Battle
Three divisions of Maj. Gen. John A. McClernand's XIII Corps moved out from Edwards Station (now the town of Edwards, Mississippi) on the morning of May 17. The corps encountered the Confederates behind breastworks of cotton bales fronted by a bayou and abatis. They took cover as enemy artillery began firing. Union Brig. Gen. Michael K. Lawler formed his 2nd Brigade, Eugene A. Carr's 14th Division, which surged out of a meander scar, across the front of the Confederate forces, through waist-deep water, and into the enemy's breastworks, held by Brig. Gen. John C. Vaughn's East Tennessee Brigade.
Confused and panicked, the Confederates began to withdraw across the Big Black River by two routes: the railroad bridge and the steamboat Dot, used as a bridge across the river. As soon as they had crossed, the Confederates set fire to the bridge and steamboat, preventing close Union pursuit. The fleeing Confederates who arrived in Vicksburg later that day were disorganized.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Big Black River Bridge
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