Battle of Second Jackson

The Battle starts at 6am with 1/III deploying the 2/III artillery into the line and refusing both flanks. Relying on the stream to protect his right for the moment, Genl Hunter sends his next arriving unit (2/III) to extend the left of the line. Over the next 3 hours Price makes furious assaults with each of his divisions in turn, but makes effectively no progress: indeed his men exhibit a rare talent for failing morale tests. In sharp contrast US III corps is as steady as a rock and mows the attackers down, giving very little ground on the left and none in the centre. By 10am 1/I is exhausted and 2/I has had 3 of its 4 brigades routed. Whilst all have been rallied, Price has shot his bolt.

Further south Van Dorn declines to attack Bolton Depot and its mass of guns frontally and manoeuvres for a flank. He succeeds too, but by the time 2/II puts in an attack that unhinges the right of the Union line, Price has already been beaten. Genl Grant directs the next division off the line of march - 1/XVIII - to the right to lessen Van Dorn's blow, and in the main it works.

Not shown on the map is that individual brigades from Price do momentarily from time to time penetrate the Union left where 2/III is deploying which, together with Van Dorn's success, does induce Hunter to give a little ground in the centre. Just one III corps brigade is routed during this first phase of the battle, and no guns are lost. By this point (10am) the Confederate battle plan has already failed.

This is the Reb high-watermark however: Grant assembles 1/XVIII, Wheeler's leading cavalry brigade is shot down, and Hunter launches a charge by the III corps cavalry westwards into the flank of Wheeler's supporting brigades. This last fails, but the pressure being built up by 1/XVIII and the following 2/V (which has the V corps assests in tow) are sufficient to push back Wheeler, and Van Dorn has to conform to avoid being outflanked himself. Into the space now re-opened behind the Union centre on the Vicksburg road, XII corps starts to arrive (not shown) - which renders pointless any further attacks by Van Dorn's centre left.

In the centre 1/III is still fighting well and repulses Van Dorn's attacks until he breaks them off because the US become too strong. Out on the Union left 2/III takes some time to sort itself out but then starts pushing forwards against Price's beaten men who can do nothing but fall back before them. This leads to the US getting their first unpleasant suprise - a line of works stretching westwards from Jackson and then turning north to the woods. Price is however in such a bad state that these hasty works do not even momentarily hold up the advance of 2/III, supported by the corps cavalry. With 1/III now slowly advancing towards it again, 1/II does little other than reface its flank (which has a couple of Price's units as hangers-on) slightly to guard against being rolled up, and 4/II does nothing.

In the south the US flanking columns start to arrive. The western column is 1/V but lead in person by the corps commander (Sedgwick). They cautiously begin to deploy facing 2/W, who do nothing. The eastern column is XVI corps under Shields, less a division. Again this starts to deploy cautiously but here Genl Wharton charges with his 3/W and gets badly replused for his pains, overrunning bits of Pemberton's corps which now become visible to the Union command as they move up to support the outmatched cavalry divisions.

In the centre the Union do not press, but content themselves with assembling a lot of guns and hammering away at Van Dorn's men, who are effectively pinned in place - should they move they risk being swamped by the mass of US infantry assembling at the gun line. This is principally the giant XII corps - and its arrival allows the US to pull 1/III out of line for a well-earned rest. A little of XII corps is thrown forwards on the left to help pin 1/II in place, but apart from that XII does not advance until Van Dorn starts to cede ground around 5pm.

On the southern front Pemberton and the two US columns fight each other to a standstill. Attempts by both sides to break the deadlock with cavalry charges fail, and all of the cavalry on this front ends up hors de combat. 1/XVI and 1/P both exhaust without collapsing. 1/V gets close to exhaustion but stays in the line nevertheless - because Grant is extending his right round to support them.

This move is carried out by the rest of V corps (2/V + corps assets) and 1/XVIII. As it prolongs the US front XII corps elements fill the gap and eventually Van Dorn is compelled to refuse and finally retreat his left flank, leading to a general retrograde move of the whole Rebel centre. Seeing an opportunity here where there is somewhat of a gap between the left of Van Dorn and the right of 2/P, 2/V is thrown forwards at the flank of the latter. The assault not only fails, it is crushed by a last desperate charge by 1/W, who not only rout a couple of brigades but following up destroy a pair of artillery battalions caught moving up.

This action effectively brings the battle to a close. In the north 2/III hunker down and wait for the main army to catch up. Everywhere the Rebs break contact towards dusk and fall back towards Jackson.

During the night Beauregard withdraws his army eastwards to Meridian. Having had the worst of it on this day he cannot afford to fight another, as the crushing US numerical superiority would be brought to bear.