburg. Loring's division united with Johnston's troops north of Jackson.
Major General Grant began the formal siege of Vicksburg on May 22nd after the first unsuccessful attacks on the city. On June 18, he removed his incompetent corps commander McClernand and replaced him with Major General Ord . On July 4, 1863, the demoralized Vicksburg garrison surrendered to the Tennessee Army. The Union had achieved one of its war aims. The western areas of the Confederation were cut off from the rest, the Mississippi was brought under control, and supplies on this river were secured.
Coordinates: 32 ° 19 ′ 47 " N , 90 ° 31 ′ 49" W.
Web links
literature
- James M. McPherson: Die for Freedom. The history of the American Civil War . Anaconda, Cologne, 2008, ISBN 978-3-86647-267-9 .
- Udo Sautter : The American Civil War 1861-1865 , Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft Darmstadt, Darmstadt 2009, ISBN 978-3-534-21970-4 .
- Michael Hochgeschwendner: The American Civil War . CH Beck, Munich, 2010, ISBN 978-3-406-56251-8 .