The state of Mississippi
was to see a great deal of hard fighting during the war. Major engagements were
fought at Corinth
(1862), Port Gibson (1863), Jackson
(1863), and Vicksburg
(1863). Obeying General Sherman’s orders to, “destroy everything public not
needed by us,” Federal troops took the occupied parts of the state literally
apart, looting stores and houses, and setting fire to warehouses, factories and
foundries.
The first raid made by Federal soldiers on Holly Springs
occurred in early 1862. The raiding party ransacked the home of William Manson.
Furniture was smashed to pieces, music was pounded out on the piano with the
ends of muskets, and rich cushions and carpets were shredded. The soldiers
poked holes in family paintings with their bayonets.
In late November, the Union army moved south from Tennessee. General
Ulysses S. Grant had set in motion a plan for the speedy conquest of Vicksburg. His line of
march was parallel to the Mississippi River
and some sixty miles east. He planned to sweep through northern Mississippi, carefully
extending and maintaining his lines of supply as he progressed, until he
reached Jackson.
There he would cut the railroad line between that city and Vicksburg, at which point he expected to take
Vicksburg with
relative ease. On November
27, 1862 an advance guard entered Holly Springs
and took over the largest and most comfortable houses. The Coxe Place on Salem Avenue was, taken over for the
General Army Headquarters while the private residence of General Grant,
accompanied by his wife Julia, was established at the Walter Place on Chulahoma Avenue. For two weeks a Federal
army of 75,000 men rested in Holly
Springs, before moving
south toward Vicksburg.
A Holly Springs Home
Elements of the 8th Wisconsin
infantry and a portion of the2nd Illinois Cavalry, some 1,500 men under the
command of Colonel Robert Murphy, remained in Holly Springs
to guard the newly established supply base.
On Saturday,
December 20, 1862, Confederate Major General Earl Van Dorn raided
the town. In the pale light of dawn, Van Dorn‘s men stormed into Holly Springs,
surprising the Federals who emerged half asleep from their tents, firing as
they came. The Confederate 2nd Missouri dismounted and
charged on foot, dispersing any infantry they encountered. The Texas brigade charged
from the east, coming in from the railroad depot. Most of the Federal garrison
surrendered after a token resistance. Only the 2nd Illinois Cavalry chose to
fight. With sabers drawn and flashing, some three hundred and fifty horsemen
charged through the attacking Confederates, suffering one hundred casualties.
Major General Earl Van Dorn
A long train of boxcars loaded with rations and clothing was
captured. The railroad depot, the Court House and many houses were filled with
supplies of all kinds. The public square contained hundreds of bales of cotton.
A large brick livery stable and the adjacent Masonic temple were packed with
unopened cases of carbines and Colt six— shooters. From 7 A.M. to 4
P.M. Union army stores were first plundered and then burned. Van
Dorn’s raid destroyed huge quantities of supplies, leaving the Union army in
enemy territory without supplies. Grant was forced to return to Memphis.
Civil War Humor 1861-1865
The 1865 Fall of Richmond in Pictures
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment