1. Running the Gauntlet, Grand Gulf, Bruinsburg, Port Gibson
Vicksburg
Running the Gauntlet, Grand Gulf, Bruinsburg, Port Gibson

2. Agenda Running the Gauntlet Grand Gulf Bruinsburg Port Gibson
Successful Confederate defense
Bruinsburg
Turning movement bypassed Grand Gulf
Port Gibson
Federal victory secured Grant’s position on east side of Mississippi

3. New Plan
After his failed attempts of Dec 1862 through Mar 1863, Grant decided to march his army down the west side of the Mississippi to a point below Vicksburg where river transports could ferry the men across
To make this work, the transports would have to run past the gauntlet of the Vicksburg batteries

4. Running the Gauntlet
To improve his chances of success, Grant created several diversions
Sent cavalry under Frederick Steele to Greenville, MS and destroyed Confederate supplies in an effort to convince Pemberton Grant had abandoned Vicksburg in favor of operations upriver
Pemberton saw Federals boats heading back to Memphis to relieve traffic congestion around Vicksburg and misinterpreted this as a sign Grant was giving up and pulling back

5. Running the Gauntlet
Sent Benjamin Grierson on a large cavalry raid that began in LaGrange, TN, slashed through Mississippi, and ended up at Baton Rouge, LA
Pemberton’s already unreliable intelligence service could not track Grierson’s movements and reported Federals everywhere at once
Pemberton confused and paralyzed

6. Running the Gauntlet
On the night of April 16, Porter led seven gunboats followed by three transports loaded with thousands of men
The transports towed ten barges loaded with coal and ammunition to be used in future operations down river
The Confederate batteries observed the flotilla, lit up the river with flares, and opened up with their cannon
Only one ship was lost
On the 26th Grant ran the gauntlet again with six more transports laden with coal and rations

7. Land Movement to New Carthage
While Porter was moving by river, the army was moving on land
On Mar 29, Grant had ordered McClernand to march his four divisions from Milliken’s Bend to New Carthage
Grant joined him there on Apr 17
On Apr 22, Grant ordered the rest of his army to move to New Carthage

8. Move to Hard Times
Reconnaissance showed there was no suitable landing sites where high ground could be seized between New Carthage and Grand Gulf so Grant ordered the march continue to Hard Times

9. Diversion By Apr 27, McClernand was at Hard Times
McPherson was closing rapidly
Sherman was still opposite Vicksburg
This dispersal of Federal troops kept Pemberton guessing
Grant confused Pemberton more by having Sherman send a strong force back up the Yazoo to create a diversion around Hayne’s Bluff
The USS Black Hawk was one of the ships participating in the Hayne’s Bluff diversion

10. Diversion
Sherman loaded 10 regiments worth of troops on transports and instructed every man to “look as numerous as possible.”
Sherman then moved the transports within view of the Confederate forces at Hayne’s Bluff, moved them out of sight, reboarded and repeated the process three times.
This gave the appearance of 30 regiments instead of 10 and resulted in the Haynes Bluff commander wiring an urgent message to Pemberton: “The enemy are in front of me in force such as has never been seen before at Vicksburg. Send me reinforcements.”
In the meantime, Sherman was moving out to join Grant south of Vicksburg.

11. Grand Gulf Grant had a truly joint plan for Grand Gulf
Porter and the navy would silence the Confederate batteries followed by rapid landings by McClernand’s Corps to seize the fortifications and secure a foothold for the rest of the army

12. Grand Gulf: River-Bluff Interface

13. Grand Gulf: Confederate Defenses
Brigadier General John Bowen commanded the Confederate forces at Grand Gulf
He built two fortified batteries, approximately 1,000 yards apart, on either side of Grand Gulf’s ruins (Admiral Farragut had burned the town in 1862)
Just upstream of the town was Fort Cobun and downstrean was Fort Wade

14. Grand Gulf: Confederate Defenses
Fort Cobun
Built by cutting a notch into the face of the bluff forty feet above river level, and piling the spoil to form a parapet forty feet thick.
One 8-inch Dahlgren, one 30-pounder Parrott, and two-32 pounders
Fort Wade
About twenty feet above river level and approximately 300 yards back from the river
One 100-pounder Blakeley rifle, one 8-inch Dahlgren, and two 32-pounder rifles
Several more field pieces stood between the forts
Some of Bowen's infantry manned a line of rifle pits that connected the forts, but most were behind the crests of the hills

15. Grand Gulf: April 29, 1863
Admiral Porter’s ironclads opened fire on Grand Gulf
Fort Wade was silenced, but Fort Cobun remained active
Porter declares, “Grand Gulf is the strongest place on the Mississippi.”
Grant decides to outflank Grand Gulf by moving south to Bruinsburg
View from Fort Cobun

16. Crossing at Bruinsburg
Grant received intelligence from a local slave that there was an unguarded landing site at Bruinsburg, roughly halfway between Grand Gulf and Rodney
Early on the morning of April 30, McClernand's corps boarded Porter's ironclads and transports and steamed downstream to Bruinsburg

17. Rodney and Bruinsburg Roads
Unopposed landing of over 17,000 men
Largest amphibious operation in American history until the Allied invasion of Normandy during WWII
Grant advanced on Rodney and Bruinsburg Roads toward Port Gibson

18. Confederate Missed Opportunity
Although the landing was unopposed the bluff line that represented high, dry ground was about a mile inland from the Bruinsburg landings.
If the Confederates should establish defensive positions at the bluffs before Grant reached them it would be a repeat of Chickasaw Bayou
However, the Confederates had misread Grant’s intentions
Pemberton was confused by all the diversions and conflicting reports
“Thus, the Battle of Bruinsburg, potentially the most important engagement of the Vicksburg campaign, never took place.” (CGSC Vicksburg Staff Ride Handbook)

19. Advance on Port Gibson
Grant eventually met Confederate outposts after midnight and subsequent battles ensued for about three hours
After 3:00 am, the fighting stopped and Union forces renewed their advance on Rodney Road at dawn
The Windsor Ruins are 14 miles southwest of Port Gibson. The Federals used the captured plantation as a hospital and observation station.

20. Battle of Port Gibson
At 5:30 am, the Confederates engaged the Union advance and another battle began
The Confederates established new defensive positions at different times during the day but they could not stop the Union advance

21. Result of Port Gibson
Ultimately Grant reached Port Gibson and defeated Confederates there under the command of Brigadier General Bowen
Victory secured Grant’s position on Mississippi soil and forced the evacuation of Grand Gulf
Grant declared Port Gibson was “too beautiful to burn”

22. Bruinsburg and Port Gibson as a Turning Movement
A turning movement is a form of maneuver in which the attacking force seeks to avoid the enemy’s principal defensive positions by seizing objectives to the enemy rear and causing the enemy to move out of his current positions or divert major forces to meet the threat.

23. Next
Logistics
Battle of Raymond
Battle of Jackson